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 19th 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!
