This post is short on personal anecdotes but I did want to share a few more photos of the treasures at the book fair. You can click to enlarge this shot of The Strand Magazine from 1936, costing a bit more than on print day.
A mouth-watering selection of books from Hogarth Press. I took a shot of Vita Sackville West's signature in a copy of
Seducers in Ecuador but it was quite blurry, darn it!
Little Dorrit and
The Mystery of Edwin Drood had wonderfully illustrated soft covers in this powder blue. They were published in magazine form and in the case of
Little Dorrit, monthly between December 1855 to June 1857. That is a long time to wait for an ending!
Little Dorrit in its entirety was on offer for 3,000 GBP.
And finally, a picture of some of the more aged material (apologies once again for the lack of details as my pen and notebook were checked in). There were several customers interested in typeface, binding practices and other such things related to antiquarian book construction and I had a fascinating glimpse into all of it. Being a huge fan of history, books and textile construction, this show appealed on so many levels and I will definitely seek out other book fairs as they come around.
The printed word has grown by leaps and bounds. I can't help but wonder what medieval monks, who created sublime works of illumination, would think of 'print on demand'.
Wonderful - I'm envious of your squint at Vita Sackville West's autograph!
ReplyDeleteThe fair looks amazing! If only the books we love were a bit cheaper eh?!
ReplyDeleteI love to see old books on a shelf, I'm not sure what it is but I sort of want to sit down and read them all. Have you ever been to a big house and seen them all on the bookshelves, you can't help but wonder what storys then can tell.
ReplyDeleteThose are so beautiful! I love old books, partly for their history. I love to wonder about who has held them and read them through the years.
ReplyDeleteThese are all so beautiful and I can just about feel the books and imagine the hands that held them. I knew that Dickens wrote in serial form, but, isn't it grand to be able to see Little Dorrit this way.
ReplyDeleteI do so hope you go to other book fairs and I very selfishly hope you will tell us about them with some pictures along the way. Thank you.
verity, If I stand waaay back from the computer I can almost make it out!
ReplyDeleteBloomsbury Bell, Haha, I would have stood in the doorway yelling...'they're mine, all mine!'
Rob, Whenever I watch a movie and a scene takes place in a library I forget the characters and start dreaming about the books. Silly but true.
Penny, So true! That is exactly what was running through my mind.
lifeonthecutoff, I bet there are some attics in very old houses storing editions of these periodicals. Oh, just imagine!