news – AbeBooks' Reading Copy http://www.abebooks.com/blog AbeBooks book blog Wed, 24 Aug 2016 21:46:33 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.6 Mowgli’s legend lives on – signed copy of Jungle Book sells for $3,800 http://www.abebooks.com/blog/index.php/2016/05/31/mowglis-legend-lives-on-signed-copy-of-jungle-book-sells-for-3800/ http://www.abebooks.com/blog/index.php/2016/05/31/mowglis-legend-lives-on-signed-copy-of-jungle-book-sells-for-3800/#comments Tue, 31 May 2016 21:09:48 +0000 http://www.abebooks.com/blog/?p=24181 The Jungle Book by Rudyard KiplingJon Favreau’s Jungle Book movie, released last month, continues to spark interest in Rudyard Kipling’s classic children’s stories, first published as a book in 1894, with a signed copy selling for $3,800 via the AbeBooks marketplace. The book in question was an early printing but came in near fine condition with a super clear signature from the author. No other signed copies of The Jungle Book are available on AbeBooks but signed copies of the The Second Jungle Book can be found.

As far as animal stories go, The Jungle Book is hard to beat. Rudyard Kipling‘s collection of short stories was first published in magazines before appearing in book form. Rikki-Tikki-Tavi remains my personal favorite story from the collection.

Find collectible copies of The Jungle Book.

Rudyard Kipling's signature

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Rare booksellers celebrate World Book Day with pop-up fairs across the globe http://www.abebooks.com/blog/index.php/2016/04/23/rare-booksellers-celebrate-world-book-day-with-pop-up-fairs-across-the-globe/ http://www.abebooks.com/blog/index.php/2016/04/23/rare-booksellers-celebrate-world-book-day-with-pop-up-fairs-across-the-globe/#respond Sun, 24 Apr 2016 03:55:22 +0000 http://www.abebooks.com/blog/?p=24099

Voice of Truth… offered by Rulon-Miller Books and spotted today at the Chicago pop-up book fair

The rare booksellers of the world united today to celebrate World Day Day with a global series of pop-up book fairs, stretching from Perth and Tokyo to Paris and Munich to Chicago and Portland, Oregon. The events – organised by ILAB – promoted reading and the joy of books, and also raised money for UNESCO’s efforts to support literacy in South Sudan.

A blog post cannot truly do justice to the scale of this celebration which began in Australia (in at least three locations), continued in Japan and then spread to Europe as sellers in the Netherlands, Austria, Germany, France, Denmark, Russia, Hungary and the United Kingdom contributed to the effort. Further North American events took place in Seattle and Chicago.

AbeBooks staffer Larissa Dawirs, who works in our Dusseldorf office, visited the pop-up book fair in Vienna and took in some amazing views of the Austrian city as the fair was held inside the rotating carriages of a ferris wheel.

Her colleague Christi Kay, who works in the Victoria office, took a flight to Chicago to join 12 Midwest booksellers at the historic Glessner House where yet another fair took place.

Both were made very welcome and we appreciate the hospitality of the booksellers.

We must also mention ILAB’s web editor Dr. Barbara van Benthem, who blogged for many hours in order to record the events in a single place.

Chicago’s booksellers at the Glessner House

Bookseller Jeff Borg shows some topical artwork at the Chicago fair

A beautiful shelf in Chicago, courtesy of seller Jeff Hirsch

Books and ephemera in a Vienna ferris wheel carriage

Vienna1 for blog

All aboard the Vienna pop-up book fair

A view of the city and some rare books

An early view of Vienna… inside the ferris wheel carriage

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Shakespeare First Folio discovered on Scottish island http://www.abebooks.com/blog/index.php/2016/04/07/shakespeare-first-folio-discovered-on-scottish-island/ http://www.abebooks.com/blog/index.php/2016/04/07/shakespeare-first-folio-discovered-on-scottish-island/#comments Thu, 07 Apr 2016 18:15:22 +0000 http://www.abebooks.com/blog/?p=24030 A Shakespeare First Folio, one of the world’s great rare books, has been found in a stately home on the Scottish island of Bute, reports the BBC. Only 230 copies of the First Folio, which contains Shakespeare’s plays, are known to exist. The last copy to be found was discovered in 2014 in a library in St Omer in France.

Emma Smith, professor of Shakespeare studies at Oxford University, said her first reaction on being told the stately home was claiming to have an original First Folio was: “Like hell they have.”

But when she inspected the three-volume book she found it was authentic.

“We’ve found a First Folio that we didn’t know existed,” said Prof Smith.

It is believed the book was bought by the third Marquess of Bute, an antiquarian and collector, who died in 1900.

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ILAB’s 2016 Chicago pop-up fair to grace Glessner House http://www.abebooks.com/blog/index.php/2016/03/30/ilabs-2016-chicago-pop-up-fair-to-grace-glessner-house/ http://www.abebooks.com/blog/index.php/2016/03/30/ilabs-2016-chicago-pop-up-fair-to-grace-glessner-house/#respond Wed, 30 Mar 2016 19:36:02 +0000 http://www.abebooks.com/blog/?p=23952

Glessner House in Chicago

More news from ILAB on the association’s plans for UNESCO’s World Book & Copyright Day on April 23. Twelve Chicago booksellers will hold a pop-up book fair at Glessner House, the historic building designed for the family of industrialist John Jacob Glessner by architect Henry Hobson Richardson.

All members of the Midwest Chapter of the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America (ABAA), they will show a fine selection of rare books, manuscripts, prints, autographs and ephemera, and raise funds in support of UNESCO’s Forest Whitaker Peace and Development Initiative (WPDI) in South Sudan.

Jeff Hirsch, Paul and Elizabeth Garon of Beasley Books,  Larry Van De Carr of Bookleggers Used Books, Bradley Jonas of Powell’s Bookstore,  Rob Rulon-Miller, and Kurt Gippert, the event’s organizer, are among the booksellers who will attend.

Completed in 1887, Glessner House is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and well worth a visit. The 17,000 square foot home now features a museum and hosts cultural events. All dealers will donate 10 per cent of the proceeds of any sale made during the fair to UNESCO.

The book fair runs from 10am to 5pm at Glessner House on 1800 S. Prairie Avenue.

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Memories of reading To Kill a Mockingbird http://www.abebooks.com/blog/index.php/2016/02/19/memories-of-reading-to-kill-a-mockingbird/ http://www.abebooks.com/blog/index.php/2016/02/19/memories-of-reading-to-kill-a-mockingbird/#respond Fri, 19 Feb 2016 19:53:17 +0000 http://www.abebooks.com/blog/?p=23821

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

I’ve read Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird twice. I have no interest in reading Go Set a Watchman, and won’t be picking it up. My first encounter with Mockingbird came in the early 1990s when I was trying to read as many ‘classics’ as possible. Unlike Moby Dick and Heart of Darkness, I read To Kill a Mockingbird in a couple of sittings. You just can’t put that thing down and it’s tugging at your heartstrings all the way through. Joy, anger and frustration come through in equal measure.

Atticus. That character is a remarkable creation. Patient, brave, modest and wise. Even the name, Atticus Finch, is interesting. Harper Lee based the famous lawyer on her own father, Amasa Coleman Lee, who also represented black defendants. When I heard that Atticus was portrayed negatively in Go Set a Watchman my heart sank. A little bit of my reading history was spoiled.

Harper Lee in the 1960s

The whole Go Set a Watchman thing was rather sad and Lee’s publishers still look shady. Lee’s  literary legacy was already complete. She didn’t need to publish anything else. She had achieved as close to perfection as possible with To Kill a Mockingbird. The only people to benefit from this entire shambles were the publishers. Did Harper Lee, mostly blind and deaf, really know what the heck was going on?

I don’t usually reference movie adaptations when talking about books but the 1962 black and white film of To Kill a Mockingbird starring Gregory Peck is also something special. It was regularly broadcast on Saturday afternoons on BBC2 in the UK while I was growing up. Peck was the perfect Atticus Finch. In 2002, the American Film Institute named Atticus as the greatest hero of American cinema. Peck won the Academy Award for Best Actor and Lee praised his performance for capturing every aspect of Finch’s quiet but strong character.

Nelle Harper Lee was born on 28 April in 1926 in Monroeville, Alabama. She was the youngest of four children. Today, her death at the age of 89 was announced by the office of the Monroeville mayor. She was a Monroeville girl for her entire life. She won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for Mockingbird, which went on to sell more than 40 million copies worldwide. The storyline covers race, class and the loss of childhood innocence. It’s regularly acclaimed one of the 20th century’s most powerful novels. Set in a small fictional town called Maycomb in the American South, a black man called Tom Robinson is accused of rape by a white woman. The story unfolds through Finch’s six-year-old daughter Scout. If you have never read the book, then find a copy, sit down and read it. The story is still relevant today – the writing will never leave you. You will always remember it.

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He Was Right – Celebrating Einstein with Ephemera and Books http://www.abebooks.com/blog/index.php/2016/02/11/he-was-right-celebrating-einstein-with-ephemera-and-books/ http://www.abebooks.com/blog/index.php/2016/02/11/he-was-right-celebrating-einstein-with-ephemera-and-books/#comments Thu, 11 Feb 2016 20:15:16 +0000 http://www.abebooks.com/blog/?p=23761 original-etching

Original etching of Albert Einstein by J.J. Muller. 1934.

In honor of today’s scientific discovery, AbeBooks has gathered a selection of unique and fascinating pieces of ephemera and books related to Albert Einstein.

So it looks like Albert Einstein knew what he was talking about. After years of searching, scientists have confirmed that they have indeed detected gravitational waves for the very first time. These waves are caused by black holes that come smashing together. Those involved with this groundbreaking research say that the colliding black holes are approximately 30 times the mass of the sun and are 1.3 billion light years from Earth. This is mind boggling and the most incredible part is that Einstein wrote about this one hundred years ago in his revolutionary theory of general relativity.

A team of more than 1,000 researchers from 15 different countries have spent years looking for gravitational waves. Using a device called the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) – basically two very large lasers that can detect incredibly small vibrations, scientists converted the wave signals into audio waves and could actually hear the black holes colliding together.

Einstein was born in Germany on March 14, 1879 and spent most of his life dedicated to physics and the philosophy of science. He was a prolific writer and throughout his career published hundreds of articles and books. Signed copies of Relativity: The Special and General Theory by Albert Einstein have sold on AbeBooks, including a $12,500 copy.

 

relativity

Relativity. The Special and the General Theory. First American Edition, signed by Einstein. 1920

letter

Handwritten letter from Albert Einstein to his son. Written in 1932, counseling his son on the meaning of life. Signed “Papa”.

photo

Photograph of Einstein – Original photo of Einstein taken during his visit to California in 1932 and 1933. Inscribed by Einstein.

doodle

Guest book signed by Einstein which includes an original ink doodle of a stick figure peering through a telescope at a sailboat on a lake with a mountain in the background

world

Signed copy of The World As I See It by Albert Einstein. First Edition, translated from German. 1949

orig-photo

Original photograph of Einstein with Ralph Lazarus, president of the Albert Einstein Foundation. 1946

soncino

Gelegentliches von Albert Einstein. 1929 FIRST EDITION of a work privately distributed to members of the Soncino Society and put together by the Soncino-Gesellschaft of the Friends of Jewish Books in honor of Einstein’s 50th birthday. Publication was limited to 800 copies.

lithograph

Original lithograph of Albert Einstein by Eugene Spiro. Spiro was a renowned portrait painter of his time.  Signed by Einstein.

postcard

Einstein postcard from Lotte Jacobi to friends in Germany. Jacobi was a German portrait, theater and art photographer who photographed Einstein.

later-years

Out of My Later Years by Albert Einstein. Signed, first edition, published in 1950. A collection of essays considering everything that interested him as a scientist, philosopher and humanitarian.

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Recovered from a garage, Robert Heinlein’s original typed manuscript for Friday listed for sale http://www.abebooks.com/blog/index.php/2015/11/09/recovered-from-a-garage-robert-heinleins-original-typed-manuscript-for-friday-listed-for-sale/ http://www.abebooks.com/blog/index.php/2015/11/09/recovered-from-a-garage-robert-heinleins-original-typed-manuscript-for-friday-listed-for-sale/#comments Mon, 09 Nov 2015 19:59:54 +0000 http://www.abebooks.com/blog/?p=23328

The first page of Robert Heinlein’s manuscript for Friday

Stored in a garage for years, Robert Heinlein’s original typed manuscript for his 1982 science fiction novel, Friday, has been listed for sale on AbeBooks.com by The Fine Books Company located in Rochester, Michigan.

This manuscript was Heinlein’s last to be created on a typewriter before the author switched to a computer – a computer-generated document, with corrections incorporated into the copy, is stored in the Heinlein archives in the McHenry Library at the University of California’s Santa Cruz campus.

Listed for sale at $58,285, the manuscript references the novel’s original title, The Hour of the Knife (crossed out on the first page with ‘Friday’ written above it) and displays the author’s numerous edits and notes.

Friday by Robert Heinlein

“The novel is among Heinlein’s more controversial later period titles with a definitive, albeit genetically engineered, female protagonist who, among her adventures as a spy and courier, has a difficult time feeling like she belongs to the human race. This work was both a Hugo and Nebula Award finalist for best novel of 1982,” said David Aronovitz from The Fine Books Company. “Auction records over the last 40 years reveal no Heinlein novels in manuscript form have ever sold or even been offered for sale.”

The document gathered dust in Heinlein’s garage which explains the soiled condition of the first page. Rediscovered by Heinlein’s wife, Virginia, it is listed for sale along with a letter of provenance from Heinlein’s friend and editor of Locus Magazine, the late Charles N. Brown, which reads:

The manuscript is an earlier draft corrected in Robert A. Heinlein’s hand. The final draft went to the Heinlein library at Santa Cruz.

Virginia Heinlein found this one on top of the cabinets in the garage while we were packing up magazines for sale–hence the very dirty first page. She gave it to me to sell with the other material.

The copy of the book, also included, is an unopened lettered copy which Robert Heinlein gave me along with other duplicate books.

Sincerely,

Charles N. Brown

Heinlein died in 1988, producing three more novels after Friday.

See the manuscript

A page from Robert Heinlein’s original manuscript for Friday

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K-pop Erupts over a Book-Inspired ‘Sexualized’ Pop Song http://www.abebooks.com/blog/index.php/2015/11/08/k-pop-erupts-over-a-book-inspired-sexualized-pop-song/ http://www.abebooks.com/blog/index.php/2015/11/08/k-pop-erupts-over-a-book-inspired-sexualized-pop-song/#respond Sun, 08 Nov 2015 20:11:06 +0000 http://www.abebooks.com/blog/?p=23308

My Sweet Orange Tree

A controversy surrounding a song by one of South Korea’s biggest female K-pop stars, IU, has ignited interest in My Sweet Orange Tree – an autobiographical novel by Brazilian author José Mauro de Vasconcelos originally published in 1968.

The novel describes the misadventures of a five-year-old protagonist called Zeze. IU’s song is also called Zeze and she admits it was inspired by the book, but her lyrics have been accused of being overtly sexual.

My Sweet Orange Tree (Meu Pé de Laranja Lima in Portuguese) is a much loved book in South Korea and often studied in schools. Last Thursday and Friday, My Sweet Orange Tree was the most searched for book on AbeBooks.com as the scandal engulfed the 22-year-old Korean pop star.

The singer has now issued an apology, which translates as:

“My Sweet Orange Tree is a treasured book to me, too. I swear I did not write the lyrics to sexualize a 5-year-old child. The Zeze in my song is a third-party fictional creation taken from the motif in the original novel. However, after listening to the opinions of those who have listened to the song, I came to realize that its contents could have given offence and even caused some to grieve. I am wholly responsible for my immature handling of things as a lyricist.”

In the novel, Zeze lives in Rio de Janeiro in a poor family. Often mistreated and usually left to his own devices, Zeze becomes embroiled in trouble and mischief, which builds in seriousness as the novel continues. The orange tree mentioned in the title grows in his backyard and Zeze becomes deeply interested in its well-being.

According to the Korea JoonAng Daily, IU’s lyrics include “You [Zezé] are pure, but you are sly. You look like a young child, but you are filthy.”

The book’s Korea publisher, Dongyok, issued a statement that also questioned the sexual nature of IU’s latest album cover. Called Chat-Shire and released on October 23, the album (pictured below) depicts a boy wearing fishnets and raising one of his legs into the air while sitting in front of a tree.

Chat-Shire by IU

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Discover the book Keith Richards would take to a desert island http://www.abebooks.com/blog/index.php/2015/11/02/discover-the-book-keith-richards-would-take-to-a-desert-island/ http://www.abebooks.com/blog/index.php/2015/11/02/discover-the-book-keith-richards-would-take-to-a-desert-island/#respond Mon, 02 Nov 2015 21:16:38 +0000 http://www.abebooks.com/blog/?p=23289

Doctor Dogbody’s Leg by James Norman Hall, the cover of the 1940 edition

What book would you take to a desert island? Rolling Stones star Keith Richards selected Doctor Dogbody’s Leg by James Norman Hall when he appeared on BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs show last month.

The book is an entertaining collection of short stories told by Dr. Dogbody, a crusty one-legged old sailor, in a Portsmouth tavern called the Cheerful Tortoise. Each story, set during the Napoleonic Wars between England and France, reveals how Dogbody – a Royal Naval surgeon – lost his leg and each one is different.

“Every time he turns up at the table he gives you a different story about how he lost it and they’re all totally plausible,” said Richards on the show.

Desert Island Discs is a radio institution in the UK where the show began in 1942. Guests select eight pieces of a music, a book and one luxury object to take with them to the island while being quizzed by the host on their life and achievements.

James Norman Hall (1887-1951) was a remarkable person. The American author is best remembered for writing the Mutiny on the Bounty trilogy, which he co-authored with Charles Nordhoff. Hall was a World War I hero who served with Britain, France and the United States during the conflict. He later lived on Tahiti where he specialized in writing adventure books.

In 1938, Redbook Magazine published three Doctor Dogbody stories in a limited edition of 1,500 copies.  Little Brown then issued another edition in 1940 with illustrations by Warren Chappell. You can see the cover at the top of the page – courtesy of Jeffrey H. Marks Rare Books from Rochester, New York, who is offering a copy for sale.

Holt also published a paperback edition in 1998.

I would love to hear this collection of stories as an audio book with Richards doing the narration. That would be fun. Perhaps the book could also be a Johnny Depp movie?

Doctor Dogbody’s Leg was the most searched for book on AbeBooks.co.uk last week. Sales have been brisk with the most expensive copy to sell being a signed 1940 edition for $150 – one copy sold while I was writing this blog post.

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Vincent Price’s cookbook back in print to celebrate 50th anniversary http://www.abebooks.com/blog/index.php/2015/10/30/vincent-prices-cookbook-back-in-print-to-celebrate-50th-anniversary/ http://www.abebooks.com/blog/index.php/2015/10/30/vincent-prices-cookbook-back-in-print-to-celebrate-50th-anniversary/#respond Fri, 30 Oct 2015 15:57:32 +0000 http://www.abebooks.com/blog/?p=23283

The new 2015 edition of A Treasury of Great Recipes by Vincent and Mary Price

Vincent and Mary Price’s famous cookbook – A Treasury of Great Recipes – has been reissued to celebrate its 50 anniversary with NPR doing an interesting piece on the book this morning. This recipe book had been one of the most sought-after out-of-print books in the world for many years. A Treasury of Great Recipes was a fixture on BookFinder.com’s annual list of the most wanted out-of-print titles. Older used copies are still easily found on AbeBooks.

The recipes range from Dodger Stadium hot dogs to European haute cuisine and are very international. As a famous film star, Price traveled the world and enjoyed the food along the way. The dishes are selected from establishments such as the London’s The Ivy and Madrid’s Palace Hotel.

NPR writes:

The cookbook includes Mad Men-era recipes, old menus, the original typeface and the original photos by jazz photographer William Claxton, Life magazine’s Eliot Elisofon, and artist Tosh Matsumoto. The images feature sumptuous spreads and waiters from legendary restaurants around the world. There’s stuffed trout from La Pyramide in Lyon, France; gazpacho Andaluz from the Sobrino de Botin in Madrid (considered the oldest restaurant in the world); frog’s legs polonaise from Sardi’s in New York.

The book, first published in 1965 at the height of Price’s fame, also contains drawings by Fritz Kredel. Victoria Price, Vincent and Mary’s daughter, has added an introduction.

The 1965 first edition of A Treasury of Great Recipes

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