A Few More Notes from Our New York City Book Trip

While in New York, we went to visit the 9/11 Memorial…

Fountain in the footprint of one of the World Trade Center towers

Our son ordered tickets ahead of time…there was a very long line of people waiting to be admitted, and security is tight.  It is an impressive and haunting memorial.

Freedom Tower, still under construction

A poignant memorial for all the lives lost on September 11, 2001

Later we paid our usual visit to the legendary Strand Book Store at the corner of 12th Street and Broadway, where we purchased a dozen or so books in their rare book room.   Here is a beauty we found there that we have already placed with a collector on the west coast:

The Crystal City Under the Sea, by Andre Laurie (London: Sampson Low, Marston & Co., 1896)

We spent some time in the South Street Seaport area where my son lives…this beautiful historic area was badly damaged in the October 2012 hurricane (Hurricane Sandy) and is still in the recovery stages, with many shops, restaurants, and office buildings still closed down from widespread flood damage.

South Street Seaport area of New York City

Pier 17

Son Adam, Me and Ron against the cityscape

My son Adam and his lovely lady Diana showed us superb hospitality, and ensured we had great hotels and got to the book fairs and book stores we wanted to visit.

Adam and Diana on their rooftop

Among all the places we visited for food and drink, I loved the Tamarind, an Indian restaurant in Tribeca.  The food was amazing, and the service perfect — not overbearing — just right.

Dining at the Tamarind

Here was our view of the East River from our room in the Standard Hotel, 848 Washington at 13th Street, New York City…

View of the East River at night from our window at The Standard

On Sunday afternoon we took a taxi to Grand Central Station to catch the Metro North back to Tarrytown.  Just outside Grand Central we had the pleasure of meeting Danny the police dog!

Danny (center), one of New York’s Finest

A ride on the Metro North took about half an hour to reach Tarrytown, NY, where we had left our vehicle.  The train was uncrowded on a Sunday afternoon.

Riding the Metro North

After picking up our car in Tarrytown, we doubled back a few miles to Hastings-on-Hudson to visit Riverrun Bookshop (12 Washington Avenue).  We always have good luck finding hidden gems here, and this time was no exception.  Here’s a beautiful decorated binding we purchased at Riverrun (which we have already sold).

Fuel of Fire, by Ellen Thorneycroft Fowler (NY: Dodd Mead, 1901)

Our thanks to Kate at Riverrun, who gave us excellent and friendly service, carefully packed and invoiced our books, and was kind enough to direct us to a good place for a late lunch!

After that it was a five hour drive back home, where we fell into bed after filling a few book orders that had come in.

It was a whirlwind trip, and another great book scouting adventure!

One Weekend, Two Antiquarian Book Fairs in New York City

53rd Annual Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America – New York Antiquarian Book Fair – Park Avenue Armory

New York City was a happening place for book collectors and book sellers this past weekend.  We made the trip to the Big Apple to combine a visit with our son and to take in the 53^rd Annual New York ABAA Book Fair and the Manhattan Vintage Book & Ephemera Fair (AKA “The Shadow Show”).

Entrance to the New York Antiquarian Book Fair

The ABAA Antiquarian Book Fair was held again at the beautiful Park Avenue Armory at 643 Park Avenue.   Although you enter the fair through an atmosphere of dark wood paneling, chandeliers and stained glass…

it’s all bright lights and glass cases in the exhibition area…

  This is one of the few places you will see booksellers dressed to the nines (we are generally a casual lot – sometimes downright scruffy, even).  Security is tight.  Your coat and any bags must be checked at the door.  Much of the best that is available and collectible in the whole wide world of books is on display here, everything from signed modern first editions to ancient maps and manuscripts.  Prices ranged from around $50.00 to rarities running into five and six figures.

We attended on Friday at noon, the first general opening of the show (there is a preview night on Thursday evening, with a $50.00 entry fee for the privilege).  There is a vibe of tension and excitement in the air – booksellers pay a premium to exhibit here — they are all hoping to “crack the nut,”  and there are collectors roaming the aisles who are willing to drop serious cash.  The attendance seemed high — the crowds grew as the afternoon progressed.

 It is always worthwhile to attend this fair, to see what is being offered, some of which you may never see again anyplace else.  It should be considered a learning experience as well an opportunity to buy.

Michael Manz and Earl Manz of Babylon Revisited / Yesterday’s Gallery Rare Books (my husband Ron is on the right).

We were happy to see Earl and Michael Manz, father and son team of Yesterday’s Gallery and Babylon Revisited Rare Books  at their booth, where I purchased a lovely first edition of Twenty-Four Hours for my Louis Bromfield collection.  (Thanks for bringing it to the Fair, Michael!)

First trade edition of Twenty-Four Hours (NY: Frederick A. Stokes, 1930)

They specialize in books from the jazz age and depression era in beautiful old dustjackets. We share their area of interest, and it is always a joy to roam their booth or website.

Nearby we found another favorite bookseller, Robert Dagg, of Robert Dagg Rare Books, San Francisco, California, whose specialty areas are Modern First Editions and Mystery and Detective Fiction. 

Robert Dagg, Robert Dagg Rare Books, San Francisco, CA

The Manhattan Vintage Book & Ephemera Show, or “Shadow Show” is held in a lovely building at 135 West 18^th Street, and is a much more relaxed atmosphere.  This show ran Friday, April 12 from 5-9 p.m. through Saturday, April 13 from 8am – 4pm.  We were waiting at the door on Saturday at 8am.

Manhattan Vintage Book & Ephemera Fair at the Altman Building (The Carriage House) 135 W. 18th St., New York, NY

The quality is very good, and prices are within the reach of more book lovers and collectors.   This fair opened on Friday April 12 from 5-9pm and ran through Saturday April 13 (4am-4pm).

Tina Bruno, President of Flamingo Eventz, LLC (Organizer of “The Shadow Show”)

We purchased a lovely decorated American trade binding here from Ben Koenig of The Country Bookshop (Plainfield, Vermont).

A Daughter of New France, by Mary Catherine Crowley. Signed decorated binding (Amy Sacker)

Many fine books to browse at “The Shadow Show”

The Shadow Show

 Two great book fairs, and a great selection of fine books in the  City that Never Sleeps.

I’ll be back soon with the rest of the story…

The Rest of the Story…Gettysburg, PA

After book scouting all day at the York Book and Paper Fair and at the York Emporium, in York, PA, we needed to find a place to spend the night.  We decided to take a little side trip.  Neither Ron nor I had ever been to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and it seemed like a good opportunity to visit this historic American town, just 40 minutes or so down the road.

We took Rte. 30 west out of York, which runs directly to Gettysburg.  Rte. 30 is the famous “Lincoln Highway.”  In the summer of 2006 we did a book scouting trip partway across the country on the Lincoln Highway, although on that trip we picked it up beyond Pennsylvania in Ohio and followed it as far as Iowa.

If you track our book scouting adventures, you’ll know we try to stay in historic hotels whenever possible as we travel.  This time we were happy to get a room in the historic Gettysburg Hotel (established in 1797).

Historic Gettysburg Hotel, Gettysburg, PA

A lady dressed in period costume was playing the violin in front of the hotel

It was reasonably priced, lovely, and clean, with a beautiful lobby, bar and restaurant.  The whole place is very sleek and modern, as historic hotels go…leaving you to think there really isn’t much left of the “historic.”

Our room at the Gettysburg Hotel

We enjoyed our stay there, however.  It is centrally located so that many of the areas of interest are within walking distance.

Gettysburg, PA – early evening

We walked all over town, taking in all the nice shops, pubs, inns, and historic buildings.

Gettysburg is a fun place to visit.  The shops and restaurants were all open and thriving well into the evening; they don’t roll up the streets here after 5pm like some small towns.

And yet it seemed the perfect time of year to visit, as it wasn’t yet crowded with tourists.

We stopped in at a fun little shop called “Spirited Ladies” which had beautiful and original items – then had a nice meal at the Blue Parrot Bistro.

Afterwards we walked south through town to the Dobbin House Tavern, stopping inside to take in the old architecture.  Unfortunately the pub in the cellar of the Inn had just closed, but it has a stream running through it!

Dobbin House Tavern (built in 1776)

 

inside the Dobbin House Tavern

We also passed the library…

 

Gettysburg, PA Library

In the morning we walked north a block or so past the refurbished old movie theater, “The Majestic” which recently underwent a $16 million renovation.  The theater features independent movies on two screens, drama and dance.

Majestic Theater, 25 Carlisle St., Gettysburg, PA

Below is the historic railroad depot, which operated from 1858 to 1942 — the very one Abraham Lincoln rolled into when he arrived to deliver his Gettysburg Address.  It was also used as an emergency hospital during the Civil War.

Gettysburg Railroad Depot

Gettysburg Railroad Depot

There is so much to see and do in Gettysburg, we’ll  have to make a return visit when we have more time.  There are the historic battlefields with tours available via horseback, self-guided driving tours, bike tours, bus tours…the Soldiers National Cemetery, the Eisenhower National Historic Site, Underground Railroad tours, and candlelight ghost tours.  There is art, theater, music, antiques, and covered bridges, museums…and so much more.

Once again, our book scouting has led us to an interesting and historical place on the map, which we enjoy sharing with you.

Here are some links which will help you learn more about historic Gettysburg:

Gettysburg Convention and Visitors Bureau 

Main Street Gettysburg

Gettysburg.com

Great Books and a Lot of Fun at the York Book & Paper Fair

Ron and I made a pleasant journey on Easter weekend to southern Pennsylvania.  We had visited the York Emporium to purchase books over the years, but had never attended the York Book and Paper Fair and decided to make the trip this year.  I’m so glad we did!  It turned out to be one of our favorite book fairs.  Over 50 dealers came together on Saturday, March 30^th, 2013 at the 59^th Annual York Book and Paper Fair in York, Pennsylvania.   The event is organized by Pam and Jim Lewin of The York Emporium, and they do a terrific job.  This year the fair was held in the beautiful  Ballroom of the Roses at the Holiday Inn Conference Center in York, which was spacious, well-lit and provided very comfortable surroundings for both buyers and sellers .

Holiday Inn Conference Center in York, PA

Catherine Petruccione (me) and Jim Lewin of The York Emporium. Jim and his wife Pam organized the fair — Pam was back at the book shop running their sale!

Mary, left rear, was doing a great job of running the check-in table out front, along with her son and his friend. I’m sorry I didn’t get your last name Mary, but you were so welcoming and helpful!

There was quality and variety here, with price ranges to satisfy everyone from frugal readers to serious collectors and big spenders.

Here’s a lovely book from the booth of Wilfrid M. de Freitas,Bookseller, of Montreal:

The Story of the Heavens, by Sir Robert Ball

Wilfrid also had a beautiful first edition of A. Conan Doyle’s The Hound of the Baskervilles, among many other fine offerings.

Wilfrid M. de Freitas, Bookseller (Montreal, Quebec, Canada)

We were glad to see one of our favorite booksellers, Jean B. Gonzalez of Somewhere in Time, St. James, NY, who always has interesting collectible books in beautiful condition.

Jean Gonzalez of Somewhere in Time…and me.

Here we have a fellow bookseller coming over to beat him up on prices:

Booksellers having fun!

This is one of the many lovely books we purchased from Jean:

The Panchronicon, by Harold Steele Mackay. (NY: Scribner, 1904.)

Jesse and Sarah Brubacher (me in the middle) of Jesse H. Brubacher books, Stevens, Pennsylvania.

Jesse H. Brubacher and his wife Sarah (above) had a tempting selection of books at reasonable prices.  We happily purchased a box full of some nice decorated bindings and favorite old books in well preserved dust jackets.  They are a fun couple who have been in the business for many years and have wonderful stories and a great sense of humor.

Below is Dennis Lauchman of Butternut Valley Books.  Ron threw a little scare into him first thing in the morning in the parking lot by asking, “Is this where the car show is being held today?”

Dennis E. Lauchman of Butternut Valley Books, Gilbertsville, NY

I didn’t snap a photo at the booth of E. Christian Mattson Antiques and Books from Baltimore, Maryland, I was too busy selecting books from his tables.  And there were many more excellent book dealers …but by this time Ron was tiring of taking photos of me with my arm around them!  I had a good run though, tee-hee.

There were also dealers in ephemera, vinyl (with some really nice music playing), and bookbinders, Advantage Book Binding Inc. of Glen Burnie, Maryland.

After the Fair we drove over to the York Emporium, just a a mile or two away.  Don’t let the small entrance fool you…this place is huge and home to hundreds of thousands of used books.  And the parking lot was full, with lots of buyers inside.

The York Emporium, Used Books, 343 West Market St., York, PA

We made some nice selections here too, including a signed Mickey Spillane first edition.

This is not quite the end of the story…I’ll get back to you soon with the last part of our springtime Pennsylvania adventure!

 

Women (and books) are Here to Stay

On Thursday, March 14 we attended the Rochester Public Library Book Sale in Rochester, NY.  Rochester is only about thirty miles from us, so we never miss this sale.    The sale is held in the Kate Gleason Auditorium of the Central Library, across the street from the beautiful Rundel Memorial Library Building.

The Book Sale is held in the Rochester Central Library Building

across South Avenue from…

Rundel Memorial Library Building

Sadly, budget cuts are taking their toll on libraries, and this lovely library is no exception.  Their hours have been cut back, so the Preview Sale began later this year, at 11:00 a.m., their new opening time.  Attendance at the Preview Sale seemed good — we could not find parking this year in the next-door Court Street garage and had to find a space in the South Avenue parking garage.

Prices are reasonable at this sale at $1.00 for hardcover books, cheaper for children’s books and paperbacks.  Proceeds from the sale benefit the Rochester Public Library.  The sale runs through Sunday, March 17 when books are down to $3.00 a bag from 1pm to 4pm.

After the sale, we always go to lunch at Dinosaur Bar-B-Que , 99 Court Street in Rochester (just steps away from the Library).

Dinosaur Bar-B-Que in Rochester, NY

It’s a popular honky-tonk barbecue joint with great atmosphere and delicious down-home cooking, and a great location overlooking the mighty Genesee River.  We were lucky enough to get a booth with a view:

Genesee River as viewed from our booth at Dinosaur Bar-B-Que

Now for my favorite book we picked up at this sale!  It is very appropriate to feature here right now, because March is Women’s History Month:

Women Are Here to Stay – The Durable Sex in in its Infinite Variety Through Half a Century of American Life, by Agnes Rogers (NY: Harper & Brothers, 1949)

This book is in its original dust jacket.  It is brimming with gorgeous images and interesting commentary about women from the Victorian to the Modern Age, picturing them in roles as farmers, photographers, adventurers, athletes, writers, striptease dancers, cab drivers, policewomen, housewives, pilots and more…a real cross-cultural view of American women through the decades.

Amelia Earhart standing on the wing of her plane

A woman dancing with Arthur Murray (top), the man who built dance teaching into a huge business

A woman’s dress featured in the April 15, 1926 issue of Vogue.

Eleanora Sears – famous athlete who was the archetype of the “outdoor girl”

Air Stewardesses

This book is a treat for the eyes, and a fun, educational trip through American culture and history.  It will be available at Old Scrolls Book Shop.

Louis Bromfield…In a Clamshell!

Anyone who has followed my articles on Bookthink (see past articles here and here) or on this blog over the years knows that I am a great fan of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Louis Bromfield.

I am also a collector of his novels and non-fiction works, and have gathered all of his titles, including signed first editions, several signed letters, and other interesting items relating to Louis Bromfield and Malabar Farm.

Here’s a peek at my collection:

Louis Bromfield book collection

Glossy publicity photo, signed handwritten letter

Some Bromfield ephemera

My wonderful husband and business partner has always been an excellent craftsman, whether working with wood, stone or just about any other material, for that matter.   Recently he has been focusing his talent on the art of bookbinding, and as a result he has been creating some really lovely leather clam-shell cases for my Louis Bromfield collection (lucky me!).

Ron at his work table

One of the books I especially cherish in this collection is a first edition of Possession, inscribed and signed by Bromfield to his friend and fellow author, Robert Nathan.   Here are photos of the progression of a custom case Ron recently finished for that book: 

Davey board cut and glued up into boxes for case, before covering with cloth or paper

custom-made balsa wood spine, with two raised bands (Davey board strips)

Davey board being sized to leather (rear of photo)

Davey board and spine with leather applied. Spine leather was embossed before gluing.

Inside of the case, ready for boxes (splayed out on a piece of brown leather rough side up to keep it from shifting)

Custom boxes with artisan paper (archival quality) applied. Paper has been selected to compliment the book, dust jacket and the era in which the book was published.

“Possession” resting in its case. Dust jacket for this book is scarce; now it will be protected from fading, heat and humidity.

And here is a case for a signed limited edition of Twenty-Four Hours:

Twenty-Four Hours in custom leather case

All the materials used in the cases are archival quality, including the decorative paper and glue.

I will no longer have to worry about these books gathering dust or becoming faded by the sun.

Ron’s interest in book binding has been quite the learning journey; with investment in various sizes and varieties of type, small presses, type heaters, type holders, quality leather and paper, special glues and tools.  We now have an entire room dedicated to this work!

Kingsley Hot Foil Press

His current project is a custom case for a first edition of Rebecca, by Daphne du Maurier (Doubleday Doran, 1938) which we will soon be offering for sale.

For those interested in purchasing books by Louis Bromfield, here is a link to those currently available at Old Scrolls Book Shop.

A New Departure in Book Collecting: Grosset & Dunlap’s “Novels of Distinction”

In book collecting, reprinted titles are usually considered a step down from true first editions, but when collecting famous literature, they are often the only reasonable choice because of scarcity or expensive prices on first editions.

A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway (Grosset & Dunlap “Novel of Distinction”)

One attractive and affordable collecting niche is Grosset & Dunlap’s “Novels of Distinction” literature series from the early 1900’s, which consisted of at least 120 titles. Grosset & Dunlap is a well-known publishing house that produced reprints almost exclusively, and still exists today as part of The Penguin Group of publishers. We love some of the early Grosset & Dunlap books, particularly their “Novels of Distinction” series, and here’s why: They selected highly acclaimed works by respected authors, used quality materials and paper, and manufactured solid, attractive books and illustrated dust jackets. The reprint edition in this series was often more attractive than the original first edition.

Elmer Gantry, by Sinclair Lewis (Grosset & Dunlap “Novels of Distinction” edition)

Elmery Gantry, by Sinclair Lewis (Grosset & Dunlap “Novels of Distinction” edition

Books in this series had especially high quality cloth bindings, sometimes with decorated endpapers.  Here’s how to recognize them:

“Novels of Distinction” listed on front inside flap of dust jacket

The front and/or rear inside flap of dust jacket  listed all the currently available titles in the series.

A bio of the author with a photo appeared on the rear panel of the dust jacket.

Bio and photo of Ernest Hemingway, with review of the book on rear DJ panel

A special logo was blind-stamped on the front board.

Grosset & Dunlap’s special “Novels of Distinction” logo

The same logo almost always appeared on the spine of the dustjacket:

“Novels of Distinction” logo on DJ spine

Sometimes a few paragraphs about the series appeared on the front inside flap, with the list of books then appearing on the rear inside flap:

Front inside flap from “Nocturne” by Frank Swinnerton

From the front flap of “Nocturne”:

A New Departure in Bookmaking

 Haven’t you often wished that the more distinctive novels of the day could be secured in popular priced editions that sacrifice none of the taste and quality of the original higher priced printings?

That very end has now been achieved in the new departure of Grosset & Dunlap—the reprinting in deluxe editions of a group of novels appealing to that growing body of readers with refined and sophisticated taste.

Ask your bookseller to show you these latest issues of the NOVELS OF DISTINCTION.”

Occasionally they had decorated endpapers:

Decorated endpapers from “Jeremy” by Hugh Walpole

Decorated endpapers from “Dark Laughter” by Sherwood Anderson

They are fun to collect, because they are handsome books, good literature, and can be challenging to locate; yet they are still inexpensive and relatively “undiscovered” as collectible material.

The first Grosset & Dunlap “Novel of Distinction” appears to have been The Perennial Bachelor by Ann Parrish (1926), as it tops the list on the inside flap of early Novels of Distinction titles (before they went to alphabetizing them). It is an historical romance of Lord Nelson and the beautiful Lady Hamilton, who was the inspiration of his great naval victories for England, culminating the Battle of Trafalgar in which Nelson died, leaving Lady Hamilton and his daughter as a legacy to his country.

Below are a few highlights from a list of the series titles taken from the front flap of A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway, which was published by Grosset & Dunlap as a Novel of Distinction in 1929:

•  The Bridge of San Luis Rey (Thornton Wilder)
• Early Autumn (Louis Bromfield)
• Brief Candles (Aldous Huxley)
• Bright Metal (T. S. Stribling)
• The Haunted Bookshop (Christopher Morley)
• The Moon and Sixpence (W. Somerset Maugham)
• The Sun Also Rises (Ernest Hemingway)
• The Professor’s House (Willa Cather)
• Of Human Bondage (W. Somerset Maugham)
• Marching On (James Boyd)
• The Way Things Are (E. M. Delafield)

…and over a hundred more, by authors such as Sinclair Lewis, Sherwood Anderson, Ford Madox Ford, H. G. Wells, and other great writers.  The full collection would make an impressive literature library.  These are great books at moderate prices, when compared to the first editions of any of these titles.

Some Grosset & Dunlap “Novels of Distinction”

I am unsure in what year the series ended, or of the last published title in the series.  I have made inquiries with the Grosset & Dunlap division of The Penguin Group to see if they have any historical data, but have not yet received any pertinent information.  The earliest publication date we have seen in these books as they pass through our store is 1911 (which I think in this case was the copyright date of the original first edition); most seem to have been published in the 1920s.  The latest publication date we have seen is 1931.

The Battle of the Horizons, by Sylvia Thompson (1928)

Grosset & Dunlap was purchased by G. P. Putnam’s Sons in 1982 and today is part of the British publishing conglomerate, Pearson PLC through its American subsidiary Penguin Group (USA). Since the 1940s, Grosset has published the Illustrated Junior Library, a collection of hardcover editions of Little Women, Tom Sawyer, and more than twenty other classics. Today, through the Penguin Group (USA) they publish approximately 170 titles a year.  Perhaps best known to collectors for their Photoplay Editions (books on which early films or photo plays were based and containing scenes from them), they also published popular children’s series books such as The Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, The Bobbsey Twins, and Tom Swift among others.

If any of my readers have more information about the “Novels of Distinction” series of literature published by G&D, please contact me or share with readers in the comments section.

To view books available for sale in this series at Old Scrolls Book Shop, click here:   NOVELS OF DISTINCTION

Providing Books to Soldiers during World War I

This iconic book was published in 1919 by Houghton Mifflin and details the heroic efforts of the American Library Association to provide books to soldiers during World War I through their Library War Service.

Books in the War – The Romance of Library War Service (Houghton Mifflin, 1919)

The cover is decorated with a famous poster done by  Charles Buckles Falls and used by the ALA to rally citizens to the cause of donating books and funds to their massive campaign to bring reading materials into the hands of soldiers.

Citizens were asked to donate books at their local libraries, which were then collected and shipped to men in the trenches, and to camps and hospitals in America and overseas.

Interior, Camp Library, Camp Kearny

 Donated funds were used to build temporary libraries at military camps and training facilities, which were greatly appreciated by the men as places of quiet escape and peaceful camaraderie amidst the chaos of war.

A.L.A. Hospital Library, Newport News, Virginia

For many, it was what made enlisted life endurable.  Cash donations were also utilized to purchase books requested by enlisted men that weren’t readily available from donations – such as non-fiction works on code-breaking, topography, mechanics, artillery, foreign languages and other knowledge useful to them in their military work.

On board the transport “Mercury”

It is hard to overestimate the importance of the books and camp libraries to the enlisted men.  It was their lifeline to home, and to more normal aspects of life.  Many soldiers who had never been readers became such through their exposure to readily available books close at hand in their isolated circumstances.

“Books in the War” Frontispiece illustration by Dan Smith

“The library records at one camp for one week show that 1050 books were borrowed by the men in camp.  Of these 548 were works of fiction, 46 dealt with war, 52 were in foreign languages, while the balance, 404, were works on technical military problems, educational topics, poetry, art, history and general literature.”

The fiction writers that seemed to be most popular during this era were O. Henry, Rex Beach, Zane Grey, John Fox, Harold Bell Wright, G. B. McCutcheon, Jack London, Chambers, Conan Doyle, Mark Twain, E. P. Oppenheim, Kipling, Poe, Booth Tarkington, Rider Haggard, Dumas, and H. G. Wells.  “Some of the books by these authors never got to the shelves as they were taken out by readers as fast as they were returned to the charging desk.” 

 Examples of non-fiction circulation on one Sunday at Camp Humphries include:  Life of Robert E. Lee; Over the Top; George Washington – The Man and the Mason; Pick, Shovel and Pluck (practical engineering); Paths of Glory; Army Paper Work; Europe since 1815; With the Zionists at Gallipoli; Tests of Metals for 1916; Office Practice; Poor Richard’s Almanac; Manual of Military Training; Bayonet Fighting; Operation of Trains; My Home in the Field of Honor. 

Other organizations collaborated with the A.L.A. to provide reading material and library space to soldiers, including the American Red Cross, Y.M.C.A. and Knights of Columbus.

Library War Service in France (Upper: Circulating A.L.A. books in a YMCA hut; Lower: Stockroom, A.L.A. headquarters, Paris)

Red Cross Hut, Orly Aviation Camp, Near Paris

Books were also provided on transport ships and trains, and in prisoner of war camps.

Hospital Train in France

Prisoners of War always displayed an interest in newspapers

Newspapers and popular magazines such as The Saturday Evening Post and National Geographic were also provided to enlisted men and to POWs.

Most noticeable in the photos throughout this book was the importance of the gathering place of calm camaraderie provided by these temporary libraries.  This idea was stressed repeatedly by soldiers quoted in the book – that the libraries provided an island of peaceful companionship and normalcy with their colleagues.

Between 1917 and 1920, ALA, whose membership was just over 3,300 in 1917, accomplished the following:

• mounted two financial campaigns and raised $5 million from public donations
• erected thirty-six camp libraries with $320,000 in Carnegie Corporation funds
• distributed approximately 7-10,000,000 books and magazines; and
• provided library collections to over 500 locations, including in military hospitals.

The work of the Library War Service lives on in numerous ways:

• the creation of permanent library departments in the army, navy, and Veteran’s Bureau;
• founding of the American Merchant Marine Library Association American, created in 1921 to “establish and promote a professional Library Service for the benefit of the personnel of the American Merchant Marine, United States Coast Guard ships, stations, lightships and lighthouses”;
• establishment of the American Library in Paris, initially established in 1918, but continued at the end of the war, in 1920,officially, with community support and 30,000 books left from the Library War Service as a permanent memorial of the work done in France and as an example of American library methodology; and
• stimulation of the Association’s activities in the fields of international relations and adult education.

(Statistics above taken from ALA website )

Books in the War (Houghton Mifflin, 1919)

Books in the War has become scarce in collectible condition.  We currently have one copy available; to view our offering, click Old Scrolls Book Shop.

Peter Fleming Saves Me from Cabin Fever

The bird bath

We are in the depths of winter here in Upstate New York.  Aside from an occasional expedition to the mailbox or the woodpile, we are pretty much snowed in.  With the snow eighteen inches deep and the nights twelve hours long, I have turned to armchair adventures beside the comforting warmth of a blazing wood stove.  What else can one do when the bank accounts are drained from the holidays and the airports are socked in?

bench on our patio

I have been reading my way through the hot, steamy and

unexplored depths of 1930’s South American jungle with Peter Fleming, on a rollicking sojourn through his finest book, Brazilian Adventure.   Oh, what an amusing and observant guide he is!

Brazilian Adventure, Peter Fleming (Charles Scribner’s Sons, NY, 1934)

(Robert) Peter Fleming (1907–71) was the older brother of another well-known writer — Ian Fleming, the creator of James Bond.  Peter Fleming was a journalist who was special correspondent for The Times and writer for The Spectator.  He served with the Grenadier Guards during World War II, did some undercover work in Southeast Asia, and was believed to be somewhat of a type for brother Ian’s character development of James Bond.

Peter Fleming

 He traveled widely and penned marvelous books on his adventures.  His writing style is unusual for an adventure writer; full of subtlety, honesty and humor.  With him there was no stretching of the truth to manufacture heroics, which ironically makes his writing far more riveting and realistic than the tales of chest-banging type adventure writers.

Having long been amused by the personal or “agony” columns in The London Times, Peter Fleming’s “Brazilian adventure” began when he spotted this ad placed there in the Spring of 1932:

‘Exploring and sporting expedition, under experienced guidance, leaving England June, to explore rivers Central Brazil, if possible ascertain fate Colonel Fawcett; abundance game, big and small; exceptional fishing; ROOM TWO MORE GUNS; highest references expected and given. – Write Box X, The Times, E.C.4.”

Fleming couldn’t resist the temptation to respond, thus his fate was sealed.  Paying 400 British Pounds each to join the adventure, he and a good-humored friend named Roger Pettiward were soon sailing for South America along with four other bemused and resolute men, plus a bull mastiff.

In case you are wondering who the “lost” Colonel Fawcett was whose fate the expedition was trying to ascertain, here is a photo of him from the pages of Brazilian Adventure:

Lt. Colonel Percival Harrison Fawcett

And here’s a summary of Colonel Fawcett and his mysterious journey taken from Wikipedia:

“Lt. Colonel Percival Harrison Fawcett (18 August 1867 – in or after 1925) was a British artillery officer, archaeologist and South American explorer. Along with his eldest son, Fawcett disappeared under unknown circumstances in 1925 during an expedition to find “Z” – his name for an ancient lost city, which he (in all likelihood, accurately) believed to be El Dorado, in the uncharted jungles of Brazil.

During the following decades, various groups mounted several rescue expeditions without results. They heard only various rumors that could not be verified. In addition to reports that Fawcett had been killed by Indians or wild animals, there was a tale that Fawcett had lost his memory and lived out his life as the chief of a tribe of cannibals.”

Peter Fleming and his party never satisfactorily determined the fate of Colonel Fawcett.  But, lucky for us, Fleming produced a highly satisfactory account of his South American trip.   Brazilian Adventure is a classic book to be savored, page by page, for its exploration of the interior of human nature as well as the interior of a continent.

The book is quite scarce and collectible in both the UK and US first edition (Jonathan Cape, London, 1933; U.S. First Edition published by Charles Scribner, NY, 1934).  The book remains in print.  For collectors, we currently have a first U.S. edition available here at Old Scrolls Book Shop.

Below is a list of additional works by Peter Fleming:

1933 Brazilian Adventure

1934 One’s Company: A Journey to China in 1933

1936 News from Tartary: A Journey from Peking to Kashmir

1940 The Flying Visit

1942 A Story to Tell: And Other Tales

1952 The Sixth Column: A Singular Tale of Our Times

1952 A Forgotten Journey

1955 Tibetan Marches

1956 My Aunt’s Rhinoceros: And Other Reflections

1957 Operation Sea Lion

1957 Invasion 1940

1957 With the Guards to Mexico: And Other Excursions

1958 The Gower Street Poltergeist

1959 The Siege at Peking

1961 Bayonets to Lhasa: The First Full Account of the British Invasion of Tibet in         1904

1961 Goodbye to the Bombay Bowler

1963 The Fate of Admiral Kolchak

Peter Fleming was one of the greatest travel writers of the 20^th century.  He died in 1979 and is buried in  Nettlebed, Oxfordshire, England. The Fleming Award is given in his honour by the Royal Geographic Society. The grant has been awarded annually since 2004, for a research project that seeks to advance geographical science.

Holiday Gift Ideas for Book Lovers

Here are some great gift ideas for the book lover in your life that can provide joy all year long.

For the past few years, my dear friend Laurel has given me The Reading Woman calendar for Christmas, published by Pomegranate Communications, Inc., a publishing house located in Northern California.

Image from 2012 Pomegranate calendar “The Reading Woman”

It’s a gift I cherish every day of the year.  I love its beautifully reproduced paintings and quotes about the pleasures of reading.  The image above is of a painting by Sir Samuel Henry William Llewellyn (English, 1858-1941) titled Girl with Pigtails (n.d.)

And here is a quote from the calendar:

“To read a writer is for me not merely to get an idea of what he says, but to go off with him and travel in his company.” – Andre’ Gide

Another favorite image from my 2012 calendar:

Sogni (Dreams), 1896. Vittorio Matteo Corcos (Italian, 1859-1933)

The Pomegranate website also carries “Reading Woman” engagement calendars, note cards, post cards, address books and more.

For the book collecting Man or Woman, you couldn’t do better than this gorgeous desk diary with text and images by Richard Minsky.

2013 Desk Diary, The Golden Age of American Book Design (text and images by Richard Minsky)

The 2013 Desk Diary, titled The Golden Age of American Book Design, has dozens of colorful, beautifully reproduced classic decorated book covers (in full color) with descriptions by Minsky.

2013 Desk Diary – The Golden Age of American Book Design

A page from “The Golden Age of American Book Design” desk diary

Any collector or admirer of decorated American trade bindings would love this gift, and it is reasonably priced! It also contains full color world maps and a literary quiz.  The desk diary is available in boxed hardcover and leather softcover editions, and both are beautiful.

Softcover leather edition of the 2013 Desk Diary

 

Both editions are available through Barnes & Noble .

If you want the real thing to go along with the calendar — that is, a collectible book from that  “Golden Age of American Book Design,” browse our selection of decorated American trade bindings HERE at Old Scrolls Book Shop.

Happy Holiday shopping!