Thursday, September 15, 2011

 More copies available in the Atlantis Bookshop




The book sold out in Atlantis, Watkins and Treadwell's bookshops, but there are now more copies available in the Atlantis Bookshop. I had some copies left from the medieval fair and they were happy to stock them.

Im also looking for more retailers for the book, I will keep you informed.

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

 England's Medieval Festival




Two weeks ago I participated toEngland's Medieval Festival in Herstmonceux near London. I regularly sell books in Finnish medieval fairs and it was very interesting to participate on one abroad for the first time.



The festival turned out to be quite different from the ones in Finland. Allthough the number of visitors was roughly the same as in the two largest Finnish medieval fairs there seemed to be more reenactors and traders, of which surprisingly many were foreign, probably some 20-30%. It was especially nice to meet some traders from Sweden and Estonia.






It was extremely interesting to get to sell the Magic Songs in a live event for a first time and chat up with the customers, which I really love in market events. It was bit problematic to have just a single title for sale, but it worked out allright.

The fair was a fun experience and im definitely going back next year. By then I should have 2-3 more books ready and plan to participate also to other medieval, folk and pagan festivals in UK. I would love to hear some recommendations if you know a good one :)


This trip was also my first to Sussex countryside which turned out to be very picturesque.





Thursday, June 9, 2011

 The Magic Songs is now available in London's esoteric bookshops

Im happy to report that the Magic Songs is now available in the top three esoteric bookshops in London:

Atlantis Bookshop
Treadwell's Bookshop
Watkins Books

Sunday, June 5, 2011

 PBFA and ETC antiquarian bookfairs in London



I just returned from the two bookfairs held at Russell Square bags full.

The ETC fair held in Royal National Hotel turned to be a great place for buying books. It had maybe some 50 stalls. The stock was quite diverse and prices very low.



I had planned to buy just a couple of books since I have to carry them all the way back to Finland but there was just too many great finds. Especially one seller with a 50% discount had all kinds of goodies. Here's some listings:



The Spectator, 1717. Articles and writings on all kinds of topics. Half of the title page is missing, price 2£.

The Bee, or literary weekly intelligencer, 1792. Also interesting when I want to read something completely random. 2£.

A solicitor's accounting book from year 1884, leather bound, folio size and almost empty. I have been looking for one like this for making some notes. 24 £.

D. B. Updike: Printing Types - Their history, forms and use I-II, 1962. This is a very useful set for my publishing work since it has many old typeface samples. Price 6£.

The Ingolsby Legends, 1887. Great illustrations. 5£.

Godfrey Golding: The Book of Good Devices. Interesting early self-help book. 2£.

Bliss: A History of Wood-Engraving, 1928. 120 illustrations. 4£.

He also had a lot of Baedeker's travel guides for 4£ each.




After the ETC fair I went to PBFA book fair just few hundred meters away. This fair is very different from the ETC fair as the books are very selected and priced accordingly. The fair is held in the marvelous Russell Hotel built in 1898 and has a great atmosphere.






I didn't do any more buying, but got tons of new ideas. This is what i really love in expensive fairs. You don't need to buy anything, but still get something much more valuable. I especially investigated some old illustrations and typefaces I could use for future projects.

Thursday, June 2, 2011

 Flying to London today

I'm doing some packing at the moment and have the flight to London in a few hours. It's really exciting finally get to distribute the new book and visit all the antique and antiquarian fairs there :)

I will be staying in London for the first 4 nights and after this visit Birmingham, Nottingham and Newark. I haven't yet decided the destinations for the last days, but will probably visit some smaller towns.

I will post the first pics from London on the weekend.

Sunday, May 29, 2011

 The Magic Songs has arrived from the printing press!



The books finally arrived from the press on the other day. This is the first time I have used gold- and blind-stamped (artificial) leather binding on a book, so it was a really exciting moment to open up the first box. This combination turned out to work marvelously. I'm really happy with the results. It seems now that most of my future books will follow similar style.

More pictures will be provided later on when I get to borrow a better camera and do some photo shooting.

It will be a joy to pack a suitcase full of these and head to London in a few days :)

Monday, May 23, 2011

 UK Antique and Antiquarian Fairs in June

The Magic Songs comes from the press tomorrow and I just booked flights to London for next week. Besides doing some marketing it seems there will also be ridiculously many antique and antiquarian fairs to visit. In a little over a week there are 6 fairs in London alone.

Here are some listings:

5 June: London, Bloomsbury Summer Book Fair, Royal National Hotel. 160 stalls.
5 June: London Hotel Russell Book Fair, Hotel Russell. Perhaps around 150 stalls also.

These two medium sized fairs have been quite good the two times I have visited them. Moderate prices.

9-11 June: ILAB London International Antiquarian Book Fair. The main fair of the year. Expensive but interesting to look around.
8-9 June: Hand & Flower Book Fair. New book fair right next to ILAB fair in Olympia. I haven't visited it before.
10-11 June: London Novotel Book Fair. Medium sized fair also next to Olympia . Moderate prizes.

In Olympia fair centre there is also a huge antiques fair at the of the antiquarian fair:

9-19 June: Olympia International Fine Art & Antiques Fair. Expensive but also interesting.

But even more than these I am intrigued to visit Newark Antique Fair in Nottinghamshire on 9-10 June. It seems to be the largest antique fair in Europe with some 4000 stalls. I've never been there before and that number is quite staggering.

Not sure how I'm going to be able to visit all of these, but it'll be interesting to try. :D

Besides fairs I will definitely visit three lovely esoteric bookshops in London: Watkins Books, The Atlantis Bookshop and Treadwell's Bookshop, which also hosts many interesting events. I will try to be able to visit three of them:

03 June 11 (Friday)
Book Launch Party: Austin Osman Spare's Book of Pleasure

11 June 11 (Saturday)
Foraging for Herbs: A Hedgewitches' Teaching Walk
Natasha Richardson, Herbalist

14 June 11 (Tuesday)
Hermes Trismegistus: Fall and Rise of a Magical Figure
Gary Lachman
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