Category Archives: Events

Our Favorite Holiday Stories

Happy Holidays, Bibliophiles! With the holiday season having dawned bright and early the day after Thanksgiving (though we held off on decorating until December 1st, we are excited to report), we are trying to get into the spirit of the season! There’s nothing quite like curling up by a fire with a good book in the Winter, so we thought we’d pay homage to some of the most beloved, most culturally significant, and popular holiday stories of all time. In no particular order (though we of course saved the best [in our humble opinion] for last), enjoy some of our holiday favorites!

1. “How the Grinch Stole Christmas!” by Dr. Seuss (Or Theodor Geisel) was published in 1957 and was an immediate success. The grouchy protagonist is not without fault and through the course of the book learned the ‘true’ meaning of Christmas. With unforgettable characters and an ability to inspire both children and adults alike, this book is a definite fan favorite of the Christmas season.

2. “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King” by Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann was published in 1816 as a German novella, about a young woman adventures after her favorite toy comes alive on Christmas Eve. Known primarily for the ballet based on this story (the ballet by Tchaikovsky having come about in 1892), this story through its adaptation has made it all around the world. We would bet that “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King” is one of the most culturally significant stories of the season because of this very reason!

3. “Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins” by Eric Kimmel is a relatively new holiday story, having been published in only 1989. However, it won the National Jewish Book Awards for both its writing and its illustrations, and has become a staple in the Jewish community. This modern folktale uses both humor and heroism as Hershel outwits goblins to save Hanukkah celebrations and win his synagogue back, night after night. The rich storytelling and beautiful drawings has earned it a place on our list for the holiday season.

4. “Twas the Night Before Christmas” by Clement Clark Moore is a poem written in 1823, and is also known as “A Visit from St. Nicholas”. This poem is widely read and even memorized throughout the English speaking world, and has inspired countless illustrated versions throughout history. While the story initially was published on December 23rd anonymously, It was almost fifteen years later that Moore would claim authorship of a poem that has helped solidify much of the modern imagery of Santa Claus (i.e. his sleigh, reindeer, and jolly demeanor). As a mascot of one of the largest holidays of the year, a cozy poem about Santa no doubt hit sky high popularity immediately after it was published, and has remained just as popular ever since!

And last but CERTAINLY not least…

5. “A Christmas Carol” by our main man Charles Dickens, was published on the 19th of December, 1843. By Christmas Eve, the edition had completely sold out! The timeless tale of the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge who is transformed by the visits of three ghosts has become synonymous with the spirit of Christmas. A Christmas Carol uses themes of redemption, generosity and holiday cheer to encourage an enduring message about compassion and human connection. And while this story is perhaps the quintessential Christmas book with how it is credited with shaping modern Christmas traditions (like the focus of the season on charity, family and goodwill towards your fellow humans), we would argue that the messages it portrays about redemption, forgiveness and transformation are relevant all year round!

*Our 1869 edition of Dickens’ famous holiday work has beautiful gilt to the cover. Very festive indeed!*

Perhaps we can all adopt the Icelandic practice of “Jolabokaflod”, which translates literally to “Christmas Book Flood” and involves the exchanging of books on Christmas Eve and the celebration of a quiet night of reading them together! Sounds like a perfect holiday tradition to us, don’t you agree?

Happy Holidays from Tavistock Books!

CALRBS, One Man’s Experience

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It’s been said that old dawgs can’t learn new tricks. Well, this old dawg thought maybe he could, for despite having been in the antiquarian book trade for 3+ decades, in the hopes of learning something new, the week of August 7th, I attended the CALRBS course, PostModern Bookselling, taught by my friends & ABAA colleagues, Brad & Jen Johnson, principals in the firm, Johnson Rare Books & Archives, Covina, CA.

For those not familiar with CALRBS, the courses are taught on the lovely UCLA campus, with the classes [mainly] held in the SE&IS building on the north end, right next to the Young library. While the UCLA Guest House is close by, I chose to stay at the Tiverton, at the South end of campus, close to Westwood. It made for a nice to/from walk every day… you know, “Get your steps in”.

As with most classes of this nature, the week began with a welcome brunch hosted by Director Robert Montoya, providing all attendees there for the week [CALRBS hosted 3 other classes that week] the opportunity to meet staff & fellow attendees, followed by each class heading to their respective class room. So the 8 of us gathered in room 101, and began the week together with personal introductions… we were a rather diverse group, though as you might imagine, the majority were booksellers in some fashion or form, ranging from relative newbies, to this old dawg of 34 years standing.

Brad & Jen’s plan for the course was to demonstrate to the class that the trade has evolved from what it was just a few decades ago… that PostModern booksellers should recognize that material other than just books is worth their time & energy, and they used their personal success as an example of what is possible. For those that don’t know, Johnson Rare Books & Archives has enjoyed considerable prosperity by focusing on archives, telling the story of under-represented communities & those outside the mainstream of literary pedagogy. Further, they emphasized the practice of active bookselling [reach out to possible customers] vs that of a passive nature [e.g., list your books on ABE, and wait for a buyer].

But what about specifics of the week you ask? To the Johnson’s credit, they brought in [some by Zoom] experts from many walks of the trade & book world… To start, Monday afternoon, Kevin Johnson, principal of Royal Books & author of The CELLULOID PAPER TRAIL, led a session on movie scripts, their history, identification, etc. Fascinating! We spent Tuesday morning with Russell Johnson, UCLA Curator of the History of Medicine. For those that know Russell, you know he’s a very generous individual, and a true friend of the trade. He showed us a number of usable treasures he’s procured over the decades he’s been in his position. And Tuesday afternoon was devoted to “Born Digital”, a Zoom presentation by Will Hansen, Newberry Library, followed by buying at auctions, another Zoom session, with Joe Fay, McBride Rare Books [and one who spent a number of years with Heritage auctions, so he had intimate inside knowledge of that about which he spoke].

Wednesday was spent on a field trip to Covina, where Brad & Jen had closed their shop for the day, in order to give the class the run of it, as well as show us some projects currently in the works… perhaps most impressive was a recently acquired consignment, a binding collection of some repute [Morris-Levin anyone?], though some were taken by Brad’s archive-in-the-building, nudist camp literature [feel free to quote him material]. But perhaps the high point of the day was lunch at Brad & Jen’s go-to place, Casa Moreno. Good food, generous portions, great company! After lunch, we traipsed over to Pasadena to visit “Paper Village”, a site where a number of pickers store their finds. What a fun afternoon! I even bought a bunch of books [which Brad kindly agreed to ship back to Reno for me].

Thursday was another busy day, with 4 areas covered: “Working with Institutions”, led by Greg Williams, Special Collections Librarian for CSU Domingo Hills. “Introduction to Appraisals” by James Goldwasser, Locus Souls Rare Books. “Research Strategies for Non-Traditional Materials”, Kate Mitas, Bookseller [by Zoom]. “Non-Traditional Approaches to Photography”, Kent Tschanz, Tschanz Rare Books. While all were quite good, and James taught me a few things about appraisals I didn’t realize [or forgot], I confess, I have to give a nod to Kent as my favorite, for his enthusiasm for the subject was nothing short of infectious. I’m only sorry he didn’t have another hour or two, for he showed some truly magnificent images to the class, though many were given short shrift, or skipped altogether, due to time constraints.
While not originally part of the class schedule, fortuitously, the LA Art Book Fair had its opening night that night. We all went. The crowds, of mostly young folks, was nothing short of amazing. And two of our class [Miranda & Laurelin, Amortia Fine Art Books] had a stand! We all hoped they killed it! After, dinner at a local restaurant, Manuela DTLA, fabulous of course!

Friday, our last day, but certainly not our least. It began with a Zoom session featuring colleague Andrew Gaub, Bruce McKittrick Rare Books. McKittrick Rare Books focuses solely on books from the hand-press period, and Andrew spoke on how to market & sell antiquarian books in the 21st century. Suffice it to say, despite the week’s bias toward non-traditional materials, Andrew makes a credible living selling ‘olde’ books. The next session was with two local LA librarians, Dalena Hunter & Lizeth Ramirez, who discussed the collecting of under-represented communities. And while their focus is LA, the precepts they shared can be applied to any locale. Finally, class concluded with a “Non-Traditional Materials Workshop”, where each of us was to ‘pick & catalogue’ an item supplied by Brad & Jen. Mine was a photo album & letter archive Brad had just purchased just the Sunday prior at the Pasadena flea market! Since it may soon be on the market, I won’t say too much more, other than that guy sure has an eye for great material!

The official week ended with a mixer at the Young library, typical cheese cubes & white wine, but long on new friends saying their goodbyes. It was sad to see the week end, but hey, next year brings another schedule of classes, so perhaps I’ll see you in LA the summer of 2024?

An Update on Tavistock Books’ Latest Adventure!

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Tavistock Books underwent a lot of big changes this year! For those of you who don’t know, we moved our store from the California island of Alameda after 25+ years all the way to Reno, Nevada! Vic and his wife Ellen wished to live closer to family, so Tavistock Books was packed up and moved, and we’re dying to know how it is all going in such a different world!

Q: Hi Vic! Thanks for taking the time to answer some questions about the bookselling trade after your major year! How are you holding up after such a major shift?

It was a major change Ms P, one 6 months in the undertaking. I started prepping the Alameda store for the move in mid-November 2022, and the last load of books wasn’t delivered to 220 S. Rock Blvd until this past 6 May. For most of that 6 months, I worked 7 days a week. At the end of the move, I was one tired puppy, and I’ll be honest, it took me a couple weeks to regain my energy!

Q: How are you enjoying living in Reno, after a few months there?

I’ll really like Reno. Its nickname is the Biggest Little City in the World, which seems quite fitting actually. Its population is just under 300,000 so not so many folks that you feel the press, but enough to give it some gravitas, e.g., entertainers who perform at the casinos, some really great restaurants, a bit of social & cultural life, and not to mention, its world famous event – HOT AUGUST NIGHTS! Speaking of which, yours truly is taking his classic sports car [see below] out on Thursday night. 🙂

Q: How goes the unpacking of Tavistock Books?! Last we checked in with a couple pictures in our FS Lists, the bookcases were up and you were slowly but surely getting box by box settled. How is the new store/office looking?

Well, frankly, it’s going rather slowly… I know you & I previously had discussed a ‘grand opening’ on/about 1 July; obviously that date has come & gone, so perhaps 1 July 2024 is more realistic. I attribute this slow progress to two factors: one, I’ve gone into semi-retired mode, and am only working 3-4 hours a day. Second, as I unpack a book, I take the time to review its original record for accuracy, verify its listed condition, check pricing with respect to current market conditions & update/take images [as required]. The benefit to this approach is that, after 26 years, I’m actually performing a book-by-book inventory on my listed stock. Curiously enough, I’ve come across around a dozen or so items that had been marked in my database as “missing”. Now I’m recording a location for every book I unpack, so the “lost” or “missing” phenomena should no longer happen!

Q: What have you noticed is the biggest difference in bookselling when in Alameda vs. Reno? Do you miss anything about the open storefront?

I’ve not really noticed any difference. I say this, for my last number of years in Alameda, even though I had a storefront on a major Alameda mercantile street, I had gone to a business model that emphasized on-line sales vs courting public walk-in traffic. In fact, when COVID hit, I completely closed the Alameda store to the public, only seeing folks on a ‘by appointment’ basis. Since my Reno location is in a soft-industrial park, I’ve continued the ‘By Appointment’ approach here in Reno. The only ‘downside’ to this is the opportunity to ‘buy’ books… people walking by my Webster storefront, seeing my “We Buy Books” sign would bring things to me, that won’t happen here in Reno, at least by that mechanism. I’ll have to explore other opportunities to get my name out there in the Reno community for folks who wish to sell their collection, etc.

Q: How do you view Tavistock Books operating from here on out?! Hopefully you have lots of time to devote to your family!

As do I! So far, this relaxed approach is suiting me well, and even with my reduced hours, I’m still paying the bills. As I look toward the future, my Reno lease is only 3 years, so come 2025 I’ll need to decide what path to take…

But as Scarlett said, “I’ll think about it tomorrow.”

“In War, Resolution; In Defeat, Defiance; In Victory, Magnanimity; and in Peace, Good Will.” Honor to All this Anniversary of D-Day

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In honor of today’s day in history, we thought we’d show some of the most interesting World War II items to come across our shelves in the recent past. And to remind ourselves of these words by Winston Churchill… “In Victory, Magnanimity; and in Peace, Good Will.” – as it is sound advice for all seasons, not merely during wartime. Click on the images for more information.

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This pictorial review of the time the 2nd Marine Division spent in Occupied Japan, with their “missions of surveillance, disposition of materiel, and repatriation …” [Smith, Securing the Surrender] is dated from one image “Preparing for the Corps’ 170th Birthday” [USMC founded November 10, 1775]. See it here.

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A beautifully preserved piece of WWII nursing history – the Cadet Nurse Corps program was passed by Congress unanimously and became effective in July of 1943. The Corps was supervised by the United States Public Health Service to (hopefully) train 124,000 young women as nurses during World War II. The war ended before the first Cadets graduated and only a few entered the military. However, in its lifetime (1943-48) it was the largest training program in the history of nursing in the United States. See it here.

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This invaluable source for local history (local being the central coast of California) at the end of World War II… a collection of 30 issues of the Cooke Clarion – detailing happenings at the military training base and disciplinary barracks from 1945-1946. The copies have the usual camp activities, but also includes such informative pieces as “Camp Cooke History … Here’s Chapter 2” [Vol V – Number 3, March 29, 1946]. See it here.

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This World War II Class Book was printed in 1944 and comes from Ryan Field, in Hemet, California – the 5th A.A.F.F.T.D. Illustrated with both drawings and photographs, it is an interesting piece of printed WWII history from California. Plus it isn’t found on OCLC! See it here.

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This interesting WWII archive is from Lt Wesley Dawe, from San Francisco, who served in the Army Air Corps during WWII, ultimately flying the B-17-G. Dawe collected a number of items documenting his early aeronautical career, primarily from the pilot training days of his second enlistment [his first stint was 1938 – 1941, mustering out ~ 6 months before Pearl Harbor; he re-upped in 1943]. See it here.

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The Virtual RBMS Showcase: One Bookseller’s Experience

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This past week saw another virtual book fair “hit the e-shelves”, so to speak. After over a year of Covid, we are more than ready to return to normal, in-person book fairs! Here the Master and Commander of Tavistock Books, Vic Zoschak Jr., gives his opinion on the matter of virtual book fairs, the RBMS Booksellers’ Showcase in particular.

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Well, that’s another one in the books. “What?”, you ask… that would be last week’s ABAA-RBMS VBF, held in conjunction with this year’s virtual RBMS conference. When in person, the ‘ABAA Booksellers’ Showcase’, as it is called when held attendant to the real event, the number of exhibitors is usually in the ~ 35 range, primarily due to physical limitations imposed by conference venue, so a positive for the 2021 rendition was the ability to expand the number of exhibitors that could participate, so in this instance I understand that approached 60 [or more?]. However, given this expansion, a question then comes to mind, did the size of the [revenue] pie stay the same, such that average sales per exhibitor decreased…?

I’ll never know the answer to that particular question, as others’ sales data is only anecdotal, and in this instance, results shared tended to mirror that of an actual book fair, which is to say, mixed. A few of those that did well are happy to publicly proclaim same. Those who have more modest results, more often than not, tend to stay silent. Tavistock Books, as well as a few more frank colleagues, reported ‘soft’ sales, i.e., for us, 5 items sold, which was 10% of our total listings. So hardly robust, but nevertheless, we were content to have a presence, keeping our name in front of the librarian community.

What about VBFs in general? My view… there seems to be a number of them every month these days, with Marvin Getman, bless his heart, the primary promoter hosting same. But as a result, I see a ‘devaluation’ taking place, somewhat mirroring the public’s view, and subsequent demise, of physical book fairs that took place over the last 2-3 decades. For example, I not only didn’t exhibit at Marvin’s last event, I didn’t shop it.

All this said, I recognize, this is just one bookseller’s view. And this bookseller is nearing the end of his career, so I acknowledge my ‘aggressiveness’ level in pursuing the VBF trade somewhat less than many others. Which is to say, this take of mine on VBFs may, or may not, represent the majority of the trade. But these views do represent me, and I’m looking forward to once again having the physical interaction that comes with real events.

With that in mind, see you in Oakland, February 2022.

Vic

How a Dickensian Christmas Can Boost the Spirits of Those of Us Living in 2020

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When you think of the word “Dickensian” what comes to mind? We would not be surprised if you mentioned soot-covered children working in factories, or angry adults beating each other down with vicious words and persnickety actions. Then again… what comes to mind if we say “Dickensian Christmas”? I’ll bet an entirely different view comes to mind. Perhaps you see a warm and cozy drawing room, children playing by a large fire, adults jolly and laughing over punch with a large tree in the corner and candles lit on its branches. Sound familiar? Well it isn’t an accident. There is an old story (a myth, if you will) that on the day Dickens died, as the news was ravaging through the streets of London, a small costermonger’s daughter said with dawning horror, “Mr. Dickens is dead? Then will Father Christmas die too?” Whether this story is based in reality or not, the feeling still remains… Dickens is a name commonly associated with the holidays the world over. We’d like to examine why that is and what we can learn from it this particular holiday season.

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We have published several blogs before reviewing Dickens’ childhood experiences, and the traumas he endured as a youth. Being one of the unwashed and poor factory children we associate with the word “Dickensian” was what led him to spend his life working with social reform to aid the poor and undervalued members of society. How then did he become so widely associated with the holiday that a poor vegetable seller’s daughter thought his death might mean the end of Christmas forever? For Dickens, it was easy. His childhood made him never want to experience such a Christmas again. He gravitated towards positivity, light and joy – and made sure to share it with those around him. Christmas in the Dickens household (when Charles was a father himself) was legendary. He would perform magic tricks for his friends, the table would be set elaborately, his wife would make and/or supervise the making of all manner of foods, they would have a warm fire and sing/perform together… Dickens made for himself and his family the Christmas he wished for as a child.

dickens Before Dickens published A Christmas Carol (written in only a six short weeks, and published the week before Christmas at considerable expense to Mr. Dickens), he and his wife Catherine were experiencing your average hardships. They were expecting their fifth child, and supplications of money from his aging father and family, with dwindling sales from his previous works had put him into a tough financial place. In the fall of 1843, a 31-year-old Dickens was asked to deliver a speech in Manchester, supporting adult education for manufacturing workers there. His extreme interest in the subject (one that hit a bit too close to home, I believe) and his resolve to aid the lowly pushed an idea to the forefront of his mind – a speech can only do so much… to get to the crux of the matter he would need to get into the hearts, minds and homes of his readership and country. As the idea for A Christmas Carol took shape and his writings began, Dickens himself became utterly obsessed with his own story. As his friend John Forster remarked, Dickens “wept and laughed, and wept again’ and that he ‘walked about the black streets of London fifteen or twenty miles many a night when all sober folks had gone to bed” while writing it. Dickens took the financial hit publishing it on his own, in a beautiful cloth bound book with gilt leaf edging, and colorful illustrations by John Leech.

The book became an instant sensation, and this book – celebrating the joy, kindness and positivity possible in humans, not to mention the ability to change for the better – did even better than Dickens could have imagined. It transformed into a handbook, of sorts – how to live a successful, kind life, both in the holiday season and beyond.

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So what can we here in 2020 take away from A Christmas Carol and Dickens’ obsessive love of the holiday? Well, the first thing might be to embrace the warmth of home. With all the griping about the hell that 2020 has put us through, and the harsh realities of staying home for months and months, staying away from friends, not being able to eat out or travel… perhaps one last push of 2020 can be for us all to embrace what we have right in front of us – a roof over our heads, a fire (or a heater), and good food. I realize that in past years (and in A Christmas Carol, of course) we might have not only embraced the love we could find in our own households, but invited others to experience it as well. Perhaps in 2020 the time has come to focus more of our attention on those in our immediate household. Shower them with as much love and kindness as we would use for all of those around us.

Similar to how Dickens and his family celebrated, decorate as festively and as cozily as you so choose – don’t let a lack of visitors deter you from putting together a beautiful tree, or hanging a wreath on your door. Pass the longer evenings with a great book and a hot drink, or perhaps do as Dickens did and allow your creativity to flourish. Finally take the time to write that story you’ve been meaning to, or put together a skit for your family to act out on Christmas morning. As Dickens probably did, send your letters off to far away family and friends with your love, and perhaps a gift or two… the real gift, of course, being that your thoughts are with them, even when you cannot be. For those that do not celebrate the holiday of Christmas, we say the same endearments hold true… enjoy the winter season with your immediate family, decorate however you choose, drink warm hot toddies and allow the candlelight to spark your creativity. Whatever you do… don’t allow yourself to forget the main take-away of A Christmas Carol. Be caring, giving, and loving to all of those around you, value their lives as you value your own. Only then will you truly find the spirit of Christmas inside of you!

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Safe and Happy Holidays to All

Honoring our Literary Heroes this Halloween

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Long ago, before the days of commercialized holidays and plastic trick or treating pumpkins, many of our pagan ancestors celebrated a time of year that honored the thinning of a veil between the worlds of the living and the dead. At a time of year when the Northern Hemisphere is getting ready for a winter slumber, it was thought that this liminal time was an ideal moment for reverence and adoration of ancestors, of spirits, and of those not necessarily dwelling in the realm of the living. Some celebrated the Gaelic festival of Samhain (pronounced “Sow-en”), marking the end of the harvest season, and enjoyed calling on their deceased loved ones and predecessors to enjoy a feast with them, or even to walk amongst the living for a period of time. Today, the spirit of Halloween is often absorbed in candy and nylon costumes. This year, we would like to honor the true spirit of the holiday by saluting some of our favorite authors who have passed on.

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Who would we wish to “see” crossing the veil and walking around amongst us on this All Souls Day? Well, literarily speaking….

Charles Dickens

This obvious choice is our #1 pick of which author we’d like to see amongst the living on Halloween night. Who wouldn’t? We would wonder if he had any inkling how his fame and popularity would persist for years to come…

Henry James

Considered one of the greatest novelists in the English-speaking world, James was also an interesting character. He was frequently known to abruptly change the subject, or ask for a dance when no one else was dancing. James once wrote to fellow writer Hugh Walpole “We must know, as much as possible, in our beautiful art . . . what we are talking about – & the only way to know it is to have lived & loved & cursed & floundered & enjoyed & suffered – I don’t think I regret a single “excess” of my responsive youth – I only regret, in my chilled age, certain occasions & possibilities I didn’t embrace.” If we came upon James, we would love to ask what possibilities he did not embrace… perhaps so we should not live to regret not taking those chances either!

Robert Heinlein

A favorite Heinlein quote of ours is this: “An armed society is a polite society. Manners are good when one may have to back up his acts with his life.” To which we say – yes! In the modern world we wonder if we have lost a bit of our good manners. We don’t wish to re-enter a time when negative actions were brushed under the rug with politeness, no. We just wonder if we might ever again feel like the pride in our actions match the pride in our words. I wonder what Heinlein would have to say about our current political climate…

Agatha Christie

Now here is a choice that would be truly selfish, as Christie was an enormously private person. But in a perfect world, we might be able to pick Agatha Christie’s brain, see how a seemingly “normal” woman came up with such amazing mysteries and tales. And perhaps, we would see if she’d be willing to set the stage for a 21st century murder!

Oscar Wilde

Did you know that Wilde’s last words were “Either this wallpaper goes, or I do?” Not only was he a renegade of the “Gilded Age” but his sense of humor puts him a cut above so many. So in terms of having a good laugh on Halloween night? We have to go with Wilde.

Mary Shelley

We know what you’re thinking… right, because she wrote Frankenstein. Wrong! Mary Shelley was accomplished for a variety of reasons – but mostly for going against the grain. True to her blood (being the daughter of Mary Wollstonecraft), Shelley did not accept a life of mediocrity. She sacrificed much for the love of her life, she believed that women should have equal power to a man (including having some sexual freedom – relatively unheard of for her time), and she was a gifted writer and storyteller. Once again, we wonder what she would think about Frankenstein being such a phenomenon today!

Edgar Allen Poe

*Sigh* Yes, we had to go here. Would it even be Halloween if we didn’t include someone a bit spooky in the mix?

What authors, out of those that have passed on to another realm, would you invite to walk amongst you this Halloween? Let us know!

In the meantime… Happy Halloween, bibliophiles!

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