Rare Books Digest

Luigi Serafini’s Storie Naturali

May 3, 2013

Luigi Serafini’s tribute celebration to Jules Renard’s Histoires Naturelles or The Natural Stories of the eternal vitality of natural history is a whimsical book of botanical constructions, with leaves forming a forest of enchanted trees and animated and mutant plants. This herbarium of imaginary plants comes to life in a botanical fantasy painted by the […]

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A Perfect Book Sale

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 […]

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The Final Issue in a Comic Book Series

April 19, 2013

We have talked about the first issues, rare issues and the first appearances of comic books before, but now I will let you in on a little secret. Until recently, the last issue of a comic book series didn’t seem to matter at all. It was simply a comic book that gradually aged and collected […]

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Rare Book Sale Monitor update – 1st Quarter 2013

April 12, 2013

The first quarter of the year was another quarter of solid growth. As always, some of the genre and some of the authors in our Rare Books Sale Monitor (RBSM) performed better than others, but healthy fluctuations from one quarter to the next is the way sale pricing behaves. Take, for example, last quarter’s […]

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Tax tactics for the book dealer, investor, collector

April 5, 2013

Rare books are collectibles and the month of April brings capital gain, estate or gift tax considerations to those of us residing in the United States. Whether you have decided to sell off parts of your collection or bequeath it to an heir, Uncle Sam wants to know. Failing to manage valuable asset holdings properly […]

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The beauty in a collectible photography book

March 29, 2013

Photography is not merely a reflection of reality but more like a witness to realism. All the technical manipulations used by computer imagery, turn-tables, biochromatic gum exposures are hopeless without photographable reality. Photography would be guilty of imposing an image of reality if it simply passed off reflections instead of visible achievements that captured a […]

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Contemporary Art for the Bibliophile

March 22, 2013

Contemporary art can be alluring for investors. Prices are soaring and the traditional cheaper alternative of investing in art works that are printed, bound, and widely offered in the form of a limited edition book, are not what they used to be. Such editions printed on better quality paper and featuring fine illustrations or even […]

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Old Book Paper Bindings

March 19, 2013

It is not unusual for many collectors and researchers to come across old books retaining their original paper binding. Centuries ago, the books were sold by the printer or the publisher. The client, who had requested a title, purchased it directly from the workshop; the book was in booklets tied up together with a string. […]

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Virginia Woolf, a rare book icon

March 15, 2013

At the very forefront of nineteenth century writings on feminism and rebellion against societal norms for women was the writer and journalist, Virginia Woolf. Woolf lived during a time of strict and traditional standards for women and the roles which they were expected to play, yet through her writings she expressed an alternative and freeing […]

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