An educational and informational site about rare, old and antiquarian books.
So many people read romance novels these days that it is hard to accept the mediocre performance that the genre exhibited in our rare book index – Rare Book Sales Monitor, over the last year. This trend was recorded primarily through sales of modern romance editions that lag behind the corresponding romance classics. The most sought-after romantic novels […]
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A mix of censorship and bad novel-writing can provide the right ingredients in bringing about scarcity in rare books. That is exactly what the 1930’s, semi-underground literature publisher Jack Kahane created through his production at Obelisk Press. This is not to say that Obelisk published strictly smutty books since well known writers such as Henry […]
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Book collector interests may be driven by a particular author or genre (science, art, modern firsts, exploration etc.), a particular illustrator or artist, a certain series of award winning books, fine bindings in book design, cover or dust jacket art; a printer of fine press books, incunabula or books printed during certain periods, movable parts […]
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A 43-year old book is soon to be the business bestseller thanks to Bill Gates. The reprint of Business Adventures is scheduled to be released Aug 16, but digital publishers that reproduced it as an e-book have sent it to # 1 on Amazon and the New York Times bestseller lists. The book was originally […]
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During the Golden Age of Islamic science, (750 to 1258 AD) European medical practice was influenced by the important contributions of Muslims such as Al-Razi “Rhazes” (d. 925), Abul Quasim Khalaf ibn al-Abbas al-Zahrawi “Albucasis” (940 – 1013), Ibn Sina (d. 1037). Al-Zahrawi considered to be the father of modern surgery, diagnosed and treated many […]
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On April 3rd of 1973, Martin Cooper, the leader of Motorola’s cell phone team, broke History. In a fashion reminiscent of Alexander Graham Bell 100 years prior, Cooper called Joel Engel, the research head of rival AT&T’s Bell Labs to say – “Joel, I’m calling you from a real cellular phone.” Historic breakthrough introductions such […]
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The field of mathematics has a long and fascinating origin. Its foundation is based in logic, which has greatly enhanced its significant development. This invaluable foundation in logic is seen in a work that took place in ancient Greece in the centuries preceding Euclid. I am currently reading a very interesting commentary on the history […]
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Almost all Christian wedding ceremonies include the favorite Bible verse which includes the phrase “Love is patient, love is kind” (1 Corinthians 13:4–8a), to convey the essence of love. During the month of February, many of us try to find the perfect opportunity to rekindle a romance or strengthen a bond amid the commercialized chocolate […]
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The short-lived publishing house of William Godwin formally started operations in 1930 in New York. Talk about bad timing; the depression that began around September 4, 1929 had caused the famous Black Tuesday market crash of October 29, 1929, setting a bleak backdrop for the publishing house’s humble beginnings. For a small publisher looking to […]
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In 1906, an American humorist by the name of Gelett Burgess authored the book “Are You a Bromide?” On the back of its dust jacket the book featured a picture of a young, fictional woman Miss Belinda Blurb, in the act of blurbing – “YES, this is a ‘BLURB’!” And so the term “blurb” was coined. […]
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