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Happy World Poetry Day from the Tavistock Team

Happy World Poetry Day!

Though Tavistock Books is not known for our poetry books, we do have a selection for you on this most auspicious of days. See our list by Samm here! In the meantime, we thought we would share some our favorite poems with you… one poem from each of the Tavistock team members. Enjoy our favorite reflective verses as much as we do, and don’t forget to silently (or loudly) thank your favorite poets on a day like today!

Perhaps its even time for you to jot a few of yours down…

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From Vic Zoschak: The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost

An oldie and a goodie! The Road Not Taken is commonly acknowledged as one of the most well-known and popular poems ever written… and for good reason! It was published as the first poem in Frost’s collection Mountain Interval, in 1916. At the time it was considered extremely poignant, as the onset of WWI meant that plenty of soldiers held this poem dear as they enlisted and went to war. Others claim that it is one of his most misinterpreted poems, stating that it does not simply “champion the idea of following your own path” but that it also hints with irony at that idea or possibility. Here it is…

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

*****

From Samm Fricke: LOVE: Is a Human Condition by Nikki Giovanni

Samm has gifted us with the knowledge of writer, activist, educator, and queer icon Nikki Giovanni (born in 1943). “From her altogether magnificent 1975 collection The Women and the Men comes a beautiful and unusual prose poem about the dualities with which we must live and the human conceits which we must relinquish in order to truly know love.” And we must agree with online writer Maria Popova’s description of this free prose poem. Love: Is a Human Condition is a work of art, by one of America’s foremost contemporary poets, a force of nature still publishing poems today. See for yourself…

An amoeba is lucky it’s so small … else its narcissism would lead to war … since self-love seems so frequently to lead to self-righteousness …

I suppose a case could be made … that there are more amoebas than people … that they comprise the physical majority … and therefore the moral right … But luckily amoebas rarely make television appeals to higher Gods … and baser instincts … so one must ask if the ability to reproduce oneself efficiently has anything to do with love …

The night loves the stars as they play about the Darkness … the day loves the light caressing the sun … We love … those who do … because we live in a world requiring light and Darkness … partnership and solitude … sameness and difference … the familiar and the unknown … We love because it’s the only true adventure …

I’m glad I’m not an amoeba … there must be more to all our lives than ourselves … and our ability to do more of the same …

******

From Margueritte Peterson: If by Rudyard Kipling

If has been a personal favorite of mine since I was quite a young girl – my family being fans of Kipling for many reasons (not, though, for his cultural views). I recited this poem in middle school and to this day still have it memorized. It was written in 1895, as an “evocation of Victorian-era stoicism—championing self-discipline, which popular culture rendered into a British national virtue and character trait.” (Wayback Machine). For me, though? It gives me courage. And in all honesty… I can’t help but share this reading of my favorite poem by Michael Caine.

If you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,

But make allowance for their doubting too;

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,

Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,

And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;

If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

And treat those two impostors just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken

Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,

And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings

And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at your beginnings

And never breathe a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

To serve your turn long after they are gone,

And so hold on when there is nothing in you

Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,

Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,

If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,

Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,

And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!

Happy World Poetry Day, all!

A Q&A with ABAA President Vic Zoschak and Tavistock Books’ Samm Fricke on the Recent California Fair

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What were you most excited about for the Oakland ABAA fair?

Samm: Having everyone in town on our “turf” to invite to the shop and seeing all the international dealers!

Vic: The ending…? Seriously, it had been a long 10 days for us, what with the Pasadena fair the weekend prior, and boy, by the end of Sunday, my dogs were barkin’, let me tell you!

What was the theme of this year’s California ABAA fair and how did it present itself at the fair?

Samm: The theme of this years fair was OZ. There was a large collection of rare Oz items in the room. A lot of dealers also brought some things from their Oz collections that were dispersed around peoples booths… there was a touch of Oz or Baum almost everywhere if you looked hard enough!

Vic: The OZ theme was very well presented, though we’re sorry to say the OZ things we brought, we also brought back to the shop! But nevertheless, it was an exciting theme, and I saw some wonderful material in the genre throughout the room.

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Were there any special events you two attended that you’d like to make note of for us?

Samm: We did not make the poker benefit as we were exhausted. I personally did not make the talk put on by the Womens Initiative as I was finally taking time to browse the booths. I snuck in for a brief minute to see Vic’s talk and take some photos. He had a large turn out and looked super comfortable up on stage. Some people who attended his seminar even came and browsed the booth and told him that they very much enjoyed his talk.

Vic: One that perhaps deserved more press I’d like to mention here: the Northern California Chapter’s “Young Book Collector’s Prize.” The award was won by a nice young man from La Jolla, Matthew Wills. His collection, “Anti-Confucian Propaganda in Mao’s China”, was on display in the room. This award, and the many young people who submitted entries, indicates to me that book collecting is alive & well with the next generation.

Vic, did you speak at this year’s fair?

Samm: He did! “Whats a Book Worth?” and “Book Collecting 101” were his two seminars.

Vic: Samm’s right, I did, though it was my ’Swan’ song so to speak, as Laurelle Swan, Swan’s Fine Books, will take over for me come 2021. Yes, pun intended! 🙂

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How was the attendance at the Oakland fair?

Samm: The turn out was the best on Saturday I think. The rain was a bit lighter. Friday was a dreary day, but people still came out. Overall, a good turn out I thought, but I don’t have another ABAA fair to compare too!

Vic: Both were of modest proportions for us in Oakland, though I thought the promoter did well getting people through the door. But we had few sales to the general public, so, for whatever reason, the material we brought failed to resonate with them. You win some, you lose some.

Which fair was better overall for Tavistock Books – the Oakland fair or Pasadena fair – in terms of buying, selling and fun?

Samm: In terms of buying I would say Pasadena. In terms of selling and fun I would say Oakland. The fun and selling go hand in hand I think as we had our “Shin-dig” which was great and we sold some items at that too!

Vic: This a tough call… our energy levels were higher in Pasadena, and I didn’t have ABAA responsibilities while in Pasadena [in Oakland, I had a Board of Governors meeting, as well as the Association’s Annual meeting]. That said, it’s always a pleasure to see colleagues, and perhaps share a meal. While in Oakland, groups of us did get out to both Wood Tavern & Chez Panisse, two of the top East Bay restaurants. And yes, Samm is correct, we bought way more in Pasadena [for details, watch our forthcoming Wednesday morning lists!].

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Is the Oakland fair still as much of a draw as it has been since the year they moved it from San Francisco?

Vic: Here in California, to be honest, our biggest attendance detriment is the proximity of the New York book fair [early March]. The ABAA leadership is acutely aware of this situation, and hopes, in future years, to introduce more of a calendar separation between the two events.

How did your pre-fair Tavistock Books shindig go?

Vic: Given it’s last minute nature, we think it went well! We did have a number of colleagues say they’d already had commitments, and therefore weren’t able to make it. Samm & I agreed to do it again in 2021, and ‘get the word out’ much earlier that year.

Samm: It was fun! We had a good turn out – maybe 15 people or so filtering in and out! Sold some items! People drank our drinks and ate snacks and talked books! What could be better?

What did you both learn at this year’s fair that you might not have known before it?

Samm: I suppose I learned that you can never truly know what will sell. You don’t know what booksellers will want, which collectors will be there etc. It can be a guessing game. But having a website to shop and storefront helps. So you may not make a sale at the fair itself but you can offer those other options to make a sale at a later date!

Vic: I’ve done enough of these fairs over the last 30 years that the one thing I’ve learned is that no one fair is like any other! It’s like rolling dice, you just hope a 7 comes up.

And last but not least… Vic, what is different about being president of the ABAA at an ABAA fair?

Vic: Interesting question Ms P, for this is the first ABAA fair at which I’ve exhibited since becoming the Association’s President. What I found is that knowing I’m the President, ABAA colleagues came over to chat about diver Association matters, which is a good thing. To properly do my job as President, I need to know how members stand on different issues. For those that took the time to do so, I thank you.

And that’s a wrap, ladies and gentlemen!

The ABAA’s Northern California Chapter Annual Holiday Dinner… a Night in Pictures

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As many of you loyal Tavistock Books blog followers (mom, I’m talking to you) know, every year we here at Tavistock Books attend the annual Northern California Chapter Holiday Dinner – a night of fun and food, goings over of the years events as they relate to our chapter of booksellers, and the sharing of bibliophile joys and yearnings.

Instead of raking through an entire blog of minutes from this years shindig, we would like to provide some of the highlights and then tell the tale in images – as some people say that one image is worth a thousand words.

Strictly speaking, we here at Tavistock BOOKS simply don’t believe such tosh… but nevertheless!

The evening began typically with happy hour, and once seated for dinner and guests introduced, chapter Chair Ben Kinmont reported on several book fairs, including the York Book Fair, the fair in Chelsea (both in the UK) and the Boston Book Fair. Apparently the York fair is the hidden gem of the season! Also of note is the extended application acceptance for the California Young Book Collector’s Prize, which we reported on a couple weeks back. Some frightfully good submissions have already been sent in, but there is still time for the young book collector amongst you! Now the California ABAA chapters will be accepting submissions until December 15th, with the prize due to be announced in early January after careful consideration by our four judges! There were words from Michael Hackenberg and Laurelle Swan, comments were made on Andy Langer’s wonderful fastidiousness, and Secretary Alexander Akin passed out the minutes from the last Northern California Chapter meeting, which were approved readily (and firstly by our own Vic Zoschak), whereupon the raffle was finished and many went home with beautiful gifts of Giants tickets, bottles of lovely wines and spirits and gift baskets of snacks and goodies!

It was a wonderful evening surrounded by our fellow bibliophiles – enjoy the pictures and happy holidays to you and yours!

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We Give Thanks

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As those of you who don’t live under rocks are aware, around this time of year immense attention is placed on discovering what we are grateful for and giving thanks. We here at Tavistock Books are grateful for many things indeed – a finely mixed Manhattan, a wonderful dinner with like-minded bibliophiles… the San Francisco Giants. But most of all we are grateful for our customers. They keep our business, and passion, alive and kicking. Our customers vary widely – like most booksellers we connect with libraries, museums, bibliophiles and collectors on a daily basis. And it is one of these categories (though all are beloved) that we would like to bring attention to this holiday season – to young collectors in our state of California.

Last month we reported on the National Collegiate Book Collecting Contest, which grants awards to collectors at University level that have put together rather outstanding collections at such young ages. Here in California, the Northern and Southern Chapters of the Antiquarian Bookseller’s Association of America have put together the California Young Book Collector’s Prize – a sought after prize to a young collector (age 35 and under, if you please) that shows the remarkable promise of being a great book collector – one that we will owe our livelihood and our profession to as years go by!

As the ABAA chapters state, “All collections of books, manuscripts, and ephemera are welcome, no matter their monetary value or subject. The collections will be judged on their thoroughness, the approach to their subject, and the seriousness which with the collector has catalogued his or her material.” The prize includes a $500 credit to spend at the upcoming 2019 California International Antiquarian Book Fair, an exhibition space at the fair for their collection (as well as a stipend for exhibiting expenses), a years memberships to both the Book Club of California and the Bibliographical Society of North America, and a year long subscription to The Book Collector. This prize aims to celebrate the pleasure of antiquarian book collecting, and to bring understanding and awareness to others that this is an enjoyment that can be achieved by any – so long as you have the heart and the soul to do so! Congratulations to all applicants – you are one of the things we are most grateful for year-round.

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Applications must be sent as a .PDF file to ABAA Northern CA Chapter Chair Ben Kinmont at bkinmont@gmail.com by December 1st, 2018 to be considered. Find out more information by emailing us or commenting!

Happy Thanksgiving to All!

(But you know, especially to our faithful book collectors.)

OTD in 1960… Lawrence-1, Censorship-0!

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NOTE: Please understand that this blog contains heavy subject matter and foul language. You’ve been warned.

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Censorship. A hated word in the bibliophile community. The very definition of the word seems off. Too… all encompassing.

Censorship is defined as: “the suppression or prohibition of any parts of books, films, news, etc. that are considered obscene, politically unacceptable, or a threat to security.” Well now, from my own experience I can tell you that anything you write, anything you film, and anything you publish – it can and most likely will be offensive to someone. Someone, somewhere, will read your sentences with disdain. It is inevitable. It is why we have free speech. It is why you shouldn’t believe everything you read on the internet (including blogs). Censorship has won so many times over the centuries. How lucky we are to live in a country and be a generation that incorporates free speech and acceptance into our daily lives. If censorship was still at large, we would not be able to search anything we please on Youtube. We would be reading only what a small group of people we don’t know would be allowing us to read. Our President would not be allowed to post his every thought on Twitter.

Okay wait, perhaps censorship does have a silver lining.

My point is – by and large – a world without censorship (as it has been known) is far superior to a world lived in the dark. On this day in 1960, censorship truly lost an epic battle in London. D. H. Lawrence, Penguin Books, Lady Chatterley and literature won, despite the fact that Lawrence was no longer around to enjoy his success. In one day, Penguin sold 200,000 copies of the title that had been banned since 1928. Over the next few months, over 3 million copies went home with their newly adoring owners. So what did the trial in 1960 truly do? As Geoffrey Robertson for the Guardian states, “No other jury verdict in British history has had such a deep social impact.” Let’s find out why.

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Lady Chatterley’s Lover was privately printed for the first time in Florence in 1928. Due to illegal copying of the book, Lawrence arranged for a more legitimate publication of the book the following year in Paris. The British government immediately recognized its “disturbing” subject matter and the offensive language contained in the book – the opening prosecuting speech during the 1960 trial stated that “The word ‘fuck’ or ‘fucking’ appears no less than 30 times… ‘Cunt’ 14 times; ‘balls’ 13 times; ‘shit’ and ‘arse’ six times apiece; ‘cock’ four times; ‘piss’ three times, and so on.” Now, if you ask me… that’s just a list of dirty words. Perhaps the prosecution should have been censored, no? At least Lady Chatterley’s Lover had plot descriptions surrounding these words. In any case, Britain had spent the previous 30 years putting energy into keeping the book out of the country. So how did Penguin books win this battle in 1960?

chatterley The defense was aided in part due to the previous year’s 1959 Obscene Publications Act, which Parliament passed saying that in order for censorship to take place, the work in question would need to be considered as a whole – without singular focus on the dirtier bits. The prosecution did not fare well anyway, as, despite a conservative following not wishing to see the book in print and in the hands of anyone, lawyer Mervyn Griffith-Jones called no witnesses to support his argument (as no one agreed to stand for the prosecution) and merely suggested that the book had no literary merit. The defense, led by Gerald Gardiner (who would a mere four years later become Labour Lord Chancellor), had rather a different angle. He stated that the book did have merit, that Lawrence wasn’t simply writing smut, but attacking the “impersonality of the industrial age and loss of personal relationships… he was extolling the life-giving importance of romantic and sexual intimacy” (The Telegraph). Gardiner called 35 witnesses to his side – big wigs in academia and literary worlds. He even had a Bishop – the Bishop of Woolwich, who wrote that, though Lawrence was not a Christian himself, he was “portraying the act of sex as something valuable and sacred – as an act of communion” – he went so far as to say that Christians could easily read this title.

Let’s face it… Griffith-Jones did not stand a chance.

The trial began on October 20th, 1960 in the Old Bailey’s Court No. 1. The jury held nine men and three women, and though the judge offered the defense to remove the women from the jury and the court, Gardiner refused and wished the women to stay. The entire trial lasted only 13 days (ending on November 2nd), and deliberation lasted only 3 hours. Penguin Books and Lady Chatterley’s Lover came out on top. Fifteen minutes after Penguin Books was found not guilty, Foyle’s bookshop in London had taken in orders for over 3,000 copies. On November 10th, 200,000 copies sold. As the Telegraph muses, “The result of the trial was an instant liberalization of attitudes toward publishable material. But its impact went much further. It started the process of breaking down taboos around sex – a movement that would culminate in the sexual liberation of the 1970s – and it changed the stuffy and outdated prism through which the class system was viewed” (The Telegraph).

We couldn’t have said it better ourselves, and we are so glad that we have the ability to report on this case, and celebrate the fact that due to this novel, due to this trial, we all live in a more liberated and free world.

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We All Have Those Days…

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November 1st is always a weird day for me. Halloween is a big day in my family, and truthfully, with it being the last day of the month, I always wake up confused that November is suddenly upon us! I make strange decisions. I forget to take down decorations, I don’t realize that my Dia de los Muertos makeup is still all over my face. I guess you could say I feel… dazed. Confused. Bewildered.

That being said, I would like to point out that as strange and disconcerting as certain of my choices on November 1sts have been, they pale in comparison to a choice made by one Thomas Cadell (the Younger), on this very day, many, many years ago. 221 years ago, to be exact. In 1797, Thomas Cadell made a decision that (one hopes) he regretted sincerely later on in life. He turned down a romance novel manuscript written by an unknown 21 year old woman and sent in by her father, George Austen.

He turned down First Impressions – what would later become Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen.

Thomas Cadell the Elder

Despite this sad choice, the Cadell name wasn’t a waste of nothingness in the world of London publishing. Long before this incident, Thomas Cadell (the Elder) was apprenticed in 1758 for 105 GBP to London bookseller and publisher Andrew Millar, whom he partnered with in 1765 after a seven year apprenticeship. He published works by Edward Gibbon, Henry Mackenzie, Robert Burns, William Blackstone, David Hume, Tobias Smollett, and Samuel Johnson. As a matter of fact, Cadell was close enough to Johnson to have been part of the group of booksellers and friends who convinced Johnson to write his famous Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets. He also partnered with publishers William & Andrew Strahan to publish Johnson’s A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland in 1775. Cadell was apparently very well liked among the bookselling and publishing communities, and in 1793 he passed his business on to his son and namesake, Thomas Cadell (Jr.). Not as much is known about Thomas Cadell (Jr.), though he did publish (along with his father’s apprentice whom he partnered with to create Cadell & Davies Publishing, William Davies) James Boswell’s Life of Johnson in 1791, and continued publishing until his death in 1836.

But you know… in 1797 he refused Pride and Prejudice and sent back George Austen’s letter, declining it “by return of post”.

Just remember that the next time you could kick yourself for making a silly mistake.

Happy 1st of November!

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The 2018 National Collegiate Book Collecting Contest

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Some of you may not know this, but our fearless leader Vic Zoschak Jr., owner of Tavistock Books, is the current President of the Antiquarian Bookseller’s Association of America. In our eyes there could be no more fitting president, as Vic has always spent a great deal of time, his finances, and effort to ensure that the upcoming generations of booksellers have all the knowledge and understanding of what it takes to become a truly great collector and bookseller. He supports fundraisers and donates, he awards scholarships so that those without the financial stability to attend courses and lectures are able to do so, and he is a large proponent of being “the job.” The man positively eats, sleeps and breathes bookselling. (And manhattans. And the San Francisco Giants. But mainly bookselling.)

It is no surprise then that he would like us to bring a little attention to the recent (just this past Friday) 2018 National Collegiate Book Collecting Contest – a contest established in 2005 by Fine Books & Collections Magazine to highlight, bring attention and awareness to young book collectors across the country, as they are the upcoming generation of people who will support the antiquarian book world – whether as collectors or perhaps even booksellers themselves! Too often we hear (mainly from people outside of our world) that books are going “out of fashion” – did you know another Barnes and Noble bit the dust?? Yes, yes – we know. However, we would like to argue that (despite other, somewhat unrelated difficulties of the act of reading being pushed aside in favor of our fast paced world of technology) rare books should only become… rarer. Collectors are collectors for life – booksellers are booksellers for life. So long as these young people continue doing what they are doing, our world will continue to survive. So without further ado, let’s bring a little light to this contest and the 2018 winners!

A previous year’s ceremony. Photo not taken by Tavistock Books.

As we said, the contest was begun by Fine Books & Collections Magazine, but is now jointly sponsored by the ABAA, the the Fellowship of American Bibliophilic Societies (FABS), the Grolier Club, and the Center for the Book and the Rare Books and Special Collections Division (the Library of Congress), with prizes underwritten by the Kislak Foundation. This institutional collective work hard to ensure that college and university students are recognized in their own right as collectors. First, competitions are held at almost 40 schools nationally, and the prizewinners are all encouraged to enter the National Competition, which picks four winners from the lot. Entries are accepted until early summer (usually in June) and the winners for 2018 were picked just last week. The event (held last week at the Library of Congress) includes an awards ceremony, a program, and a reception – and is free and open to the public.

Though we in California were unable to attend, this year’s ceremony featured featured a talk given by Glen S. Miranker, “an avid bibliophile, a preeminent collector of Sherlock Holmes material, and former Chief Technology Officer at Apple” and was, no doubt, a success! Without further ado, we would like to praise the following winners of the 2018 National Collegiate Book Collecting Contest!

First Prize: Samuel Vincent Lemley, of the University of Virginia for his collection of Biblioteca Genealogica: Sicilian Printing, 1704-1893

Second Prize: Paul T. Schwennesen of the University of Kansas for his collection, Borderlands: A Manifesto on Overlap

Third Prize: Hanaa J. Masalmeh of Harvard University for her collection – Far From the Eyes, Far From the Heart: My Life as a Syrian-American Muslim

Featured Essay: Ena Selimovic of Washington University in St. Louis – Ja, Ben, I, Je: A Book Collection in Translation

Once again, the ABAA is absolutely thrilled to be a part of this collective offering the chance for young collectors to be recognized – they truly are one of the many important reasons why we do what we do. Well done!

Happy Birthday to Gore Vidal – the Most Combative Man in History

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A part of me thinks that a name like Gore Vidal belongs in the company of Perez Prado and Carmen Miranda. I know how that sounds, but honestly – to me, the name is power embodied. As many know, and as Chris Bram most notably stated, “Gore Vidal was famous for his hates: academia, presidents, whole portions of the American public and, most notably, Truman Capote. Yet he could be incredibly generous to other writer friends… He was a man of many facets and endless contradictions.” Let’s look at some quick facts about this notorious American figure on what would have been his 93rd birthday.

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1. His first novel was published in 1948 when he was a mere 22 years old (show of hands for which of us feel like we have accomplished nothing with our lives?), and won him instant notoriety. The City and the Pillar broke so many boundaries people didn’t know where to start… it depicted a male homosexual relationship at a time when homosexuality was still illegal throughout the United States.

2. Along these lines, Vidal believed that homosexuality and heterosexuality were adjectives, not nouns. Therefore someone could not BE a homosexual, they could simply perform homosexual acts. He believed that human sexuality existed on a sliding scale, and everyone was at least a little bisexual – even if it only meant that you could appreciate the beauty of a member of your own sex! He is now considered the godfather of gay literature, though he did not wish to be simply known as a gay author when he was writing, as he had views on all aspects of life that he wished to share.

3. Getting off the subject of sex, Vidal was also a master of upheaval in politics, and published many essays that would offend the conservative side of America. His historical novel Julian, published in 1964, relived the time of the Roman Emperor Julian the Apostate and how he used the idea of religious tolerance in Christian times to reinstate polytheistic paganism.

vidal1 4. We think this quote by Vidal needs no explanation (but everyone please remember that this is Vidal’s quote – not necessarily ours): “There is only one party in the United States, the Property Party … and it has two right wings: Republican and Democrat. Republicans are a bit stupider, more rigid, more doctrinaire in their laissez-faire capitalism than the Democrats, who are cuter, prettier, a bit more corrupt – until recently … and more willing than the Republicans to make small adjustments when the poor, the black, the anti-imperialists get out of hand. But, essentially, there is no difference between the two parties.” Ouch!

5. He fought with… everyone. Most famously, though, as mentioned above in the quote by Bram, he fought with Truman Capote and William F. Buckley Jr.. With Capote, they fought over Capote supposedly spreading slander about drunk and disorderly behavior by Vidal in the White House. Untrue, Vidal took grave offense to these rumors and both traded hateful barbs. The Buckley feud a bit more intense, with actual lawsuits coming forth for libel and cruelty, Vidal said in 2008 after Buckley passed away, “I thought hell is bound to be a livelier place, as he joins, forever, those whom he served in life, applauding their prejudices and fanning their hatred.”

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Jeesh! Now here’s the thing… Vidal did a lot of things for the wrong reasons, and a lot of things… because he had thoughts and feelings and wanted to express them. However, hate him (which someone like him would probably appreciate, not going to lie) or love him – you have to admit… he was a pretty worthy opponent.

Report on the Sacramento Antiquarian Book Fair, Pt. II

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Answers by Samm Fricke

So Samm! This is (a bit confusingly) your second Sacramento Antiquarian Book Fair. Could you tell us a bit about your experience, prep and overall impression of the previous Sacramento fair you attended in March of this year? For those of you that don’t know, Samm was brought onboard the Tavistock Books train (what seemed like) mere minutes before this past spring’s Sacramento Book Fair.

Last Sac Book Fair was quite overwhelming for the first hour of set up. As I was loading in, taking in the surroundings and meeting everyone Vic brought to me saying “This is my new assistant Samm! Samm this is ….”. All at the same time! Lots of info and names. But after about an hour of watching other vendors set up booths I was beginning to get a feel for it and settle down a bit. As for the opening of book fair to the public, that was the more easier part as I have done so much book retail in the past, but these were people with more niche interests rather than what I have known of “I’m just looking for a good beach read”.

How was this last weekend’s fair different from the fair in March for you? Do you feel more at ease with Tavistock’s wares and in the antiquarian book world in general? We know you come from a book background, but we also know that the antiquarian book world is a horse of an entirely different color!

I thought this past weekend was much easier! I knew where the booth was, I knew our booth mate (Hey Chris!). The faces of collectors and vendors were more familiar. I knew where the bathroom was and when was the best time to order food was! Ha! Because I knew vendors a bit more, and they have now seen me, emailed with or talked on the phone with me I was more comfortable making small talk at their booths. Surprisingly to some, but I am pretty shy!

As for the wares of Tavistock, yes much more at ease! And more comfortable discussing product and assisting collectors find items that may interest them. Knowing the stock is always good, which was not the case last fair!

How did you find turnout and other sellers’ wares? Did any items of note catch your eye?

I only have the last Sacramento Book to compare, but I did think the turn out grander. At the end of the fair Jim Kay got on the mic and said it was the best fair turnout yet – a new record had been set! So shoutout to Jim for doing an awesome job. Perhaps by March 2019 I will have my name tag! *wink wink*

Vic bought a lot of cool items there, more than last year even! (Didn’t think it was possible, but that just shows how much I know.) You can see them when you sign up for our New Acquisitions Newsletter! (Yes, that is a plug… and yes, you can sign up for it on our website!) As for me, there were a few items that were of interest, though I am not in the position to spend the big bucks on them yet. However, I made many mental notes!

What will be the next fair you are excited about and what do you hope to learn or accomplish before then?

Oakland! I am very, very excited about the Oakland Book Fair in February. Just seeing all the amazing items at Sacramento, I cannot wait to see what an international fair brings! Also, being local means packing and load in won’t be too bad.

I am trying to have a better grasp on our stock so I select the most interesting items to bring that will also show Tavistock’s interest best!

We certainly won’t! Thanks, Samm!

Report on the Sacramento Antiquarian Book Fair, Pt. I

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by Vic Zoschak, Jr.

Dinner at Roxy’s could tempt us all!

Reading colleagues’ comments with regard to the recent Brooklyn event, allow me to put in a plug for the Sacramento Antiquarian Fair, held this past weekend. A semi-annual event, hosted by Jim Kay, I suspect it doesn’t have the panache of Brooklyn, but that said, it has come to be beloved by those of us on the west coast, drawing exhibitors from both ends of the coast, not to mention a fellow bookseller who routinely makes the trek from out Utah way… that said, despite the close proximity of Sacramento, I suspect David flew east for the weekend, for the local event definitely has a Californiana bias in exhibitor offerings, and that not David’s metier ime, but it is one of mine. Given that, from an ABAA colleague I bought a [what I consider to be] fantastic item: an 1853 Sacramento Directory, and as I recall, the second Sacramento city directory ever published, this one an inscribed presentation copy from the publisher to the man considered to be Sacramento’s first mayor. Plus *bunches* of other neat stuff, filling over two boxes, and occasioning Samm’s questioning look: “How the heck are we going to get all this stuff in the car?!?”

I have no doubt the food & beverage choices in Brooklyn are myriad, however, I’d stack up the fair’s local concession’s Chicken Pesto sandwich against any comer offered elsewhere [Taylor, feel free to offer your thoughts here 😉 ]. And the pre-fair, post-setup Friday night dinner at Roxy has become traditional, this time around, shared with 9 colleagues… Chuck, Roxy’s Manhattan might even tempt you.

So, it seems we have two credible regional events on this same weekend in September, and for that I’m thankful. Here on the West Coast, we’ve lost so many regional fairs over the last decade or two that it’s gratifying this one is thriving [I understand a new fair attendance record was set yesterday]. Further, Jim tells us it’s here to stay as long as he is. I should add, it’s relatively inexpensive to exhibit… my half-booth, with display case, was a modest $385.

Finally, I personally like the fact that the Sacramento show is a one day event. I got home last night by 7 pm, slept in my own bed, and today, get to watch Jimmy G & cast take on the Vikings… in other words, no standing around in the booth on a quiet Sunday, hands in pockets, watching the clock sloooowly make its way towards 5 pm.

Very civilized, promoters please take note.

V.