Member Blogs > Tavistock Books

• Some Top Literary Blogs for Bibliophiles and Antiquarian Maniacs (Like Us)

  Tue, 01 Aug 2017 10:41:20 Permalink
  As a literary blogger myself, I like to follow quite a few blogs online that are written by like-minded individuals. The internet is a wonderful thing, is it not? Perhaps we can see both the good and the bad when it comes to online reading. You can find all the research in the world, but […] Read More

• The Swedish Nightingale

  Wed, 19 Jul 2017 11:02:28 Permalink
  By Margueritte Peterson While working directly under Master and Commander Vic Zoschak at Tavistock Books, one name continuously caught my eye. Any time a piece came across our desks with this name mentioned, my eyes zeroed in on it. I couldn’t tell you if it was because I have a musical background or if I […] Read More

• Tavistock Books Reaches a Landmark Anniversary!

  Wed, 12 Jul 2017 06:07:04 Permalink
  This Saturday will mark a triumphant year in the history of Tavistock Books. It will be our 20th Anniversary of opening our doors at 1503 Webster Street in Alameda, California. We took a little time to sit down with the man that started it all, one Vic Zoschak Jr., to see how the years have […] Read More

• We Have the New Americana

  Tue, 04 Jul 2017 12:25:52 Permalink
  Happy 4th of July! In honor of our great nation’s Independence Day, we thought we would share with our loyal followers some of our newest and/or most notable Americana items. What better time of year to round out your collection? And don’t forget to check in next week for the 20th Anniversary of our shop! […] Read More

• Archival Cataloguing for Booksellers, Part III: Intellectual Content and Research Methods

  Wed, 28 Jun 2017 10:03:29 Permalink
  By Kate Mitas Before diving into the subject at hand, a brief, belated caveat: Throughout this blog series, I have so far used “archive” to mean something at least vaguely equivalent to the Society of American Archivist’s definition: “[m]aterials created or received by a person, family, or organization, public or private, in the conduct of […] Read More

• "I won't be any Properer than I have a mind to be." The Life and Times of Female Champion Harriet Beecher Stowe

  Wed, 14 Jun 2017 10:04:40 Permalink
  “It’s a matter of taking the side of the weak against the strong, something the best people have always done.” Some people seem born destined for greatness, rather than mediocrity. The Beecher family was absolutely full of those with steadfast beliefs and causes – people born to preach from pulpits and lead movements. Harriet Elizabeth […] Read More

• Archival Cataloguing for Booksellers, Part II

  Wed, 07 Jun 2017 07:10:21 Permalink
  By Kate Mitas Getting to Know Your Archive Now that you know your archive is about, say, Alaskan beauty pageant contestants or Italian motor scooters (to use two of Lorne Bair’s examples from the last blog in this series), it’s time to write up a snazzy description and send the archive out into the world, […] Read More

• Archival Cataloguing for Booksellers: Notes Toward a Guide

  Thu, 25 May 2017 05:54:10 Permalink
  By Kate Mitas archive n. ~1. Materials created or received by a person, family, or organization, public or private, in the conduct of their affairs and preserved because of the enduring value contained in the information they contain or as evidence of the functions and responsibilities of their creator, especially those materials maintained using the […] Read More

• Where the Sidewalk Ended – Shel Silverstein: Poet, Comic, Musician and All Around Totally Awesome Guy

  Thu, 11 May 2017 10:38:57 Permalink
  “Although I cannot see your faceAs you flip these poems awhile,Somewhere from some far-off placeI hear you laughing—and I smile.” Yesterday in 1999, the United States lost a fantastic poet, cartoonist, writer and amazing person – one who influenced hundreds of thousands of lives with his humorous poems and eccentric cartoons. However, we aren’t here to […] Read More

• OTD in 1830 – the First Passenger Steam Train Begins a Rigorous Schedule!

  Wed, 03 May 2017 10:24:02 Permalink
  On this day, May 3rd, in 1830, the first steam train regular passenger service began! Though trains had been in use in the early 1800s, they had not been used for the transportation of people – only the transportation of goods! The incredible discovery that these trains could be used as a way to deliver people […] Read More

• Announce: UNCOMMON SURVIVORS, A Catalogue

  Wed, 26 Apr 2017 10:21:05 Permalink
  We are pleased to announce that our latest (and greatest) catalogue has hit online shelves everywhere! Don’t miss out on a chance to view and purchase these uncommon and surprising items, beautifully laid out by our very own Kate Mitas! Check it out here> Read More

• What We Found in a California Gold Mine! I Mean, Book Fair. California Book Fair.

  Wed, 12 Apr 2017 09:08:14 Permalink
  So, it’s been a couple weeks since the Sacramento Antiquarian Book Fair and over a month since California’s Pasadena Book, Print and Paper Fair and the California ABAA Fair! What that means in layman’s terms is that it has given us just enough time to catalogue some of the highlights found at these fairs and […] Read More

• OTD in 1926 : H.L. Mencken Gets Arrested in Boston for Selling a Banned Copy of The American Mercury!

  Wed, 05 Apr 2017 09:27:12 Permalink
  On this day in 1926, the Jazz Age was in full swing in the United States. Censorship was not an uncommon or unlawful idea at the time, and many Americans were being held to strict moral codes (like that of the prohibition) that they didn’t necessarily believe in. This was the case all over the […] Read More

• The Northern California Chapter Quarterly Meeting

  Fri, 24 Mar 2017 08:09:15 Permalink
  This past Tuesday the 21st of March saw the members of the Northern California Chapter of the ABAA at their Quarterly meeting, this time held in Walnut Creek at the elegant Massimo Ristorante restaurant. Tavistock Books had three in attendance, Commander Vic Zoschak, trusty Aide-de-Camp Kate Mitas, and myself! There were 20+ members and guests in […] Read More

• Beware the Ides of March Today, Folks… But What on Earth are the "Ides of March"?

  Wed, 15 Mar 2017 10:50:24 Permalink
  Have you ever heard anyone say “Beware the Ides of March”? I have known this phrase my whole life, and even known that it speaks of March 15th. However, I have never truly known the whole story behind the Ides or why it was something akin to a Friday the 13th – a date to […] Read More

• "If people did not want their stories told, it would be better for them to keep away from me." The Life of Sherwood Anderson

  Thu, 09 Mar 2017 12:01:15 Permalink
  As embarrassing as this is to admit, I was first introduced to this great American author through a guilty-pleasure-teenage-girl-TV-show (that shall NOT be named) and began to research him after hearing his works mentioned several times. What I originally thought might turn into a Stephanie Meyer situation (author of Twilight… It was a teenage girl show, after […] Read More

• Some New Treasures at Tavistock

  Tue, 28 Feb 2017 08:53:57 Permalink
  It’s finally the after-California-craziness time of year (though the Sacramento fair IS coming up again in March…) and boy did we find some neat new items while exhibiting at the Pasadena and Bay Area Fairs! We always like to feature a few new, great (in our humble opinion) things after we get a large amount […] Read More

• Fair-ly Blue in the Face… That's a Wrap, Everybody!

  Thu, 16 Feb 2017 12:30:49 Permalink
  By Margueritte Peterson Well, another year has come and passed us by. Another Book Fair has come and gone. I would venture to say not just any book fair, of course, but the ABAA’s 50th California International Antiquarian Book Fair, to be precise. Despite no longer being an antiquarian bookseller personally, I still attend the California ABAA fairs […] Read More

• "The Art of Losing": Honoring Poet Elizabeth Bishop

  Wed, 08 Feb 2017 11:47:41 Permalink
  So begins my favorite poem. I was never much of a poetry buff – having to read out badly handwritten poems in the 5th grade and then being the last one in the class to be chosen to be published in a strange Florida Kids Poetry Book pretty much nipped any dreams I might have […] Read More

• Celebrating Children's Authors and Illustrators Week… with an Antiquarian Spin

  Wed, 01 Feb 2017 11:02:12 Permalink
  February 1st marks the beginning of Children’s Authors and Illustrators Week! Now, we’ve written several blogs on some of our favorite children’s book authors, but what we haven’t done in a while is take a look at some of our most popular antiquarian children’s literature items! We thought we’d take a little tour through some […] Read More

• Mastering Modernist Literature… A Guide by Virginia Woolf on Her Birthday

  Wed, 25 Jan 2017 07:23:50 Permalink
  There have been many authors over the past century that have been considered forerunners in the art of the Modern Novel. As a matter of fact, we have written about quite a few of them in the past. Some tell-tale signs of modernist literature are a few literary techniques like a stream-of-consciousness voice or interior […] Read More

• Who's Afraid of… What Happened to Amelia Earhart?

  Tue, 10 Jan 2017 08:12:42 Permalink
  Most of our blogs are about books, bookish things, about author holidays or birthdays, about book fairs and bibliophilia. However, sometimes we like to report on important or significant historical events. Often, those close to our heart (or our homes). So tomorrow, on the 82nd anniversary of her first completed solo flight from Honolulu to Oakland […] Read More

• Get Ready for Spring Book Fair Season!

  Wed, 04 Jan 2017 12:00:20 Permalink
  Happy New Year! For us California folk, the New Year means one main thing… the beginning of the California Antiquarian Book Fairs! There are quite a few to check out, if you’re so inclined, starting at the end of January and spreading through to mid-February! Though we are partial to our California fairs (probably because […] Read More

• "I delight in what I fear": Happy Birthday to the Mistress of Terror, Miss Shirley Jackson

  Wed, 14 Dec 2016 11:40:23 Permalink
  For those of you unfamiliar with Jackson’s work, consider yourself warned of potential SPOILERS right now and exit out of this page. Preferably to pick up one of her books and see for yourself. I still remember the first Shirley Jackson piece I ever read. Like most American high school teenagers, it was one of […] Read More

• "A Date Which Will Live in Infamy…" Today we Remember the United States' Entrance into WWII

  Wed, 07 Dec 2016 06:14:46 Permalink
  Bookstores and businesses in the antiquarian book world are numerous enough that no matter what you are looking for, you can be sure to find it somewhere. On sites like Biblio.com and abaa.org, you can search for booksellers based on what genre of books you are looking for. One genre we would like to salute on […] Read More

• The Latest and Greatest from Tavistock Books

  Tue, 29 Nov 2016 05:50:29 Permalink
  The fall book fair season has slowed to a crawl, but the elves at Tavistock Books have been working overtime, cataloguing away! Presented here are a few notable new items at Tavistock Books, ones found at recent fairs such as Sacramento and Boston – and carefully picked out by Vic & Kate (you know, the Tavistock elves) […] Read More

• Welcome Home, My Lovelies

  Wed, 16 Nov 2016 06:26:37 Permalink
  Taylor Bowie doesn’t look like much of a tough guy. He’s short and thin, with a wispy goatee and wire glasses, and he wears a baseball hat and sneakers for almost all occasions. He loves books and food and cats, not necessarily in that order, and he’s been in the book trade so long even […] Read More

• "We sit in the mud… and reach for the stars": A Tribute to Ivan Turgenev

  Wed, 09 Nov 2016 11:58:31 Permalink
  Recently I sat down and made a list of some authors and book-related events that I wished I knew more about. Too often we can find ourselves leaning towards what we already know – authors we are comfortable with and like. So to avoid stagnancy, we are going to do a couple blogs on things […] Read More

• Boston or Bust! One Bay-Area Bookseller's Look at the Boston Antiquarian Book Fair (Said Bookseller Being our Very Own Vic Zoschak)

  Wed, 02 Nov 2016 10:51:41 Permalink
  If it’s the second weekend in November, I must be in Boston.  Wait, I was in Boston last week, late October…?  Yes, this year, due to a date conflict at the Hynes, the Boston fairs were right in the middle of the 2016 World Series.  Can you imagine the craziness in town if the Sox […] Read More

• A Birthday Cheers to Pablo Picasso, Father of Cubism

  Wed, 26 Oct 2016 10:40:37 Permalink
  Ask ten people near you right now who the most famous artist of all time is. I guarantee you (in the way where I can’t really pay up if I’m wrong) that at least half will name Pablo Picasso as the first artist who comes to mind. Picasso, a Spanish painter, sculptor, designer, poet and […] Read More