My boss had just about had it with people severely dissing the Oakland Book Fair (or, the 48^th California International Antiquarian Book Fair, to be exact) before it ever even happened. Sure, Oakland gets a bad rep in the news – even we know that. But do you know anything about what Oakland does well? Probably not, seeing as the news reports only a bunch of crazy, cruel and creepy happenings in the Bay area city. Let us tell you what Oakland does do well. Baseball, basketball and… Book Fairs.

Look at how beautiful the venue looks behind us. (Yours truly with Hélène Golay of Lorne Bair Rare Books, opening night of the fair. Hence the big smiles. By Sunday afternoon we probably looked more than a little manic).

Some of you may be wondering why the California ABAA fair was in Oakland this year rather than San Francisco, as was in years past. It’s a pretty easy story to tell – two years ago the Northern California Chapter book fair committee learned that the 8^th & Brannan Concourse, where the fair had been held in the city, was no longer accepting contracts for exhibitors. Fort Mason was considered in the running for the setting, but its somewhat ill-suited location and extremely hard concrete flooring (which, in heels, all I can say is OUCH) as well as the fact that they had no appropriate dates available… well, let’s just say it easily lost out to the Oakland Convention Center – a venue more nicely appointed with better parking, easier public transportation, a nice Marriott hotel attached and, dare I say it, a non-leaking roof!

Many sellers went into the fair with more than a bit of trepidation – a perfectly understandable emotion at a new venue in a new city. For some booksellers, fairs can make or break your week, month, or even year in terms of revenue. For us at Tavistock Books, I would say that this was one of the better fairs we have exhibited at in quite a while – and, as a matter of fact, quite a good number of booksellers approached us at our booth (even way out in Siberia, where it was located) and in the course of discussing the fair stated that this was the best California fair at which they had ever exhibited. If you ask me, that is a solid mark of a success!

Though load-in did not begin until Thursday afternoon, our week began way before that, as we had a champagne cocktail reception at the store the Wednesday prior. We had quite a few new visitors to the shop – and it was great to get to know some other booksellers a bit better. Not to say that doing this did not cause a certain amount of stress and mess (we currently have 5 unopened champagne bottles sitting in a water bath of ice melted from a week ago behind our main display case); and as we wanted the shop to look at least somewhat nice and not like someone had broken in and raided our shelves, we did not begin to pack for the fair until the Thursday morning of load-in! We, of course, forgot some basic items, such as bookslips, the cashbox (somewhat important since customers seem to get weird and cagey when you tell them that its too bad you can’t give them change), and a calculator (extremely important for those of us who should have failed basic arithmetic long ago). Luckily, the shop was only 1.7 miles from the venue, and therefore we had many opportunities to go back and forth for what we needed.

Booth 100: Before, During, Almost There & After! (Photobomb by Joachim Koch of Books Tell You Why, Inc.)

Thursday night was the traditional exhibitor reception, which we anti-social & sickly beings at Tavistock Books skipped in favor of a good night’s sleep and a couple Midsomer Murders episodes (oh wait, that was just one of us… and, hint-hint, it wasn’t Vic) – but we were told by word, not to mention the yawns and drooping eyelids seen Friday morning, that it was a great night all around! The fair opened 3pm Friday afternoon, closing at 8. Saturday & Sunday the fair lasted most of the day, and luckily this past weekend buckets of rain poured on the Bay area – driving people away from their paddleboards and tennis games into a Book Fair where it seems they had little choice but to spend money!

Vic and Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf oooh and ahhh over a map of Downtown Oakland in the late 1800s.

In regards to the Book Fair in the press, opening evening of the fair Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf was among the crowd browsing books and being amazed by the treasures to be found around the fair. She was particularly taken with some of the items in the Tavistock Books booth, as a matter of fact, as we had two maps of Oakland and Alameda County from the 1880s. (Would link them here, but they did in fact sell at the Oakland Fair. And no, they did not go to Libby Schaaf!) It was not only great press for the book fair but also felt like a warm welcome to the fair’s change of locale. Click here to read about the mayor’s visit (and see another picture of her and Vic, which he is also really proud of).

Vic Zoschak of Tavistock Books, in Booth 100. (Which is really stupendously set up and decorated, a fact that you are all welcome to comment on…)

Now, my boss insists that you indulge me with a few words about administration at the fair. White Rain Productions puts on a spectacular shindig. (I am amazed that Microsoft Word did not yell at me for “shindig.” I have never, ever written it in a sentence). Load-in on Thursday was easy, and despite the fact that our trophy cases needed to be moved and one entire case had no glass shelves in it (a curious phenomenon, if you ask me) we had at least five people come to help us and the problem was solved in relatively little time at all. The concessions at the fair were exceptional (it is not often that you see a delicious Veggie-filled Soba Noodle salad on the menu right next to: “Hot Dog. $5”), with an Exhibitor Hospitality room (there was popcorn… be jealous) and an espresso stand. Advertising for the fair was spectacular – the colorful poster advert to be seen all over the hotel, with even BART announcing the fair on their signs throughout the Bay Area.

Presentations by Vic Zoschak (we weren’t lying).

Exhibitors numbered around 190 to 200 (remember, I’m arithmetic challenged, so don’t quote me on the exact number), hailing from all over the world – California to the Czech Republic, Australia to Jolly Old England. Most traveling exhibitors stayed in the Marriot itself, an easy public transport ride (the 12^th Street Bart Station just a half block’s walk from the hotel) from there to the city, to Berkeley, or to the airport. Also, a good number of cute restaurants and cafes surround the immediate area within a couple blocks (try Desco – great food, and if you get there, ask them to turn the music down just a notch for me). On Sunday Vic gave two Seminars, one on Book Collecting and the other on valuing your books (Book Collecting 101 and What’s This Book Worth?, respectively), and I had several fair-goers return to our booth later that afternoon especially in order to tell me he didn’t embarrass me, which leads me to believe that my last words to him before he left for his grand entrance (V: “Alright Ms. P, I’m off!” M: “Brilliant. Don’t embarrass me.”) were probably shared with the general public.

However… as I bring this blog to a close, if you ask me my absolute favorite part of the Oakland Book Fair? It’s that every night I got to go home to my own house, sleep in my own bed, and decide what I was going to wear 20 minutes before leaving home the next morning. There is something to be said for having your home base with you!

See you in 2017, for the 50^th Anniversary of the ABAA’s California International Antiquarian Book Fair!

The Tavistock Books booth with Vic Zoschak!

What words come to mind when you think of Pasadena? Is it “Roses”? Or how about “Jackie Robinson”? If you are a normal member of the human race, these words apply. If you are a bookseller, however, “Bustamante” should be the first word popping into your head. Bustamante Enterprises, Inc. puts on a fabulous Antiquarian Book, Print, Photo and Paper Fair at least once a year in Pasadena (if the ABAA fair is in the Bay area, they do the whole thing twice!). The motto on the bottom of the fair booklet says it all, “The Shows Worth Waiting For”. The Bustamante Pasadena Book Fair, held this past weekend at the Pasadena Convention Center, was definitely worth the wait and worth the trip. The administration was great, as always. Everything was set up to the specifications promised to the booksellers, help was readily accessible, coffee & pastries were easily available. The well-oiled machine of Bustamante Enterprises allows for a virtually pain-free load-in and move-out, the latter important, for booksellers want to able to get on their way quickly (whether it be to home or to a dinner with wine flowing).

Vic Zoschak of Tavistock Books with two up-n-comers in the trade, Laurelle Swan of Swan’s Fine Books and Dessa Kuritz of Churchill Book Collector!

Set-up and administration isn’t the whole story however, as the Pasadena Book, Print, Photo and Paper fair is held in a very nice venue, easily accessible and attended by a good mix of book collectors and institutional customers. The usual list of suspects was in attendance, Ken Sanders Rare Books, Lizzy Young Bookseller, Brad and Jen Johnson of The Book Shop, LLC, Greg Krisilas of Coconut Rose Books & Autographs, Zhenya Dzhavgova of ZH Books and Kim Herrick of The Book Lair were all among the guilty parties. Tavistock Books shared a booth with the lovely and calm Laurelle Swan of Swan’s Fine Books, a relatively new book store in Walnut Creek, CA. In all, it was a weekend of good fun and easy comaraderie, with a steady flow of customers (well, with the exception of Sunday afternoon…when all the book-lovers took off to go watch the Superbowl!) with stellar management & supervision!

On to the next! In case you haven’t heard, the Oakland ABAA Fair opens this Friday, February 6^th and runs until Sunday the 8^th. Come and see us at the Oakland Convention Center, Booth 100.

See you there!

Murder on the Orient Express. And Then There Were None. Murder at the Vicarage. The Body in the Library. A Murder is Announced. By the Pricking of My Thumbs. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. 4.50 From Paddington. What do all of these titles have in common? Besides great plots, inventive narratives and extremely competent character development? They were all written by the “Queen of Crime”, Dame Agatha Christie. Christie is said to be the best-selling novelist of all time (according to the Guinness Book of World Records) with over 2 billion copies of her novels sold and having been translated into 103 different languages. Reputedly, Christie is the third most popular author of all time, with regard to sales figures, finishing behind just William Shakespeare and the Bible. Furthermore, Christie’s stage-play “The Mousetrap” is the longest running (straight-play) stage production of all time, having opened in London in November 1952 and still being performed, with over 25,000 performances to date. How did this lady crime-novelist get to be so popular? How did her (seemingly average) life influence her writing? And perhaps the most important question of all… Who Killed Roger Ackroyd?!? (Just kidding, no spoiler alerts necessary). Stay tuned.

              The “Queen of Crime” herself!

Childhood

      Agatha Christie as a child, undated.

“One of the luckiest things that can happen to you in life is to have a happy childhood. I had a very happy childhood.” Christie was born Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller in 1890 in Torquay, Devon. She was the third child (of three), but spent much of her childhood alone with her parents, as her two siblings were significantly older than she. The author taught herself how to read by the age of 5, though her mother thought to keep Agatha home and untutored until age 8. Christie’s imagination flourished as a child and she spent many years inventing imaginary friends, writing poetry, and reading everything from exciting American thrillers to Little Women.

Christie’s life dramatically changed at the age of 11, with the death of her father and the looming financial hardships endured by her and her mother. Nevertheless, Christie was then educated in Paris for five years, and on returning to England traveled around with her mother. A most impressionable trip for the author occurred in 1910 to Cairo (a popular and affordable destination in the early 20^th century for Britons) where Christie unsuccessfully entertained the idea of finding a husband. However, on the return to England the young author attended a party during which she did find a handsome and charming husband, and later in life used her experiences in Cairo as inspiration for some of her works.

First Marriage and Christie’s “Disappearance”

Agatha Miller married Archibald Christie on Christmas Eve, 1914. The beginning of the marriage was slightly erratic, as Christie had joined the Air Service at the start of World War I and was in and out of the country until 1918. Agatha was also very involved with the war effort, as a member of the Voluntary Aid Detachment tending to wounded soldiers in a hospital in Torquay. A very important turning point in the author’s life was when she qualified as an Apothecaries’ Assistant in 1917, as her stretch at the dispensary helping shape her interest in medicine, which assisted her decades later when she began developing an intense knowledge of poisons. In 1920 her first book was published, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, which introduced to her public the now famous detective, Hercule Poirot. Christie was contracted to produce five more books, and thus began her prolific writing career.

Her marriage with Archie Christie was not a happy one, as Christie herself stated that her relationship with her husband began on the “excitement of the stranger” which wore off soon enough. In 1926 Archie announced his desire for a divorce, as he had been having an affair with a family friend, Nancy Neele, and had fallen in love with her. The author’s life was already in a tumultuous emotional state, with the recent death of her mother and a young baby in her care. Though the circumstances behind the Christies’ fight and subsequent events are iffy (at best), what is known is that after her car was found abandoned near Guildford in Surrey over a thousand police officers and 15,000 volunteers scoured the countryside for 10 days looking for the lost author. After a tip was called in, the police discovered Christie at a hotel in Harrogate, Yorkshire, registered as a Mrs. Theresa Neele (the family name of her husband’s mistress not overlooked) from Cape Town, South Africa. Though many speculated that Christie’s disappearance was part of a publicity stunt to embarrass her husband, the only official word of the situation was that the stress of the author’s circumstances sent her into an emotionally unbalanced state of temporary amnesia, forgetting her identity and associations. Though we may never know the truth, as Christie remained extremely tight-lipped about the incident for the rest of her life, the author does seem to have used her situation and failed marriage as inspiration for her March 1934 novel (not-crime fiction) Unfinished Portrait, where the protagonist (a suicidal woman) possesses qualities eerily similar to the author herself.

Popularity and Later Life

Christie and Max Malloway. “An archaeologist is the best husband a woman can have. The older she gets, the more interested he is in her.”    -Agatha Christie

Christie married a slightly younger archeologist named Max Mallowan in 1930, and enjoyed a happy and exciting married life with him until her death in 1976 (during which she was promoted to Dame Agatha Christie and her husband knighted for his archeological works – a couple honored in their own rights). She accompanied her husband on many of his archeological travels and excavations, and even assisted at the dig sites in the afternoons after writing a few chapters of her novels in the morning. It is on these travels and inspired by these travels that Christie wrote some of her most exciting literature.

The onset of World War II saw important influences from Christie’s life once again transposed into her writing. For instance, the author once more joined the war effort and put her apothecary/dispensary skills to good use. She began work at a pharmacy at University College Hospital in London, and her consequent knowledge of poisons would be used in some of her post-war novels. In particular, her “offing” several characters in The Pale Horse by the use of thallium poisoning supposedly helped real baffled doctors figure out what was causing their patients to suffer.

Christie continued to write until quite a late age, passing away from natural causes on January 12^th, 1976 at the age of 85. She lived long enough to attend the premiere of the 1974 film version of Murder on the Orient Express (her last official public outing), where she deemed the adaptation good overall, despite the fact that Poirot’s mustache was not up to her luxurious expectations!

1st edition 4.50 From Paddington? Miss Marple doing what she does best. Yes, please! Read more here>

Unlike many other authors, Christie never suffered a period of waning popularity. Her 66 novels and 14 short story collections have been continuously in print. The shy and private Christie is still highly regarded as one of the most important novelists in the 20^th century, possibly the most important in the genre of crime-fiction. In 2013 her novel The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (published in 1926) was voted the Best Crime Novel Ever by over 600 fellow authors of the Crime Writers’ Association. Christie is remembered today mainly for her crime fiction, but let’s not forget that she was a versatile author and also penned six romance novels (under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott, until 1946 when her cover was blown by an American critic). With her stage-play “The Mousetrap” still entertaining hundreds of audiences a year, it is unlikely that Dame Agatha Christie will be forgotten any time soon!

“It is clear that the books owned the shop rather than the other way about. Everywhere they had run wild and taken possession of their habitat, breeding and multiplying, and clearly lacking any strong hand to keep them down.” (Agatha Christie, The Clocks)

Wishing you and your loved ones a very Happy Holiday Season,

from all of us here at Tavistock Books.

                                                         Bah, Humbug.

                                     Deadpan is universal here at Tavistock Books.

The Beginnings of the Christmas Spirit

St. Nicholas “Lipensky” later in life, from a Russian icon in the Lipnya Church of St. Nicholas in Novgorod, circa 1294.

Though the Christmas celebration of gift-giving and caroling falls on the same evening as the Western Church celebrations of the birth of Jesus Christ, the two are not inherently related. At first, the celebration of gift-giving as a treat for the children was celebrated on December 6^th, when Saint Nicholas of the Catholic church had his feast day. Legend states that as a young man entering the monastery in the 4^th century AD in present-day Turkey, St. Nicholas was required to give up all of his worldly possessions. According to the story, Nicholas did so – and chose a poor family to bestow his “gifts” to in the night – placing gold coins in the shoes of the daughters, as well as leaving items in stockings hung over the bed posts. Saint Nicholas became known for his love of children and as a giver – and thus the traditions of the holiday began.

Many countries have adapted the story of this famous “gift-giver” for their own purposes – and the man so claimed can be identified under many names, including: Sinterklaas (the Netherlands), Father Christmas (United Kingdom), Pelze-Nichol (Germany), San Nikola (Italy), Pere Noel (France), Grandfather Frost (Russia), Niklaus (Austria), Joulupukki (Finland) and even Lan Khoong (China). Some countries have adapted the birth of Jesus Christ to the holiday, transforming the Christ child into the gift-giver. In any case, the holiday celebration has long included the tradition of gift-giving, especially for children.

The Look of Santas around the World! If you ask me (which you didn’t, but I will tell you my opinion anyway), the US Santa could stand for going on a juice cleanse.

The History of Christmas Celebrations in America

Christmas had tenuous beginnings in the new lands settled by the pilgrims. These English separatists, who in 1620 journeyed to what was eventually to become the United States, were conservative in their religious beliefs and frowned upon all mention of the holiday. In fact, from 1659 to 1681, the celebration of Christmas was against the law in Boston.

The Christmas Spirit truly began to be recognized in early America (finally!) in the later part of the 1800s. Christmas was recognized as a federal holiday in 1870 (though states began to recognize it as a legal holiday as early as 1836 with Alabama leading the continent in appreciating the Christmas spirit). In the years following the Civil war, Christmas traditions spread like wildfire across the country – in large part due to the further propagation of children’s literature across the states.

Significant Pieces of Christmas Literature in English

North America had, quite obviously, a bit of a later start with the formation of our idea of Saint Nicholas than European countries did. But with the help of our English-speaking counterparts in the United Kingdom, there are quite a few important English works on the subject of Christmas, Yuletide, and the holiday collectively. Of course, one of the most famous pieces of writing done on the subject of Christmas was the 1822 poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas” or what you might know as “’Twas the Night Before Christmas”, written in New York by Clement Clarke Moore as a bedtime story for his young children. After the (anonymous) publication of this poem in 1823, Christmas stories for children became an even more established writing subject.

Why yes, as a matter of fact this facsimilie of the 1st edition of “A Christmas Carol” is available for purchase through our website! Click here>

We would not be Tavistock Books if we didn’t, in some way, tie many of our blogs to our main man – Charles Dickens. In Victorian England Christmas reigned supreme, due largely to Queen Victoria and Dickens himself. Queen Victoria reputedly once remarked on her fondness for Christmas Trees covered in candles and presents, which immediately sparked the popularity for such in households around the country. Charles Dickens, penning such Christmas titles as: A Christmas Carol, A Christmas Tree, The Cricket on the Hearth, The Chimes, The Battle of Life & The Haunted Man, largely helped shape the image of Christmas that was taking root across the country in the Victorian period. In fact, Dickens helped fashion a good number of Christmas phrases, including the obvious “Bah! Humbug!” as well as increase the popularity of the expression “Merry Christmas!” through his works.

Popular Christmas titles have been written in almost all languages. In the English-speaking world, holiday literature (mainly for children) has remained a popular genre since the publication of A Visit from St. Nicholas. Some of the non-Dickens popular titles you may recognize are Old Christmas (Washington Irving, 1875), A Kidnapped Santa Claus (Frank L. Baum, 1904), How the Grinch Stole Christmas (Dr. Seuss, 1957), and The Polar Express (1985). While these are just a handful of the more popular titles to emerge in almost the last two centuries, Christmas literature does seem to have skyrocketed in quantity with the popularity of Christmas that has been spreading since the beginning of the 19^th century.

And in keeping with the joyous Christmas spirit now permeating the land, we here at Tavistock Books want to wish all our friends, colleagues & customers the very best of holidays, and will close this piece by offering a quote of Tiny Tim’s, “God bless us, every one!”

                           Happy Christmas!

Almost 50 Northern California booksellers and their guests gathered last night, as we celebrated at this year’s annual ABAA Northern California Chapter (NCC) meeting/holiday party. The quarterly meeting of the NCC is a combined business meeting and social gathering, with this catered holiday dinner accompanied by a raffle to raise money for the Elisabeth Woodburn Educational Fund (in which the ABAA provides financial support for scholarly research and education relevant to the antiquarian book trade – for scholarships to book schools such as CABS, CalRBS and RBS – click here to learn more). The venue was the Berkeley City Club, a beautiful 1929 building designed by the noted California architect Julia Morgan. It now plays host to visitors to the East Bay, as well as straggler antiquarian booksellers looking for good food, good wine and book talk!

A full house! (Why so serious, M.H.?)

Reflecting the chapters’ geographical diversity, the evening’s participants hailed from all over Northern California, including the central valley, Sonoma county, Marin county, San Francisco and even Monterey. The quarterly meetings of the ABAA NCC chapter are a fantastic chance for collegiality, conviviality and meeting up with like-minded bibliophiles, and yesterday evening was no exception!

The gathering got underway around 6-ish, with drinks and socializing, and an hour later the staff began serving, as Michael Hackenberg, our NCC Chair, kicked off the business portion of the night.

TavBooks’ Vic Zoschak giving the Board of Governor’s report.

As is custom, the first order of business was to introduce any and all guests in attendance (of which Tavistock Books was responsible for a very modest 10 people…), and then the Treasurer/Secretary report, the Board of Governors report (given by our very own Vic Zoschak), followed by a good amount of updates on the upcoming 48^th California International Antiquarian Book Fair, to be held in Oakland this coming February 2015. The number of exhibitors is gaining on 190, the event is being highly publicized, and hopefully the new location in the East Bay will be able to draw even more visitors, due to its more central location and easier access to all of Northern California. The ABAA fair Poker Tournament was discussed, with Bibliopolis recently joining Michals Insurance as the event’s primary sponsors. Given the success of the tournament held last February in Pasadena, we are hopeful of raising similar sums for the Woodburn Fund this coming February!

The night flew by as a lovely meal had been consumed, many glasses of wine drunk, a few dozen items raffled, and $1,200 raised for the Woodburn fund. As this holiday season continues its course, we’re happy to report the NCC ABAA started out its holiday season with a warmth & generosity we hope others will match.

Happy Holidays to all from Tavistock Books!

At Tavistock Books, we believe in “book-education.” Not textbooks for kids in school (though those are helpful too, I suppose), but more the education of others, especially members of the trade, on Rare and Antiquarian Books. It is one reason why we hold a yearly workshop on Reference Books (see the blog on our last class here) and why we award a scholarship to one lucky individual each year to attend Joel Silver’s Reference Sources course at Rare Book School in Charlottesville, VA. We are interested in others understanding and appreciating the rare book trade, but more importantly, the rare book world in general. What some often don’t understand about antiquarian books is the sheer amount of history, culture and information held within each volume. The smallest detail can speak a thousand words – the type of cloth used in the binding, the signature on the front fly leaf, the illustrations present within the work – all contribute to turning a single book into a work of art and information from a moment in time. Therefore, we appreciate those who further the education of others on books and the history found within them.

Gary Kurutz: scholar, bibliographer and book collector!

Now that the emotional rant on the beauty of Antiquarian Books and why everyone should like what we like is over, we can get down to business. Yesterday we saw Gary Kurutz, one of the current leading bibliographers on the Far West, bring his California Rare Book School (or CalRBS) class to Tavistock Books after a trip to the Bancroft Library. While we can only imagine the spectacular items they might have beheld in the Special Collections of UC Berkeley, we were at least able to show them a few important Western Americana Reference Books (including Kurutz’s own The California Gold Rush – an indispensable title when researching mid 19^th century California). Also here at the store were a few significant historical titles on the counter, available for actual handling, to help put a face to a name (or a binding to a title, as it were) to some of the books represented in the class.

Kurutz’s class is a 5-day long excursion through the depths of “Books of the Far West, with an Emphasis on California” and is very highly recommended by Tavistock Books. The class, which in the past had been held at UCLA, was a couple years ago moved to the California Historical Society in the heart of San Francisco, and is now (obviously) much more accessible to Northern California-based collectors, sellers, librarians and enthusiasts. (Go to www.calrbs.org/program/courses/booksofthewest if you would like to learn more about this in-depth journey through the Books of the West!)

Thanks to all, especially Gary & his class, who continue to keep the Antiquarian Book World alive!