The collectible Weird Tales pulps

September 27, 2013
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Without television widely available, the medium charged to provide bigger-than-life heroes, pretty girls, exotic places and strange and mysterious villains was in the form of low quality paper between beautifully decorated covers. It was the early twentieth century and “pulp magazines” were the breeding ground for much of the creative work of the times. The […]

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The factor of book censorship and controversy

September 20, 2013
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Controversy and censorship usually rally positive media support that results in more interest and favorable contribution towards a book’s demand.  Publicity from censorship is quite easy to generate in a world where ideological agendas are backed by media organizations and special interests groups. Book censorship has been with us for quite some time and it […]

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A day at the Athens flea market

September 13, 2013
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Like many people do, I get to visit the local flea-market in Athens every weekend. The first thing I turn my attention to are the piles of books on large cloth sheets lying on the ground. Of course, some book sellers use benches, tables and so forth, but most of them prefer to use something […]

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Collectible Pocket Books

September 6, 2013
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The full-page ad in the June 19, 1939 edition of the New York Times titled “The New Pocket Books that may revolutionize New York’s reading habit,” read:  Today is the most important literary coming-out party in the memory of New York’s oldest book lover. Today your 25 cent piece leaps to a par with dollar […]

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Rare Book Provenance

August 29, 2013
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If you had a choice between copies of the same book that either came with a provenance file or without one, which would you choose? The answer is a no brainer for the majority of we collectors. But what if the price was higher for the provenance file accompanied copy? How much more would you […]

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That so important Date of Publication is not specified

August 20, 2013
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Ah, wouldn’t it be nice if every book you came across contained a set of standard information no matter who the publisher is? It would be nice if antiquarian books contained a page similar to the one contained in modern editions on the copyright page, with the edition, printing, state, copyright date, date of publication, […]

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Mutilated, Altered, Grangerized, Razored, and Bowdlerized Books

August 13, 2013
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Unfortunately, sometimes book collectors get a taste of what is considered a bad purchasing experience. Often times they realize that the book that raised their pulse rate did not turn out as expected. Sometimes a book bought online may just not have been adequately described or the smell from fungi present in a book turned […]

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Beautifully illustrated Knave of Hearts

August 6, 2013
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To the truly dedicated lover of art, the works of Maxfield Parrish rank at a culminating pinnacle. Indeed, to fix one’s gaze on Parrish’s wondrous illustrations is to escape into a magical world of whimsy, charm, and, as is characteristic of Parrish’s works, a delightful dash of humor. It should come as no surprise then, that […]

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Jack Kerouac’s Material America

July 30, 2013
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In the introduction of Robert Frank’s landmark photography collection The Americans, Jack Kerouac described Frank’s plaintive black and white images as: “That crazy feeling in America, when the sun is hot on the streets and the music comes out of the jukebox or from a nearby funeral.” It was originally published by Robert Delpire in […]

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The Andy Warhol Book Covers that the Art World Overlooked

July 23, 2013
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In 1975 in a book he called From A to B & Back Again, Andy Warhol wrote “up until a year ago I was a real nobody in Italy. I was somebody-maybe-in Germany and England-which is why I no longer go to those countries-but in Italy they couldn’t even spell my name.” Warhol must have […]

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