Articles

Articles by our staff and guests on all aspects of the rare book world.

October 26, 2011

Complicated Lives: Association Copies as Artifactual Evidence

Tom Congalton

[Delivered at the Caxton Club, March 19, 2011]

When I was asked to give this talk, it was suggested that I have a title, and I found this one suitably grand:

Complicated Lives: Association Copies as Artifactual Evidence; or an examination of how association copies can reinforce and expand our knowledge of authors and their familiars, with a further look at the alchemical processes whereby booksellers and collectors attempt to transform ink into gold.

Well, as I hadn’t written it yet, I’m not sure that that this speech has anything to do with this title, but thank you in advance for indulging me. In...

May 10, 2010

Organized Labor Goes Feline

Admiral Muffin and Pirate Pumpkin
[Editor's Preface: Visitors to BTC will find on the staff room's refrigerator, held in place by magnets, the following declaration, composed by the aggrieved or their assignees around 2000. To some the notice came unexpectedly, but to more careful observers there had been warning signs.]

We the undersigned Kitties do hereby announce the formation of Local Number One of the International Kittyhood of Household Pets (Cat Division) and demand the following rights. Failure to comply will force labor actions which will result in the increase of mice on the premises, failure to be cute for visiting customers, increased urination in the...
April 27, 2010

Book Catalogs Galore

We offer an ever-increasing range of specialty catalogs, each devoted to a single author or subject. You can download them directly from our website as follows:

Edward Albee (3.19 MB pdf file)
Architecture (4.98 MB pdf file)
Poul Anderson (3.35 MB pdf file)
Sherwood Anderson (1.66 MB pdf file)
John Ashbery (2.04 MB pdf file)
Isaac Asimov (3.62 MB pdf file)
W.H. Auden (4.85 MB pdf file)
James Baldwin (2.95 MB pdf file)
Djuna Barnes (3.21 MB pdf file)
John Barth (3.11 MB pdf file)
Donald Barthelme (also includes Frederick Barthelme, 2.46 MB pdf file)
Basketball (4.56 MB pdf file)
...

April 14, 2010

The Bookshop in Old New Castle

Four Prominent Book Sellers Join Forces to Open The Bookshop in Old New Castle

On May 1 2010, Between the Covers Rare Books, Oak Knoll Books, The Kelmscott Bookshop, and the Old Bookshop of Bordentown will open The Bookshop of Old New Castle. Located on the second floor of the historic Opera House at 308 Delaware Street, the shop will sell books on all subjects from each individual store's inventory. For the May 1st grand opening, which is open to the public, the store will open at 9 am, with the ribbon-cutting ceremony at 2 pm. Accompanied by food and...

March 5, 2009

The Bruce Kahn Collection

by Ken Lopez and Tom Congalton

We are pleased to offer, jointly with Ken Lopez, Bookseller, one of the finest collections of Modern Literature ever assembled: The Bruce Kahn Collection. For the first catalog from this collection we gathered some of its highlights, and both Ken and Tom wrote the introductions that follow. On Ken's website you can view currently available items from the original catalog, the full text of the catalog, or a 10MB PDF file of the fully illustrated catalog in all its glory. The catalog has received praise from several sources including Nicholas Basbanes.

But the original catalog was just the tip of the...