By Bruce McKinney

When you meet a book dealer you may not think they are gamblers, and truth be told, they probably don't want to be. But when they commit to participate in a book show they commit months ahead to rent a booth, move people and inventory, guess what to bring and then hope the weather and circumstances cooperate. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. Think of them as confreres of Candid. Over the weekend ...more

By Bruce McKinney

On February 10th, 16th and 18th interesting book auctions were held in New York at Swann, and in San Francisco by Dorothy Sloan and at John's Western Gallery. Both the Swann and Sloan sales did well while the Gilchriese presentation at John's found buying interest to be as narrow as the Gilchriese collecting focus: Wyatt Earp manuscript and memorabilia. At Swann the material was the remainder of a large ...more

By Bruce McKinney

The world of books is as many sided, angled and fractioned as a kaleidoscopic image. There is no one way to see this world for in books we see ourselves and we are all different. Books are our mirrors. On shelves of old and new, read and unread, word and picture books we see ourselves. When life grows uncertain we are always present in the choices our books present and represent and we buy, sell and collect ...more

A review by Bruce McKinney

Recently I had the opportunity to learn first hand why people are reading less. Over the past several weeks I have struggled to complete "The Russian Debutante's Handbook" by Gary Shteyngart, a book I purchased for three reasons. There is a sticker in the upper left hand corner that says "A New York Times Notable Book." There is a suggestive photograph on the cover of an attractive young woman ...more

By Michael Stillman

We reached a major milestone in the development of this site a few weeks back: over one million records and growing. Specifically, we are talking about the AE book database of records, and it is the backbone of this website. For those of you not familiar with the "AED," we request you take a few moments to learn what it is. You may want to subscribe (it's cheap), you may not. Your call. But ...more

By Mike Stillman

His name may not be quite as familiar as that of other notable voyagers and explorers, such as Magellan or Cook, but Francis Drake was one of the great navigators of that era when much of the world was unknown to the West. That's Sir Francis Drake, to be exact, for he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth in honor of his achievements. However, there was a less seemly side to those achievements. It has perhaps kept Drake ...more

By Carl Burnham

Recently, I had the opportunity of discussing with Tom Sawyer the UIEE data format he developed and a new software he is designing for booksellers, BookWriter Professional. He is co-founder of Alibris and Interloc, and has developed several software packages for booksellers, including BookWriter Web. BookWriter Web is designed to easily create web pages based on a bookseller's inventory.

Tom is ...more

By Michael Stillman

The Heritage Book Shop of Los Angeles published a catalogue for the recent California International Book Fair in San Francisco. Book Fair catalogues tend to differ from most others in that they are generally not themed. Instead, they represent what the bookseller thinks will most appeal to a wide spectrum of collectors. This is definitely true of the Heritage catalogue. It offers everything ...more

By Michael Stillman

James Cummins Bookseller's Catalogue 91 of literature is filled with first editions and manuscripts of authors from the past two centuries. The names read off like a who's who list of great novelists. If you are looking for firsts, this catalogue is a great place to start.

A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers was Henry David Thoreau's first book. It was not a smashing success. If ...more

By Michael Stillman

The William Reese Company has issued its 237th catalogue, this one being the second part of catalogue 228 issued in late 2003. The title is "Periodicals Part II," or "Periodicals 1890-2000," and it has little in common with any Reese catalogue besides Periodicals Part I. Reese is noted as one of the foremost sellers of the top books and manuscripts in the field of Americana. This catalogue will appeal ...more

By Michael Stillman

George S. MacManus Co. of Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, has issued its Catalogue 395 of "Rare Americana." It contains over 400 rare books primarily from 18th and 19th century America, few of which you will see very often. Here are some samples.

While Benjamin Franklin is the subject of only a few items in the catalogue, we thought we should give him special notice as McManus presents an interesting ...more

By Michael Stillman

The latest catalogue from one of America's oldest booksellers, The Arthur H. Clark Company, of Spokane, Washington, has just arrived. It is focused on Americana, the West in particular, with a few other subjects thrown in. Many of the books recount travels and expeditions into the old west, as well as pioneering life and descriptions of the native Indians. There is much here for both readers and collectors ...more

By Michael Stillman

John Windle Antiquarian Bookseller has issued a catalogue in conjunction with the California International Antiquarian Book Fair held this past month. Windle offers a wide variety of material, ranging from very early European books to 19th century Americana. While the type of material varies, the common thread is that Windle specializes in fine and important material. Here are a few of the items being ...more