#Grolier Publishing

[uwmspeccoll]

French Fairy Treasures

Around the World Treasures: Famous French Fairy Tales by the father of the French fairy tale Charles Perrault (1628-1703) and collected and adapted from the original Perrault by David Stone, was published in New York by Frankin Watts Inc., a division of Grolier, in 1959. The book includes The Picture Story of Perrault's Famous French Fairy Tales, illustrated by British artist and teacher Charles Mozley (1914-1991), a book illustrator and designer of posters, book covers, and print. Along with these striking color drawings are black-and-white illustrations depicting key moments within each story. Noel Streatfeild (1895-1986), an English children's book author, provides an introduction to the book. In it, she details the essential moments in Perrault's life that led him to write these stories. According to Streatfeild, before Perrault's Contes, nobody had ever read a fairy tale! Before that, these stories were passed down and enjoyed through oral tradition.

Perrault played a significant role in the literary controversy called the "Quarrel of the Ancients and the Moderns." At 23, he became a lawyer, following in his father's footsteps, before embarking on a political career, which led him into the court of the Sun King, Louis XIV of France. Spending time in his court is where Perrault garnered inspiration to write his stories. His simple, unaffected style breathed new life into half-forgotten folk tales. Interestingly, some of his versions influenced the German tales collected by the Brothers Grimm more than a century later.

So, whether you find yourself wondering in the woods like Little Red Riding Hood or dreaming of glass slippers like Cinderella, Perrault's timeless tales remain a delightful part of our childhood imagination, capturing the magic and wonder of storytelling for generations to come!

-Melissa, Special Collections Graduate Intern

-View more posts from our Historical Curriculum Collection

[retrocgads]

USA 1993

[garadinervi]

After Words: Visual and Experimental Poetry in Little Magazines and Small Presses, 1960-2025, (catalogue and exhibition), Curated by Steve Clay and M. C. Kinniburgh of Granary Press, The Grolier Club, New York, NY, April 23 – July 26, 2025

«The exhibition presents a wide range of international works with approximately 150 publications, including Assembling, Kontexts, Poor.Old.Tired.Horse., blewointment, Rhinozeros, The Marrahwanna Quarterly, Granary Books, Something Else Press, Edition Hansjörg Mayer, Ou, and Stereo Headphones. Poets presented include Cecilia Vicuña, bpNichol, Johanna Drucker, Tom Phillips, Emily McVarish, d.a. levy, Mirtha Dermisache, and Philip Gallo among many others. An accompanying catalog will be published by Granary Books.»

Original Art: Robert Lax, Journeyman 12, Drawings and design by Emil Antonucci, Journeyman Press, New York, NY, 1975 [Produced as part of the artist-in-residence program at Artpark, Lewiston, NY]

[gardenvarietygay]

A moment of context and hope for all my nervous conservation-minded friends.

I was looking through a Book of Knowledge, published in 1926, and found this passage which I thought was rather important:

"The present scarcity of all five of these most beautiful of water birds [American flamingo, roseate spoonbill, white egret, snowy egret, and glossy ibis] is owing to their having been killed, ruthlessly and incessantly until recent years, for the sake of their exquisite plumage. That any remain is to the credit of the National Association of Audubon Societies. This organization not only has obtained protective laws from state legislatures, but has paid for guarding the birds while rearing their young."

And another on the next page:

"The British colonists in New England imported [domestic turkeys originally from Mexico] with their chickens and cows; and in this roundabout way our barnyard turkeys got back to their native soil, very little changed from their wild brethren, which are now rare except in thinly settled parts of the United States and Mexico. Another bird that formerly was to be seen in the central part of the country in enormous numbers every summer was the Wild, or Passenger, Pigeon. It is now extinct. Its story is so well known that it need not be repeated here."

None of the five water birds in the first passage are considered at risk today. All have either breeding or non-breeding resident populations in the US* and are relatively common.

Less than 100 years ago these authors were grouping the fate of these water birds and wild turkeys with passenger pigeons. The last passenger pigeon died in captivity in 1914. The Migratory Bird Treaty Act was passed in 1918, eight years prior to the writing of this book. The authors had no idea that it would be considered landmark conservation legislation that would save hundreds of species and be the cornerstone of conservation law in the US. For them, it seemed entirely appropriate to warn children that they might never see a wild turkey and that most game birds and shore birds were as good as gone. Today wild turkeys are common throughout the US and snowy egrets aren’t even ICUN listed.

Conservation work is slow but worthwhile. I sure as heck hope that in 100 years someone finds a piece I’ve written eulogizing rare plants and laughs at me for worrying about species they see everywhere.

Mee, A. (Ed.). (1926). The Birds of North America. In The Book of Knowledge (4th ed., Vol. XIV, pp. 5018–5020). London: The Grolier Society, Limited.

*The American flamingo is a slightly odd case. We know that it was always relatively rare in the present-day US, even prior to colonization, but that there was a breeding population in south Florida. Now it is relatively common along the East coast but there isn't a breeding population in Florida, at least not confirmed.

[o-uncle-newt]

Dorothy L Sayers books at the Grolier Club

On my lunch break, I wandered over to the Grolier Club, an institution of and for books and bibliophiles conveniently located about 300 yards from my office lobby. I was intrigued by their current exhibition (closing in a week or so): Imaginary Books: Lost, Unfinished, and Fictive Works Found Only in Other Books. While I found the concept interesting in itself (a guy working with a team of craftspeople created physical editions of books that currently do not exist), the thing that really drew me was the fact that there was a fuckton of Sayers in there.

In fact, as noted on the case's label, while Sayers is not the only writer with more than one book in the exhibit, she is the only one with more than 2-3 and certainly the only one with a full display case of her own.

All books exhibited assume, in the context of the label, that the book exists. So let's take a look at these totally real books and the backstories they're given and see what we think!* (The alt text contains the label text.)

*Well, what I think, fueled partly by the vague few memories I have from the History of the Book class I took in college... but please let me know what you think as well in comments/reblogs!

First up- two books by our own Lord Peter, both mentioned in Clouds of Witness according to the labels- which as far as I can tell is only kind of true. They're not mentioned in the story text, but in the front matter- the fake Debrett's entry (though The Murderer's Vade-Mecum IS mentioned in-text in Unnatural Death!). As such, we don't actually know anything about their contents or contexts. The incunabula book makes a lot of sense, but I must admit- unless it is based on a Sayers text that has escaped me, I find the description of The Murderer's Vade-Mecum to be a bit much as a descriptive leap.

Another minor quibble- it's unclear, was The Murderer's Vade-Mecum printed for public purchase? It says that it's privately printed like the incunabula book, but implies enough of a circulation that murderers might own it. If it was printed for purchase then you can ignore this next bit, BUT- I'm surprised that Wimsey, as a collector of incunabula, doesn't have his own bookbinder who binds his books in a house style. I'd have expected his privately printed books to look coordinated, if not identical exactly, to allow for harmonious shelf displays.

It's History of Prosody, and it looks exactly as big, scary, and toe-breaking as I expected it to, especially with what I assume are a whole second book's worth of footnotes! Nice job.

The Death in the Pot slipcover looks great... but I'm confused by a few things here. Why is the publication date 1922, when (as mentioned on the label) Death in the Pot was published after the events of Strong Poison, which were in 1930? And where does "MG" come from as the name of her publisher- is it referred to somewhere?

I can't decide what I think about the poison cover. Would Lord Saint-George find this funny if he encountered it? Yeah, sure. Would he have the imagination to dream it up? I don't think so.

Another great looking cover and baffling description. Once again, date is weird (publication date would be 1936, most likely, given that they got married in October and during their engagement Harriet was still writing/doing research). Also, the description of Wilfred is a bit odd but I guess can be congruent with the book rendition... but he's not the detective! Where's good ol' Robert Templeton the untidy dresser?

But I do want to emphasize again, excellent cover. No notes.

Book looks good (though I'd have hoped more for a fancy presentation copy bound by Peter as a gift for Harriet or something), though one thing it gets wrong that the label gets right is that no way would it be titled "Harriet Vane Wimsey." It would be Harriet Vane, Lady Peter Wimsey, or both. The date discrepancy is odd- we know Harriet didn't complete her Le Fanu study during the events of Gaudy Night, and she of course left in a bit of a hurry, so the 40s makes sense, but between the two dates I'd assume the right one is 1947- much more likely that she'd have managed to finish it when the war was over and the kids were older.

This looks awesome, though the font/printing is maybe a bit more modern-looking than I expected (but I'm not super knowledgeable). Tiny quibble- it would be Cantab., not Camb. (just as with Harriet's Le Fanu book it said Oxon.). Such an early date as 1901 is slightly surprising, but I suppose there's no real reason why not...? Separately, interesting that they placed the book be at Duke's Denver- Wimsey doesn't live there! Maybe because that's where he used to take part in change-ringing as a kid?

All in all, a great exhibit (and it had a bunch of other fun books as well, like On the Care of the Pig from PG Wodehouse's Blandings Castle stories and a deep-black copy of Memories by DEATH of the Discworld). I think that the worldbuilding around the Sayers books in the labels could possibly have been a bit tighter but quite frankly, merely doing this, and to the high standard that they did when creating the books, and specifically highlighting the vividness of Sayers's world and the worlds within it that she creates (in choosing to specifically spotlight multiple books from Sayers's oeuvre), is already more than we (or at least I) deserve.

Final day of the exhibit is next Saturday- if you're in the NY area, highly recommend!

[mariacallous]

Partial list of the books that Helene Hanff ordered from Marks & Co. and mentioned in 84, Charing Cross Road (alphabetical order):

Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice, (1813)

Arkwright, Francis trans. Memoirs of the Duc de Saint-Simon

Belloc, Hillaire. Essays.

Catullus – Loeb Classics

Chaucer, Geoffrey The Canterbury Tales translated by Hill, published by Longmans 1934)

Delafield, E. M., Diary of a Provincial Lady

Dobson, Austen ed. The Sir Roger De Coverley Papers

Donne, John Sermons

Elizabethan Poetry

Grahame, Kenneth, The Wind in the Willows

Greek New Testament

Grolier Bible

Hazlitt, William. Selected Essays Of William Hazlitt 1778 To 1830, Nonesuch Press edition.

Horace – Loeb Classics

Hunt, Leigh. Essays.

Johnson, Samuel, On Shakespeare, 1908, Intro by Walter Raleigh

Jonson, Ben. Timber

Lamb, Charles. Essays of Elia, (1823).

Landor, Walter Savage. Vol II of The Works and Life of Walter Savage Landor (1876) – Imaginary Conversations

Latin Anglican New Testament

Latin Vulgate Bible / Latin Vulgate New Testament

Latin Vulgate Dictionary

Leonard, R. M. ed. The Book-Lover's Anthology, (1911)

Newman, John Henry. Discourses on the Scope and Nature of University Education. Addressed to the Catholics of Dublin – "The Idea of a University" (1852 and 1858)

Pepys, Samuel. Pepys Diary – 4 Volume Braybrook ed. (1926, revised ed.)

Plato's Four Socratic Dialogues, 1903

Quiller-Couch, Arthur, The Oxford Book Of English Verse

Quiller-Couch, Arthur, The Pilgrim's Way

Quiller-Couch, Arthur, Oxford Book of English Prose

Sappho – Loeb Classics

St. John, Christopher Ed. Ellen Terry and Bernard Shaw : A Correspondence / The Shaw – Terry Letters : A Romantic Correspondence

Sterne, Laurence, The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, (1759)

Stevenson, Robert Louis. Virginibus Puerisque

de Tocqueville, Alexis Journey to America (1831–1832)

Wyatt, Thomas. Poems of Thomas Wyatt

Walton, Izaak and Charles Cotton. The Compleat Angler. (John Major's 2nd ed., 1824)

Walton, Izaak. The Lives of – John Donne – Sir Henry Wotton – Richard Hooker – George Herbert & Robert Sanderson

Woolf, Virginia, The Common Reader, 1932.

[librarytiem]

Evaluation of a Resource

Amazing Animals of the World is a set of encyclopedia with entries about a wide variety of animals. It was published in 1995. It comes in 24 slim volumes. Each volume has one-page entries for animals in alphabetical order, with photos, maps, basic facts, and writing about behaviours, lifestyles, and habitats. There are about 1000 entries total. The final volume also includes a glossary of terms and an index of all the animals listed. It’s in the reference section of my school’s library, so there isn’t circulation data on it.

My first impression of the series was that there is no way it could compete in breadth with the internet. But I considered the specific species of animals that students in my class have picked for their current genius hour projects, some of which are quite obscure (such as an axolotl or a proboscis monkey), and from that list there were only two animals I couldn’t find entries on: dogs, because the encyclopedia doesn’t include any domesticated animals; and narwhals. So maybe 1000 entries is enough for the purposes of most of this resource’s audience. The organization of the entries is also about as well done as a print collection could be. The entries themselves are in alphabetical order by the full name listed (so “plains zebra” is under P, not Z), but the index has double listings with and without adjectives, and also sorted by family. Any student who knows how to use an index should be able to find what they’re looking for, if indeed there is an entry for it. The age of the resource is also not a huge concern. Achieving Information Literacy recommends a shelf-life of ten years for the average book, and the CREW method (see: The Collection Program in Schools), which gets more granular by subject, also recommends a shelf-life of ten years for natural history books. For the level of depth the entries get into, though, not much can have changed for most of these species in the past 30 years. They are likely to still be factual, and this resource would have been a big investment when it was purchased. It deserves some leeway.

The main shortcoming of this resource that I can see, then, is the brevity of each entry. One page of information, even one page that is written at the right reading level, presented in a consistent, easy to understand format, with reasonably current information, is not enough to spin a whole research project out of. This resource cannot replace the internet, and would not serve intermediate students for much more than casual browsing. Perhaps its biggest asset would be for primary students. Despite being written at a more intermediate level, it is definitely easier to read for primary students than Wikipedia could ever be.

Let’s test it against some criteria. These are obviously based on Riedling and Houston.

Accuracy/Authority: Published by Grolier. Seems legit. Also it’s in the library so at some point it was vetted by a professional. Currency: 20 years behind CREW. Willing to give it leeway for the sake of merit. Format: Relatively easy to navigate. Indexing: As good as print will allow (entries are triple indexed by noun, adjective, and animal family). Objectivity: No biases evident on casual inspection, or rather, biases seem in line with the same biases students might have in terms of which animals interest them. Scope: Age appropriate, intermediate reading level, 1000 entires. Curricular fit: K (animal basic needs, adaptations), 1 (animal classifications), 2 (metamorphosis), 3 and 4 (biomes), All (inquiry— animals are a popular topic).

A New Resource

Even if it’s not time to weed out Amazing Animals of the World, the age of the series that I’m willing to give it leeway on will only grow with time, so a supplementary resource, at least, seems appropriate. Finding a resource that can replace (or supplement) this series is a challenge. Our library already has the online resources National Geographic Kids and Worldbook Kids. Online resources like these are best suited to the task of providing age-appropriate information on a wide range of searchable topics. Both resources seem to have a similar level of breadth and depth to Amazing Animals. So what we don’t have, then, is a resource that can fulfill Amazing Animals’ other assets, its browsability and its visual appeal to younger students.

Arcturus publishes a series of animal resources that might fit that bill.

Children’s Encyclopedia of Animals (by Dr. Michael Leach and Dr. Meriel Land) ISBN: 1788285069 Children’s Encyclopedia of Ocean Life (by Claudia Martin) ISBN: 1789506018 Children’s Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs (by Clare Hibbert) ISBN: 1784284661 Children’s Encyclopedia of Birds (by Claudia Martin) ISBN: 178950600X

Focused Ed, CM Magazine, and Quill and Quire don’t have reviews on any of these books. Goodreads has little, and the reviews that Amazon has are positive, but written by parents rather than educators. Nevertheless, from what I can see of the books, they look appealing. Collected together these books won’t have as many entries as Amazing Animals. But what they lack in breadth they make up for in visual appeal and in currency. Amazing Animals does have some entries on extinct animals, and that is one area where the 20 years of additional research between its publication and Children’s Encyclopedia is likely to make a significant difference. According to the Arcturus catalogue, they have two additional encyclopedias to be released this year: Children’s Encyclopedia of Biology, and Children’s Encyclopedia of Prehistoric Life. They also have other books in the series that are not about animals. On Amazon each title is listed for $20, and in the Arcturus catalogue they’re each listed for 10 pounds (about $17 CDN).

To put this series up against the same criteria, then:

Accuracy/Authority: Published by Arcturus. The collection in their current catalogue looks professional. Currency: Publishing dates between 2017 and 2020. Well within CREW standards. Format/Indexing: Unknown. Well-designed interior pages, though. Objectivity: Unknown, but no obvious problems evident. Scope: Age appropriate, intermediate reading level, 128 pages per book, maybe 250 entries total in the set of 4. Curricular fit: K (animal basic needs, adaptations), 1 (animal classifications), 2 (metamorphosis), 3 and 4 (biomes), All (inquiry— animals are a popular topic).

So while I don’t recommend weeding Amazing Animals out of the collection yet, I do recommend adding a set of Children’s Encyclopedia to the reference section in anticipation of the former eventually needing to be removed.

Sources:

Amazon.com Inc. (2024) Amazon. http://www.amazon.ca

Arcturus Publishing. Arcturus Children’s Catalogue. (Spring 2024). https://arcturus.egnyte.com/dl/usGr7upzWQ

Asselin, M., Branch, J.L., Berg, D. (2006) Achieving Information Literacy: Standards for School Library Programs in Canada. Canadian Association for School Libraries.

Gale. Nat Geo Kids. https://go-gale-com.bc.idm.oclc.org/ps

Grolier Inc. (1995) Amazing Animals of the World. Grolier Educational Corporation.

Mardis, Marcia A. (2021) The Collection Program in Schools: Concepts and Practices (Seventh Edition). Libraries Unlimited.

Province of British Columbia. (2023). BC’s Curriculum. https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/

Riedling, Ann Marlow; and Houston, Cynthia. (2019) Reference Skills for the School Librarian: Tools and Tips (Fourth Edition). Libraries Unlimited.

World Book Inc. (2024) World Book Kids. https://www-worldbookonline-com.bc.idm.oclc.org/kids/home

[karenlacorte]

Check out this listing I just added to my Poshmark closet: ❤️ Green Eggs And Ham.

[sonowyouknow]

Day 25 of 25 days of Czech Christmas cards! Veselé Vánoce!

This panoramic story-telling nativity was designed and signed by Vojtěch Kubašta, a famous Czech architect who became known for his iconic pop-up illustrations and 3D nativity sets, his pop-up fairytale book illustrations became massively popular all around the world.

[uwmspeccoll]

Typography Tuesday

More De Vinne Initials

This week we present a few more initials from Types of the De Vinne Press, published in New York by the De Vinne Press in 1907. The press was founded in 1883 by Theodore Low De Vinne (1828-1914), a co-founder of the prestigious Grolier Club and one of the leading commercial printers of his day, whose enterprise had a profound influence on American printing and typography.

De Vinne defines the initial as:

A large or ornamented letter at the beginning of a chapter or paragraph, as high as many lines of the text type by its side, and lining neatly with its first and last lines . . . .

He further states that "A proper initial at the beginning of a first paragraph always gives attractiveness to the composition. It is the feature that first catches the eye." These initials certainly do.

View more posts from Types of the De Vinne Press.

View more posts with initials.

View more Typography Tuesday posts.

[retrocgads]

USA 1993

[the-paintrist]

Alfred Choubrac (30 December 1853 – 25 July 1902) was a French painter, illustrator, draughtsman, poster artist and costume designer. Together with Jules Chéret he is considered to be one of the pioneers of the modern coloured and illustrated poster of the Belle Époque in France, in particular in Paris.

The 1880s and 1890s were an intermediary period in the development of the poster in which its primary political function shifted to a primarily promotional one as advertising in the emerging consumer economy, often, if not primarily, through the commoditisation of female sexuality. In April 1891, under orders from the Minister of the Interior, the prefect of Paris, Henri-Auguste Lozé, seized and destroyed hundreds of posters considered to be a violation of public decency. Many artists and their printers were charged. Several of Choubrac's posters were prohibited and he was brought to court along with the printers.

One of the censored posters advertised the performance of the dancer Ilka de Mynn at the Folies Bergère, who was depicted in a maillot (body stocking), which, according to the court that charged Choubrac was a cause for concern because the model appeared to be nude. Another poster was an advertisement for the French magazine Fin de Siècle, which showed a scarcely dressed female dancer. In an interview with La Presse, Choubrac said he was astonished by the upheaval, claiming that "nudity is exposed everywhere and in much more provocative ways; and I frankly confess that I do not see where the evil was, I sought to make a work of art and nothing more."

In later life he became also known for his designs of stage costumes for the theatre. Choubrac illustrated several books of the novelist Emile Zola. He produced a number of posters for bookstores to promote popular works. He also produced commercial posters for brands such as the Muscovite Digestive, Humber Cycles, Beeston Tire, Naigeon Gold Water, Unbreakable Baleinine Corsets, Mokatine, Decauville cycles, Burgeatine Liqueur, and the Hippodrome of Saint-Ponchon, among others.

As an illustrator, he sometimes collaborated with his brother Léon in Gil Blas or the satirical weekly Le Courrier français, among others. The first poster exhibition in France occurred in 1884 in the Passage Vivienne in Paris and included American as well as French posters with specific representation of the work of Cheret and the two Choubrac brothers. The New York Grolier Club in November 1890 organised an exhibition of prints of the "masters in the newest art", that of bill posting, including Choubrac, Chéret, Willette and Eugène Grasset.

The poster collector Ernest Maindron, who wrote the first essay about the illustrated poster in the Gazette des Beaux-Arts in 1884, and later published the first book on the subject (Les Affiches Illustrees) in 1886, mentioned the Choubrac brothers and Chéret among the pioneers of the illustrated poster. Maindron praised Choubrac's bold line, sense of composition and highly decorative skills. According to Maindron, in his subsequent book Les Affiches Illustrees (1886–1895) published in 1896, Choubrac must have drawn more than four hundred posters for theatres, novels and industry products, before he switched his attention to the design of theatrical costumes, in which he was equally successful.

Alfred Choubrac died on 25 July 1902 from a cold gone bad.

CHOUBRAC, Alfred. Francine Decroza des Théâtres de Paris, c. 1894. by Halloween HJB

[shoppurpleturtle]

talking teachertalking books for kidsgrolier talking booksonline pre school in indiabest online preschool in india

The most famous kids' story books by Purple Turtle about his adventures with his friends are loved by most children.

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[anthonyopal]

Many thanks to the historic Grolier Poetry Book Shop for hosting a sold-out reading / release on Wednesday. MIRROR-CITY IS NOW AVAILABLE.

(It’s a really special book).

*

MIRROR-CITY is a collection of new and selected poems by Nicolas Behr - “Brasília’s poet” - who was imprisoned in 1978 in an attempt to silence him and his writing.

Behr’s work summons the spectral “braxília,” the city that Brasília could have been - incorporating an X where the city’s major arteries cross into the name itself - where the “wings” and “body” meet.

Translated by Jon Woodward and authorized by the author, MIRROR-CITY includes work ranging from the late 1970s to the present, as well as six new pieces.

Portuguese originals and English translations appear on facing pages.

Published: October 26, 2022

*

A special shout-out to James at the Grolier for his kindness and hospitality - and also to Jon and Sam for the inspiring post-reading conversation. And of course, Matt Opal, who always helps to make good things happen.

[bartoncurrie]

A collection of real merit needs a plan. Sticking to one is no easy task; I myself have only rarely had “the moral courage of a commonsense collecting plan” (44). “As in all other endeavors in life, the most specific and most definite plan you adopt is practically certain to bring you the greatest success. You cannot help gaining some small fame as this or that sort of collector—an outstanding Isaak Walton man, a Fielding man, a Dickens man, the owner of a notable Bronte collection, a great Johnsonian or Boswellian” (101).

There are plenty of lists published that can help lead you towards this plan. Perhaps the most famous is One Hundred Books Famous in English Literature with Facsimiles of the Title-Pages, published by the Grolier Club. “The list made a deep impression upon collectors both in America and England” (108). But beware of using such lists as rules, rather than guides. In the end, use your own plan. “The great mistake in collecting... is to buy what you could not, under any circumstances, bring yourself to read” (113).

And so, you might say, I simply avoid the austere respectability of the Grolier Club. “Ah, but consult the works of Chauncey Tinker and A. Edward Newton. Think of the thousands who read their books, listen to their lectures, and abide by their suggestions. And do the dealers quote Newton and stock up with his favorites? They most emphatically do” (34). Be aware of the opinions and preferences of others—from the Groliers to Newton—as they will affect market values, and thus what form your collection might take. “Do not be misled by beginning at the top, no matter how great your means... Take your time and seek out first the lesser things, but be sure that they are good to fine specimens” (55). And if you choose a one-author plan, be careful that it truly is your favorite author... and do not choose Shakespeare.

-Currie, 1931

do you have a personal collection policy? if so, how do you efficiently determine if a rare book is for you if you come across something cool that you haven’t researched in the wild?

A collection policy is key! In Book Collecting Now: The Value of Print in a Digital Age, Matthew Budman writes that good collections are more than the sum of their parts. He quotes Emiko Hastings, creator of the Women Bibliophiles Project, as saying, “A person might accumulate a lot of books–she might inherit them or just pick them up over time–but to call it a collection as a whole requires intention” (20). For that intention, for the value (however you want to define the term) that comes from putting individual objects in connection with each other, research must be done.

The first research you need to do is in deciding what to collect. This is entirely your decision. As Budman points out, the field of book collecting is changing as quickly as the rest of the world–there are new ways to collect, new things to collect, and new people who have the opportunity to collect. The general guidelines are

1. Keep the topic as narrow as possible, so you don’t get overwhelmed.

2. Stick to your salary range, or things will go downhill very quickly.

3. Stick to something that’s available–a collecting hobby isn’t much of a hobby if all it involves is waiting five decades before a Bay Psalm Book comes on the market, even if you have enough money to buy it.

Beyond that, the sky's the limit! Vintage cookbooks, first editions of early science fiction, incunabula, nineteenth-century etiquette manuals, the history of dentistry… whatever interests you.

However. After that, it gets a little complicated.

We need to take a closer look at the guideline “stick to your salary range.” Some items or topics are more expensive than others, right? Of course they are. This seems obvious. But why? If everyone’s just collecting what they want, why are some items sold to collectors for five dollars and others for five million? Who gets to decide how much something is worth?

In Budman’s words, “It’s ‘worth’ the amount that a price-conscious buyer is willing to pay for it” (54). As with many luxury commodities, it’s all about supply and demand. Individuals collect what they want (and can afford), but more collectors want some items than others. Sometimes it’s easy to come up with a reason for a given standard (e.g., a book that looks newer is worth more). Sometimes it’s so difficult that most people throw up their hands and admit it’s a fad, even as they adhere to the fad (e.g., the importance of dust jackets). Many people cite the value of first editions in that they are as close to the author as possible. Budman says that first editions aren’t inherently superior, but we’ve all decided that first editions are what we pursue, because–and this is key–collectors want collecting to be a challenge. This group agreement on “rules” is necessary when you want there to be an element of competition: demand must outstrip supply. In fact, he says, you can think of it as a game if you want to–just remember that it’s not a war.

In summary:

“... to begin a library whose sole purpose is to give you pleasure, in the hunt as well as the bounty. Realizing that should be a liberation: There are no boundaries in what or how you collect. It doesn’t even matter if the books in which you’re interested aren’t all that valuable in a price-guide sense. You can think of the fact that the vast majority of poetry books or romantic novels or autographed political memoirs are not considered collectible as an opportunity” (17, emphasis in original).

[duardius]

bona fide nyc

1st illustration: page from theodore low de vinne’s last book, Notable Printers of Italy during the Fifteenth Century  [the grolier club, new york, 1910, p112]: de vinne’s inimitable style—erudite & tasty. composed in types both cut & cast in nyc; seen though the press by the great printer himself at his establishment, the de vinne press—vide ‹point of pilgrimage›.  the woodcut facsimile is from the Hpynerotomachia Poliphili of francesco colonna: «The amatory sentiment is extravagant, yet that is subordinate to the author’s knowledge of art and mythology.» [ibid., p113]. published by aldus, venice, 1499; amongst the most beautiful books ever printed, this was aldus’ only foray into the illustrated book. for the context of the woodcut, in english, vide ‹but tell us of the image›.

text & notes are set in condensed form of scotch-face from george bruce’s sons (2nd illustration) [theodore low de vinne, Plain Printing Types, the century co., nyc, 1902, p214]. interesting choice in 1910 as de vinne in 1902 wrote: «The condensed form of Scotch-face is now out of fashion.» [ibid.]. the face sets a monumental page, especially with two-column notes, in composition with the facsimiles of incunabula. de vinne tells us this face was cut in 1854 by james lindsey [ibid.], presumably for the bruce foundry; & embedded within a showing of diamond, or 4½ pt, type de vinne pays biographical tribute to lindsey: «James Lindsey was born in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1825, and was taught the trade in the foundry of Alexander Wilson of Edinburgh [sic*]. He died in Brooklyn on the 20th of September, 1879. He was a thoroughly educated type-founder and a punch-cutter of admitted ability.» [ibid., p103].   further, embedded within a showing of brilliant, or 4 pt, type, de vinne recounts the story of original scotch-face: «Samuel Nelson Dickinson (born 1801, died 1848) was a notable type-founder of Boston. … Unable to get from any type-foundry of his city the types his taste demanded, he undertook to have them made. The style known as the Scotch-face was modelled by him in 1837, but cut and cast to his order by Alexander Wilson & Son, of Edinburgh [sic*]. The matrices imported by him were the first types of the Dickinson foundry in 1839, and were received with marked favor.» [ibid., p104]. if dickinson imported the matrices, one wonders if/why he needed the wilson foundry to also cast for him. on dickinson’s death his foundry was acquired & continued styled in the last instance phelps, dalton & co.; & finally a component of the 1892 merger which constituted american type founders (atf) [ibid.].

*alexander wilson’s foundry was in glasgow. william miller’s foundry was at edinburgh.

captions are set in a face advocated by de vinne for such purpose: light-face. in this case, de vinne selected the broad form from farmer, little & co (3rd illustration) [ibid., p223]. de vinne tells us: «…an extremely light face of decided merit, but which is too thin and too light to be used as a text-type for descriptive matter set solid. It shows to best advantage in leaded or double leaded poetry, or in any work which has broad margins and large space of white. It finds frequent employment in the titles or descriptions of plates when these titles are printed, as in the fashion, on thin paper facing the plate, but in any place it is a strain on ordinary eyesight.» [ibid., p222]. of the broad form, in particular, he continues  «…as broad as it is light, is seldom used as a text-letter for standard books. Its delicacy disqualifies it for general use, but it is an effective letter for pamphlets, catalogues, and ornamental job-work, when the composed lines have been liberally widened with leads. The larger sizes are used for book titles, running head lines, and as a display letter.» [ibid., 223].  henry lewis bullen writing under his nom de plume, quadrat, gives concise lineage of farmer, little & co.: «The present corporation of A. D. Farmer & Son Company, better known as Farmer, Little & Co. (1861), is the direct successor of Elihu White, following a son, H. T. White, and then Charles T. White & Co.» [The Inland Printer, vol. xxxviii, no.1, 1906, p36.] farmer, little & co. was acquired by american type founders (atf) in 1892 [✓].

notes on de vinne’s text in the 1st illustration «Raibollini» is a misattribution: propagated from an attempt by sir anthony panizzi in 1858 to identify aldus’ punch cutter as francesco raibolini, the painter from bologna. «This argument was demolished by Giacomo Manzoni in his Studia di bibliografia analitica, and the matter clinched by the publication by Adamo Rossi in 1883 of a document from which it appeared that Franceso’s family name was Griffo.» [a.f. johnson, Type Designs, grafton & co., london, 1959, p95]. this information, apparently, had not yet reached the cognoscenti of new york, or de vinne was simply unaware. 

the statement «One line of a larger size with slanted capitals appears on plate 28» is not apropos, as plate 28 is a facsimile of a page printed in 1566 by aldus’ son, paolo: not an incunabulum. the face is not aldine: it is a 16th c. french face—the petit-parangon italic cut by robert granjon in 1554 [cf. 298 in hendrik d.l. vervliet, French Renaissance Printing Types, the bibliographical society, london, 2010, p328].