“All discarded lovers should be given a second chance, but with somebody else.” — Mae West
The celebrated Vaudevillian Mae West might have been talking about men she had known, but her advice is equally true for the books one has loved. The demands of shelf space, changing family needs, or a simple change in personal taste may all inspire us to part with books we once loved. Rare books are no different: our interests change, our areas of focus narrow or broaden, and ownership of certain volumes may come to be of less importance to us — usually because the need for funds to purchase a book of more interest or greater rarity becomes acute! Of course, that isn’t to say nobody else might want desperately to own our books!
This is the natural cycle of rare and collectible books. Collectors prune their collection as a gardener prunes her roses, bringing the volumes they can now live without to their local rare book dealer to find a new home, and purchasing other works that deepen and enhance their collection. (Of course, there are some collectors, as Kurt Zimmerman reminds us, who may “buy the lot next door and build a separate book house,” but most of us must occasionally rotate or thin our collections for practical purposes.
Thankfully, there is an easy way to monitor the ebb and flow of rare books through the network of dealers that make up the ABAA: peruse the rare book catalogs that dealers publish — some as often as weekly! An even easier method is to cultivate an intimate relationship with your local ABAA member, and have them call you whenever they find something you may be interested in. (Which is another of Kurt Zimmerman’s warning signs that you might be becoming a “serious book collector…”)
So, take the next step on your road as a book collector by browsing the latest catalogs from the members of the ABAA…
- Catalog 18 -- The American West
- Recent Acquisitions -- list only available to mailing list subscribers. Sign up here...
Boston Book Fair Catalog (.pdf download link)
Americana: Books, Periodicals, Maps & Views -- November, 2016
Catalog 57 -- Sustained Ambitions or, The Eccentricities of Endurance
- Jews in the Age of Fascism
- Espionage! Conspiracy! Subversion!
- Anti-Fascist Movements
- A Short List on Resistance to Sexual Assault and Harassment
- Early Printings of Ulysses
- Short List of Sets
- A Short List of Americana
- Poetry
- A Short List of Genealogical Titles
ANDREW CAHAN, BOOKSELLER, LTD.
- Drugs,Drinking, Smoking
- Don't Think of an Elephant
- Beat Literature
- E-List: (Mostly) Safe for Work - Sex & Sexuality
Short LIst: Tattooing, Art, Feminism...
- E-list No. 33 - Miscellany: Shaping the Victorian Woman -- Corsets & Bustles, Cookery, Radium Wells & of Course the Children
- E-list No. 32 - Miscellany: FreeThinkers, Hair Book, Women's Work & Of Course, the Children
THOMAS A. GOLDWASSER RARE BOOKS
- Travels & Voyages in English
- Printed Americana (Part 3)
- Bibliography, Fine Press books, Livre d'artiste, and related
- Gardening & Landscape Design
- Printed Americana (Part 2)
JONATHAN A. HILL, BOOKSELLER, INC.
- Charles C. Tandy Collection of Anesthesiology
- Catalog 219
- Unpublished Manuscript on the Industrialization of Prussia & Russia
- Continental Quartos
Catalogue 71: American Women Writers, Reformers and Achievers
Catalog 14 -- Artists' Books, Private Press, 19th Century Literature, Original Art, and more.
MICHAEL LAIRD RARE BOOK & MANUSCRIPTS
2017 Catalogue Announcement: Ninety-One items"brilliantly" described and "profusely" illustrated
Latest e-catalog available by request from jmlbooks@isomedia.com
- 30 Antiquarian Items: Mostly New Arrivals (Jan. 24)
- 30 Recent Antiquarian Acquisitions (Jan. 17)
- Catalog 85: Recently Acquired Books, Manuscripts & Ephemera
- 30 Antiquarian Items (Jan. 3).
DAVID M. LESSER, FINE ANTIQUARIAN BOOKS
- Catalogue 153, Rare Americana (December, 2016)
- Catalog 152, Rare Americana (September-October, 2016)
LIBER ANTIQUUS, EARLY PRINTED BOOKS & MANUSCRIPTS
- The Simple Order of Things
- The Japanese Warhol, early Women in Medicine, Rationalist Press, Color Theory, Debs and Socialism, Haitian Photography, etc.
- Art, Photography, & Design
- Religious Pamphlets (Part 3)...
- Catalog 168: Modern Literature
- E-list #129: Literature of War & Protest
- E-list #128: Auld Lang Signed
- E-list #127: Somewhat Seasonal
- E-list #126: The Aughts
J.& J. LUBRANO MUSIC ANTIQUARIANS
- THE COLLECTION OF DR. STEPHEN S. WALLACE: 19TH- AND EARLY 20TH-CENTURY OPERA
- AUTOGRAPH LETTERS OF COMPOSERS, SIGNED PHOTOGRAPHS, ETC. -- Part II: M-Z
- AUTOGRAPH LETTERS OF COMPOSERS, SIGNED PHOTOGRAPHS, ETC. -- Part I: A-L
- THE PAUL J. JACKSON OPERA COLLECTION -- Part VIII: T-Z
Catalog 56 -- Autumn 2016
BRUCE MCKITTRICK RARE BOOKS, INC.
E-catalog #10: 16th-19th-Century Books & Manuscripts
- Miami Map Fair Catalog
- SIXTY FIVE YEARS OF AMERICAN HOMES: House Plan Catalogs 1900-1965
- PRODUCTS FOR THE HOME: Manufacturers’ Catalogs 1900s - 1950s
December 2016: Western Americana -- by subscription only. Contact oldwestbooks@earthlink.net for details about obtaining a copy.
- Groups -- Items that contain collections
- 19 Manuscripts
- Gunshot -- wounds and associated books
- Calculation
R & A PETRILLA, ANTIQUARIAN BOOKSELLERS
- Omnium Gatherum I
- New Arrivlas 1/3/17
- New Arrivals
- List 12/13: New Arrivals
- List 11/29: New Arrivals
PHILADELPHIA RARE BOOKS & MANUSCRIPTS
- Mexico in the 19th Century
- English Politics
- The Rise of the Dutch Republic
- False Imprints/Clandestine Printing
- Almanacs
RICHARD C. RAMER, OLD & RARE BOOKS
- Recent Portuguese Publications: Bulletin 87
- Special List 257, Sixty-Four Books from the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries Not Located in Copac
- Special List 256, Twenty-Six Recent Acquisitions
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- Something for Everyone – A Christmas Related Miscellany of Americana
- Cuba
- Americana Bulletin 5: Natural History
- Boston Antiquarian Book Fair
B&L ROOTENBERG RARE BOOKS & MANUSCRIPTS
- INK LDN -- October 2016 -- a unique new international antiquarian book and art fair with an emphasis on luxury and quality.
- Rare Book Week - April 2016
- From the Library of Henry Roth
- Catalog #199D: Illustrated Books
- Catalog # 199C: Books & Autographs -- 299 Rare books and Autographs including some US Presidents, Charles Darwin and others
MARC SELVAGGIO, BOOKS & EPHEMERA
- Children's Books
- Catalogue 201, Part II -- 67 items: Children's, Antiquarian, Fine Press (including The Palace Press and Taller Martín Pescado) and, of course, Arthuriana.
- African-Americana
- Anti-Nuclear Arms Movement, a BalletArchive, The Living Theatre, African Americana, and more...
"Occasional List" -- please request a copy directly from jwrb@comcast.net...
Catalogue 4: Americana & Travel, Including Manuscripts, Photos, Ephemera
View last month's rare book catalogs...
ABAA members list new books every day. Browse this week's new listings...
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Remember, you can always browse and download the latest catalogs published by ABAA members on ABAA.org by visiting the following link: https://www.abaa.org/catalog/... (You can also access this page by selecting 'Booksellers' from the top menu, scroll to the bottom of the page to 'Member Catalogs', and click on 'View All'.)