I would like to take a moment to talk about antiquarian book fairs: what they are; who attends them; where they have been and where they are going; why they are important; and how I as a bookseller fit into all this. My hope is that this will provide a touchstone for various groups: those who are unfamiliar with book fairs should be able to read this, understand their purpose, and decide whether they are interested in visiting one; those who have shopped at book fairs before

As told by Blake to Colleen Barrett, Cataloguer Blake joined the staff of the Philadelphia Rare Books & Manuscripts Company (PRB&M), an antiquarian bookstore in northeast Philly, in late 2011. This loveable tabby cat had big paws to fill as her predecessor Sessa had many admirers, his own email address, and even his own division of the business: “SessaBks,” which continues to offer good used, “medium rare,” and simply serendipitous stock complementing our core early books of

Matthew Eck is the 2007 runner-up for the Barnes and Noble Discover Award for his first novel, The Farther Shore (ISBN 1571310576), released through Milkweed Editions publishing group. The Farther Shore is a gripping, haunting short novel about the effects of war set in the troubled nation of Somalia. The novel was universally well received, with comparisons to other accomplished novelists such as Hemingway and Tim O’Brien—very distinguished company indeed. In The Farther Sho

by Jim Rock, Parnassus on the Net Artist’s rendering of the Ark of the Covenant Early portable case for your basic binding-contract in book or scroll form.1 Owners, authors, couriers, and caretakers have endeavored to encase documents containing the written word in protective and decorative cases almost since the advent of writing itself. In the period since the invention of the movable metal type printing press in the 15th century and even earlier in post Roman Empire Europe

Bibliography is the study of books as material objects. One father of modern bibliography, Sir Walter Greg, referred to it further as “the science of transmission of literary documents. As booksellers, bibliography takes on other aspects, including the description of condition. Bibliographies, or, more properly, books which are bibliographical, fall into five general categories: i) enumerative the simple list. Included are checklists by author, geographical region, publisher,