The Book Trade

A Perfect Book Sale

by Liz on April 23, 2013

The 2013 Five Colleges Book Sale, now on its 52nd year was held this past weekend at its usual location in Lebanon, New Hampshire. The event proceeds benefit New Hampshire and Vermont students who receive scholarships to attend the five colleges of Smith, Vassar, Wellesley, Mt. Holyoke and Simmons. The event has always been one […]

{ 4 comments }

The Treasures Laid-In

by The bookworm on November 16, 2012

Often times dealers are selling, along with a particular rare book, other important material that was laid into the book by the owner, author or publisher either for reference or unintentionally. An item laid-in is something which is included with, but not attached to the book, such as a sheet of paper, a card, a […]

{ 0 comments }

I talk with booksellers every day, and lately a large number of them tell me that they are finding it harder to justify the cost of producing new catalogs or catalogues to our friends across the pond. These are the publications containing a list of merchandise that the bookseller is featuring and promoting. Many booksellers […]

{ 1 comment }

Dust-wrappers (or “dust-jackets” as they are often called), are the detachable book coverings that have been regularly used by publishers in the English-speaking world primarily British and American, since the early part of the nineteenth century. Publishers have been using them as protective devices and containers for advertising media, biographical information about the author, blurbs, […]

{ 0 comments }

It was given a catchy name “The Last Book Sale” and it was promoted as “The shelf-lot auction of the century!”  Author Larry McMurtry’s legendary Booked Up Inc. stores #2, #3 and #4 were sold at a public auction on-site in Archer City, Texas on August 10th and 11th. Approximately 300,000 books in over 1500 […]

{ 2 comments }

The rare “Block Books”

by Admin on August 9, 2012

If someone asked you to explain the principle of supply and demand, could you do it? What if someone asked you to apply the principle to explain the current state of the rare book market, would you be able to? The latter may not be as simple to explain by using the basic theory of […]

{ 1 comment }

As every rare book seller knows, pricing a book to market is often one of the most difficult tasks performed in the trade. Prices set too low may mean that there is additional revenue that could be earned if the potential collector is willing to spend more to acquire the book. On the contrary, prices […]

{ 9 comments }