Rare Books and Veblen Commodities

March 8, 2013
Thumbnail image for Rare Books and Veblen Commodities

Let’s assume for a moment that we are in the market for a first edition copy of Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald from 1934. We may be an American literature collector of modern first editions or a fan of Fitzgerald or even a beautiful art dust jacket collector. We want to purchase […]

Read the full article →

First edition less significant than the reprint?

March 5, 2013
Thumbnail image for First edition less significant than the reprint?

Can a first edition of a rare book be less significant than a later edition? Of course it can. What follows is   a good example of such an “anomaly.” Bibliophiles of illustrated books often argue that the art contained in illustrated books is not being viewed as comparable in appeal to wall art. They call […]

Read the full article →

The “Anonymous” trade of the sixteen “Alcoholics”

March 1, 2013
Thumbnail image for The “Anonymous” trade of the sixteen “Alcoholics”

On September 1, 1939 4:45am Central European Time, the German battleship Schleswig-Holstein leaves Danzig harbor to cross the channel to the Polish army fortress Westerplatte while German Wehrmacht begin crossing the border into Poland. It is the beginning of World War II. At the same time across the Atlantic in the United States, two partners […]

Read the full article →

Educational Books on Books

February 26, 2013
Thumbnail image for Educational Books on Books

In last year’s posting titled – “Collectible Books on Books,” a list containing some of the most collectible books themed after the practice of book collecting was published. It was put together by contributing book dealers specializing in the genre.  Included in the list were primers on bibliomania such as “A Gentle Madness” by Nicholas […]

Read the full article →

Someone to die for, at least once.

February 22, 2013
Thumbnail image for Someone to die for, at least once.

Deaths are never a pleasant event in one’s life. That is, of course, with the exception of deaths drawn in comic books. Although fans usually have a hard time accepting the death of a favorite, popular character, chances are that he or she eventually gets resurrected. Keeping an eye on deaths may also contribute to […]

Read the full article →

Rare books in the Year of the Snake

February 19, 2013
Thumbnail image for Rare books in the Year of the Snake

At the beginning of last year in the midst of a slew of exciting exhibits and predictions made by institutions about the literary explosion that was expected to take place in China, we wrote an article titled “2012 – The Year of China.”   We appropriately concluded that “only time will tell whether 2012 turns out […]

Read the full article →

Man Ray and a missed opportunity

February 15, 2013
Thumbnail image for Man Ray and a missed opportunity

Here is a piece of advice to all the collectors out there – next time you come across an opportunity, grab it. I am, of course, referring to the opportunity to make a purchase of a desirable rare book if and when that unexpected chance arrives. Last November at the Fine Books & Manuscripts Skinner […]

Read the full article →

All for love, in Tasha Tudor rare books

February 12, 2013
Thumbnail image for All for love, in Tasha Tudor rare books

This article first appeared on RareBooksDigest February 6, 2012. As hearts and thoughts turn towards the one wondrous day of every year where individuals of all walks in life pause to ponder and reflect on the love which they are fortunate enough to feel for an individual of their acquaintance, it should come as no […]

Read the full article →

An underperformer with historical importance

February 8, 2013
Thumbnail image for An underperformer with historical importance

No one who reads romances would find it difficult to imagine a society differing beyond recognition from our current arrangement. They could easily imagine a society, for example, that values clarity as an essential quality in great art, and views imagination as irrational. Or a society that has no familiarity of classical Gotham and no […]

Read the full article →

Thank You!

February 5, 2013
Thumbnail image for Thank You!

Much of what we do here at Rarebooksdigest.com is discovering rare books, and the stories that accompany them. These stories can pertain to the written pages, the outside covers of the books, or even to the people who cherished them.   For much else, however, we are in debt to our superior scholars and booksellers, whose […]

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries

Next Entries →