Treasures We're Bringing: Caldecott winner

From Books Tell You Why, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina:
A signed Caldecott Winner AND Academy Awards winner: # 14921
Selznick, Brian - The Invention Of Hugo Cabret; USD 200 Scholastic Press, 2007; 1st Edition, 1st Printing. A First Edition in its First Printing in dust-jacket, SIGNED and dated "2007" by author Brian Selznick directly on the title page. A spectacular, seemingly unread copy, As New. Hugo Cabret lives in the walls of a busy Paris train station. He is orphan, clock keeper and thief, and his survival depends on secrets and anonymity. His undercover life and most precious secret are endangered when he meets the owner of a toy booth and an eccentric bookish girl. With the 284 pages of original drawings Selznick has created a new reading experience, combining elements of picture book, graphic novel, and film. 2008 winner of the Caldecott Medal. Basis for the Academy Awards winning 2011 Martin Scorcese movie starring Jude Law, Asa Butterfield, Chloe Moretz, Sacha Baron Cohen, Ray Winstone and Sir Ben Kingsley.

TREASURES WE'RE BRINGING: This is a series that reveals some of the special books dealers will be bringing to the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair. Watch for more coming soon.

Delicious visit for the Stand-Up Librarian! Yum!

Stand-Up Librarian Meredith Myers is out and about around Tampa Bay visiting favorite places and talking about the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair. Look where she just went.

Treasures We're Bringing: First Cat in the Hat

 From Lighthouse Books, ABAA, St. Petersburg, Florida:
First Appearance of The Cat in the Hat: Seuss, Dr. [Theodor Geisel]. The Cat in the Hat. New York. Random House, (1957). 1st edition, 1st issue, in illustrated mat boards, with "200/200" on the front panel of dust jacket, no mention of the "Beginner Books" series on the rear panel, and with the four paragraphs of educator's review instead. Bearing a former-owner signature; otherwise very clean and tight in a chipped dust jacket. $1,500.

TREASURES WE'RE BRINGING: This is a series that reveals some of the special books dealers will be bringing to the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair. Watch for more coming soon.

You can buy Book Fair tickets right now! No waiting.

BUY TICKETS NOW! You can buy your tickets to the 33rd Florida Antiquarian Book Fair right now online. Buy now and have no waiting in the box office line. What's more you can get a discount by using the promotional code "saveabuck" (without the quotation marks). Here's the link.

 Be THAT kind of friend and share this, too.

Treasures We're Bringing: Dickens limited edition

 From Copperfish Books, Punta Gorda, Florida:

 David Copperfield by Charles Dickens. Norwalk, CT: Easton Press, 2011. A deluxe facsimile limited edition, number 175 of 400. Phiz illustrations, reproductions of the original serialized parts.

TREASURES WE'RE BRINGING: This is a series that reveals some of the special books dealers will be bringing to the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair. Watch for more coming soon.

Treasures We're Bringing: First Caldecott winner

 From Books Tell You Why, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina:
 Here's a remarkable book that fits the Children's Literature: Pages of Wonder theme of the Book Fair. It's the first edition of the first winner of the Caldecott Medal in 1938.

Fish, Helen Dean [; Dorothy P. Lathrop] - Animals Of The Bible; USD 490
Frederick A. Stokes Company, 1937; 1st Edition, 1st Printing. A charming First Edition in Nearly Fine condition in the scarce, chipped dust-jacket with few tears and tape repair to the backside of the jacket. Second state with "Lathrop" correctly spelled on the of spine of book and dust-jacket with $2.00 publication price present, illustrated end-papers with prancing dear in front and back.  Helen Fish wrote the introduction and selected passages from the King James version of the Bible which accompany the beautiful drawings of Dorothy Pulis Lathrop. Winner of the first Caldecott Medal for best illustrated children's book in 1938. An important book in children's picture book history.

 TREASURES WE'RE BRINGING: This is a series that reveals some of the special books dealers will be bringing to the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair. Watch for more coming soon.

The Stand-Up Librarian is out and about

Here is a new video about the 33rd annual Florida Antiquarian Book Fair featuring Stand-Up Librarian Meredith Myers. Meredith interviews Ray Hinst, co-owner of Haslam's Book Store, a fixture in St. Petersburg for 80 years. Haslam's is a member of the Florida Antiquarian Booksellers Association and a great supporter of the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair.

Meredith holds a master's degree in library science, works as a stand-up comedian, designs literary-themed clothing and accessories, and is a big fan of the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair, where she sold her first book-themed purse three years ago.

The Florida Antiquarian Book Fair features more than 100 dealers in books of every age and subject matter, antique maps, prints, autographs, ephemera and more. The 33rd annual Florida Antiquarian Book Fair will be presented in The Coliseum in St. Petersburg on March 14-16, 2014.

Visit the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair online. 
Visit Meredith, The Stand-Up Librarian online.

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Buy tickets online

Treasures We're Bringing: Amazing Mark Twain

From Blind Horse Books, Key Largo:
Here are three amazing volumes by Mark Twain

 Mark Twain [Samuel Clemens] A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. New York: Charles L. Webster, 1889. FIRST EDITION Mixed state: no "s"- like ornament in caption p.59 but with perfect type on p.72.  No half title on fly leaf. Rarely seen in this binding. Publisher’s brown half morocco over brown pebbled cloth. Marbled text-block and end-papers. Former owner name stamped to margin of one text page (p.47), Edges/corners with light wear, small breaks on three corner tips, else a very bright and clean copy. Pages evenly toned.  575 pp, 2 pp. adv. FIRST EDITION Mixed state: no "s"-like ornament in caption p.59 but with perfect type on p.72.  No half title on fly leaf. Publisher’s stamp on lower rear end-page indicating book was for subscribers.

Mark Twain [Samuel Clemens] Roughing It and The Innocents at Home. London: George Routledge and Sons, 1882. First British edition, first printing. 12mo. 7 3/8 in tall. [xvi, 495 pages.] Contemporary half leather with light rubbing to extremities. Joints and hinges sound. Bindings tight and Square. 200 Illustrations by F. A. Fraser.

 Mark Twain [Samuel Clemens] Twain, Mark. [Samuel Clemens]. Tom Sawyer Abroad by Huck Finn . New York: Charles Webster & Company, 1894. First edition. Octavo. 219 pages, [4] publisher's catalog pages. Illustrations by Dan Beard. Publisher's original pictorial tan cloth with titles stamped in gilt and featuring a scene of two young boys running from a lion. Boards with modest shelf wear and some soiling. Spine toned. Wear showing to corners with a slight bump to top front corner. Contents clean. Former owner's bookplate mounted to the front pastedown. In a chemise and custom half-leather slipcase.

TREASURES WE'RE BRINGING: This is a series that reveals some of the special books dealers will be bringing to the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair. Watch for more coming soon.

Treasures We're Bringing: Stephen King, signed

From Blind Horse Books, Key Largo:
 Stephen King. The Eyes of the Dragon. Signed with Inscription by King on the half title, dated 7/18/92. /For Dan – Best Wishes/. New York: Viking, 1987 Illustrations by David Palladini. (8vo) cloth-backed boards, Dust jacket. First Trade Edition. 326 pages.

TREASURES WE'RE BRINGING: This is a series that reveals some of the antiquarian books, rare volumes, and special titles dealers will be bringing to the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair. Hope you enjoy it. Watch for more.

Stand-Up Librarian Meredith Myers touts Book Fair

We're delighted that Stand-Up Libriarian Meredith Myers will be working to help draw attention to the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair this year.

Meredith, who holds a masters degree in library science, performs stand-up comedy at libraries and book events across the country. In connection with the Book Fair, Meredith will make appearances around the Tampa Bay area to highlight this year's theme, Children's Literature: Pages of Wonder.

In this video, Meredith introduces herself, gives a brief tour of her studio, and reveals her favorite childhood book. Meredith has been performing stand-up comedy for a dozen years, ever since she checked out a library book (of course) on comedy.

Meredith designs and constructs her own literary-themed costumes and accessories. During a visit to the Book Fair three years ago, fairgoers expressed interest in her book-themed purse and she sold it on the spot. That led to her development of a literary fashion business. You can find out more about Meredith at StandUpLibrarian.com and StandUpLibrarianDesigns.com

Feel free to share this video and others we'll be posting here soon. We want everyone to know about the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair and our celebration of children's literature this year.

Sad loss of O.J. Brisky brings liquidation of store

O.J. Brisky looks over one of the thousands of books at his store, O. Brisky Books, in historic downtown Micanopy
in this photo by Jon Singley in the Gainesville Sun. Here is a link to an excellent article about O.J. that appeared
in the Gainesville Sun. 

We are saddened at the passing of colleague O.J. Brisky, who operated O. Brisky Books in Micanopy for decades. O.J. was a founding member and stalwart supporter of the Florida Antiquarian Booksellers Association. For many years, he was an exhibitor at the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair. He is remembered for his sly wit, his exceptional intelligence, and vast knowledge of antiquarian books.

O.J. was a fixture on Cholokka Boulevard in Micanopy, where he opened his 55,000-volume store about a quarter century ago. He specialized in Florida history, military history, natural history, art, and architecture volumes. Many book dealers coming to Florida in the spring made O. Brisky Books a stop on the way. Before he moved to Micanopy, O.J. owned a book store in Tarpon Springs.

Fellow bookseller Gary Nippes, who is a regular at the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair, is supervising the liquidation of O. Brisky’s. He’ll have the store open only on the weekends, and expects the process to take four to six months. Beginning this weekend, February 15 and 16, all books in the store will be 50% off. The store is open from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. It will be closed on March 15 and 16 so that Gary can be at the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair.

If you have questions, you can reach Gary at (352) 466-3910 or (352) 373-4541.

Pass this on to someone who will appreciate it

The Florida Antiquarian Book Fair theme for 2014 is Children's Literature: Page of Wonder. We're featuring a series of quotations from children's books and from writers about children's books. We hope you enjoy them. Please feel free to share them with people you think will appreciate them.