Category Archives: Collecting

“There is one thing the photograph must contain, the humanity of the moment.” -Robert Frank

This week at Tavistock Books, we’d like to highlight one of our favorite genres currently in our inventory… photographs and photograph albums! We have had several amazing items on our shelves over the years, as we find these personal and first hand accounts of history absolutely fascinating. What makes a photograph, scrapbook or photo album worth collecting, you may ask? Stay tuned for the 411 on the Tavistock team’s thoughts!

This cache of nine large photographs dates back to the lumbering community of the Pacific Northwest in the early 1900s. Check it out here.

This cache of nine large photographs date back to the lumbering community of the Pacific Northwest in the early 1900s. Check it out here.

Q: So, antiquarian photo/scrapbook albums… first things first! What makes you decide whether or not to invest in one for inventory?

Vic: What I primarily look for is a story being told. That said, most albums are unidentified faces, with few places. If an album is not captioned by the compiler, it makes it difficult to supply context to a potential buyer.

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Q: Is subject matter, provenance or condition the first thing checked by the Tavistock team, followed, I’m sure, quite quickly by the others?

Vic: All of those are important, though, imo, condition of the album itself not as important as condition of the images. That said, subject matter of primary importance, with provenance coming in immediately behind. Regarding this latter attribute, I’d consider purchasing an album with no captions if it came from a known & documented provenance, especially if said provenance was someone of import, such as, say, a Rochester neighbor of Charles Dickens.

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Q: What are the benefits of buying a photograph album, or other piece or personalized ephemera from an antiquarian seller, rather than off eBay or another such site?

Vic: We’ll, I probably buy more from general eBay sellers rather than established antiquarian professionals, for the former category will often go for the quick sale, rather than take the time necessary to properly research the material at hand. An example recently was the acquisition on an archive of family letters & manuscripts from an individual involved in the Texas Convention of 1845 [and subsequent aspects of Texas history]. Let’s just say I anticipate a generous profit margin in this acquisition once fully researched & catalogued.

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This family travel photo album dates back to the turn of the century… the 20th century, that is, and focuses on California, New Mexico, Arizona, Kansas, Alabama and Texas. Check it out here.

Q: In looking at the descriptions of these albums on the Tavistock Books website, it is clear a TON of research has gone into describing these albums! Without giving away any secrets of the trade, can you give us a basic overview of how you go about researching a person who put the scrapbook together? It must take a lot of precious time!

Vic: Therein does lie the rub… much time is involved, and that time needs to be a generous block without interruption. And, of course, one needs the availability of appropriate reference sources. I do subscribe to ancestry.com, newspapers.com & JSTOR [though SFPL]. Google, of course, has been a vast help in this arena as well. It’s amazing what information can be noodled out when searching the web.

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Q: In your opinion, what is the most interesting item you have of this nature on the Tavistock shelves at this time, and what about in the past? Feel free to also tell us about something you might not have sold but perhaps have seen at antiquarian book fairs, etc.!

A happy Samm, knee deep in the R15 acquisitions!

Vic: I’ll defer to Samm on this one, for she recently went through R-15, where all our uncatalogued albums had been stored, “pending cataloguing”.

Samm: I spent days going thru this shelf of archives – some catalogued, some not. It was really difficult to sort through it all. But one item I thought was really cool was a photo archive of the New York Railroad and Interurban railways. Its HUGE! As we state in the description “A massive photo album brimming with over 1100 images of street cars, trolleys, motor cars, locomotives, service trains, interurban railway lines, and railroads across New York from the 1890s up to WWII. With neatly handwritten captions, photographer’s notes often on verso, and even some typed text.” The old photos of New York alone are incredible. Definitely worth looking at, linked here.

As for things we sold in the past, hard to answer we sell stuff regularly, hard to pick out one that struck a cord. But this New York album, I know I will miss when gone!

Check out Samm’s recommendation – the fabulous New York rail album here!

And that’s that! Also, don’t miss out on the upcoming ABAA Virtual Book Fair from June 4th to the 7th – where yours truly will be exhibiting! We’ll unveil some newly catalogued archival material… and maybe even a photo album or two. Join the count down and find out more information here!

Repeat After Me… “There’s No Place Like Home”

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“There’s no place like home. There’s no place like home.” Everyone, repeat it with me. “There’s no place like home.” I know we’re all feeling a bit of the cabin-fever felt by Jack Nicholson in The Shining (although, you know, hopefully to a significantly lesser extent), but let’s risk sounding like a broken record… we are lucky if we have the ability to stay home! We know money must be tight, but without the ability to put a price tag on our or our loved one’s lives we are extremely fortunate to have this ability. So in our opinion, “There’s no place like home” is possibly a great mantra to repeat to ourselves every morning. And every evening. And every afternoon. You know, just until it sinks in.

This extremely famous quote (mantra), brings us to today’s blog, however. On this day in 1919, 101 years ago, L. Frank Baum passed away. While we don’t mean to celebrate his death, we would like to bring attention to this world-famous author today with a few facts about his life! Keep on reading…

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1. The “L” in L. Frank Baum stands for Lyman, where he was born Lyman Frank Baum on May 15th, 1856 in Chittenango, New York. The seventh born (out of eventually nine kids) always hated his first name and preferred to be called “Frank”.

2. Baum was a somewhat sickly child, educated at home (with exception to two very uncomfortable years he spent at a military academy between the ages 10-12). Hi father indulged several of his whims and encouraged his eccentricities. Baum was gifted a small printing press as a child and began making a home journal with his younger brother that he would distribute to family and friends for free. He began a Stamp Collectors journal as a teenager, and eventually another on Hamburg chickens. Another eccentricity… as a young man Baum raised fancy chickens! Who knew?

3. I don’t mean to keep going on about these chickens but let’s get back to them for a second – as they were the subject of Baum’s very first published book! At the age of 30, Baum published The Book of the Hamburgs: A Brief Treatise upon the Mating, Rearing, and Management of the Different Varieties of Hamburgs. Okay, I promise to stop harping on about the chickens.

4. Baum had a lifelong love affair with the theater, and dreamed of being on the stage. He did have a short career in it, after his father actually built him his own stage in Richburg, New York. As he was touring with one of his creations – The Maid of Arran (a prototypical musical, for all intents and purposes, based on the novel A Princess of Thule by William Black), the theater back home in Richburg burned down, and in it most copies of Baum’s plays.

5. In 1882, while touring with The Maid of Arran, Baum married one Maud Gage – the intelligent daughter of Matilda Joslyn Gage, a famous feminist and women’s suffrage activist. Baum would be a proponent of women’s rights for the rest of his life, standing strong alongside his wife.

6. As wonderful as it is to hear of a man standing up for women, Baum was not faultless. As tough as this might be to hear, when Baum was living in Abderdeen, South Dakota his emotional response to the death of Sitting Bull prompted him to call for the extermination of all indigenous peoples! After the Wounded Knee Massacre (where the US army killed hundreds of the Lakota tribe, including women and children), Baum reiterated once more, “The Pioneer has before declared that our only safety depends upon the total extirmination [sic] of the Indians. Having wronged them for centuries, we had better, in order to protect our civilization, follow it up by one more wrong and wipe these untamed and untamable creatures from the face of the earth.” Yikes! Some do argue that Baum was actually attempting to generate sympathy for the native tribes by coming out with such a ludicrous statement, but it sure is shocking either way.

7. After having children with his wife Maud, Baum found he had a talent for telling them stories at bedtime. After overhearing one of these stories one night, Baum’s mother-in-law Matilda encouraged him to write one of them down. Baum had a wonderful relationship with Matilda and respected her greatly – if she thought his stories deserved to be published, perhaps she was right! This encouragement would become the impetus for his writing The Wizard of Oz.

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8. The idea for The Wizard of Oz apparently came to Baum very suddenly, and he wrote it all down in pencil. Once he had a working manuscript, he wanted to call it The Emerald City. Unfortunately, his editors did not want to use the name of a jewel in the title (bad luck, apparently – who knew), and as Baum sat in his office he looked over at a file cabinet labeled O – Z. Hence, the land of Oz was created!

9. The first release of The Wizard of Oz, published in 1900, sold out in two weeks. It became an instant classic, and received full critical and literary acclaim. Some consider it America’s first true fairy tale! The book remained a bestseller for two years, and Baum went on to write thirteen more Oz books for a bestselling series.

10. Baum did not only write a book on raising fancy chickens and the Oz series, oh no! He was quite a prolific writer up until his end, and actually published 50 novels, 80 short stories, hundreds of poems, and at least a dozen plays. He wrote under pseudonyms, he wrote articles for journals. And he was a family man. The all around package! (Except for his views on native peoples.)

Our 1905 1st edition of The Woggle-Bug Book by Baum, inscribed by him on the copyright page! Check it out here.

Fun fact: The line is NOT “There’s no place like home” in the book! It is actually “I’m so glad to be at home again!” But that doesn’t really have the same ring to it for the opening of this blog so…

Also, Dorothy’s slippers were silver, not red. Bursting all kinds of childhood bubbles over here!

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“There’s no place like home!”

Grateful the Road was Taken

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We know that things have been looking grim over the past month… businesses shutting their doors, schools closing, unemployment rising. It is a scary world to be living in – for there is the fact that we have no set plan for how long this will all last. Call us old fashioned, but we find that in times of crisis a little bit of stability goes a long way, so we are planning on keeping up with our blog posts, our newsletters… and Samm has even upped our lists to biweekly so that we can entertain you at home with interesting items from all over the world! Is there something in particular you’d like to see a blog on? Shoot us an email and we’ll see if we can fit it into our schedule. In the meantime, we’d like to do a 10 Fact birthday blog on a born San Franciscan who has spent over the last hundred years keeping us sane and calm. Mr. Robert Frost, ladies and gentlemen!

1. Happy Birthday to Robert Frost! Frost was born on March 26th, 1874 in San Francisco to William Frost, a journalist and Isabelle Moodie, a Scottish immigrant. After his father’s death, his mother moved him across the country to Massachusetts to live off the charity of his paternal grandfather.

2. Frost was named after General Robert E. Lee, the famous General of the Confederate Army. As a youngster, Frost’s father ran away from home to join the Confederate troops. Though he was returned safely to his parents he never forgot his obsession with the Confederate army.

3. Frost published his first poem in his high school’s magazine. Lawrence High School was a fine institution in its day and Frost graduated as valedictorian. His fellow valedictorian? One Elinor White… a young lady who would eventually become his wife!

4. Frost attended Dartmouth College for two months, before leaving to pursue jobs and earn an income. The various jobs he undertook, however, brought him no joy – and he still dreamed of being a poet. He then attended Harvard University for two years later on, but once again dropped out to earn money for his wife and child. Harvard bestowed an honorary degree on Frost in 1937.

5. Frost and Elinor had six children – four daughters and two sons. Unfortunately, Frost himself would outlive 4 of his six. The many tragedies that Frost knew throughout his life caused him bouts of anxiety and depression, and often influenced his poetry.

6. Frost attributed much of his early success to fellow poet Ezra Pound. After a brief misunderstanding where Frost was given Pound’s card but did not feel a warm invitation, Frost and Pound got on quite well. Pound wrote a wonderful review for Frost’s first book of poetry, entitled A Boy’s Will and Frost immediately became known in the literary world.

7. Frost won the Pulitzer Prize in 1924 for his book of poetry: New Hampshire: A Poem with Notes and Grace Notes. He didn’t stop there, however! Frost would go on to win three more Pulitzer Prizes in 1931, 1937 and 1943. To this day he remains the only poet to have ever won so many Pulitzers, and one of only four people worldwide to win so many in any category.

8. In 1960 Frost was awarded the highest honor a civilian can have – a United States Congressional Gold Medal “in recognition of his poetry, which has enriched the culture of the United States and the philosophy of the world”.

9. In 1961 Frost became the first poet to read at a Presidential inauguration. At the age of 86, Frost was asked by John F. Kennedy to recite a new poem at the inauguration. Frost composed the poem “Dedication” for the event, but due to the brightness of the sun and his failing eyesight Frost could not make out the words on the page. Confidently, Frost put the poem aside and instead recited his previously written poem “The Gift Outright” from memory.

10. Frost felt that his most popular and beloved poem “The Road Not Taken” was severely misunderstood by the American public. This poem, recited worldwide but especially in the United States as a coming of age transition poem touting determination, was actually written in humor to Frost’s friend Edward Thomas. The two frequently went on walks together in the woods, and Thomas was an indecisive chooser of paths. Frost never meant for the poem to be taken so metaphorically! Nevertheless, we appreciate it even today.

Happy Birthday, Robert Frost!

The Book Fair in Pasadena… and the End of an Era

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This past weekend saw the 53rd California International Antiquarian Book Fair held in Pasadena. We gave Vic and Samm a few questions to ruminate on while experiencing the fair and their responses don’t disappoint! This fair was also a bittersweet occasion as our Master & Commander Vic Zoschak Jr. ended his two year tenure as President of the Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America (or the ABAA) while there. See how they felt about the state’s biggest book fair below!

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Q: So another year, another ABAA fair! How did you two feel going into this 2020 Pasadena Antiquarian Book Fair (or the 53rd California International Antiquarian Book Fair, to be precise)?

V: Actually, we took a beating at fairs in 2019, so there was a bit of trepidation as we approached this first one of 2020. Nevertheless there never was any question as to whether we would exhibit, as it’s the ABAA California fair, and I want to support our local chapter’s efforts.

S: As Vic mentioned above, our fairs in 2019 were rough to say the least. I, too, was a bit “on edge” about how things were going to go – after all, book fairs can make or break your month, or even your season. Luckily though, this book fair – first of the new year – was a great start!

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Q: What all did you focus on bringing this year? How were sales?

V: There were two themes for the fair: celebration of the vote for women, and Ray Bradbury. We focused on the former, and everything found in our booth had some connection to women, be it as author, illustrator, character, printer, owner, or whathaveyou.

Happy to report sales were steady throughout the weekend, though without that one [or more] blockbuster transaction that would have propelled us into the ‘excellent fair’ category. But compared to 2019 fair results… night-n-day.

S: I would say our booth was 90% items by women – which we really enjoyed putting together as a tribute to this year’s fair theme, celebration women’s suffrage. Though of course we could not leave out our main man, Charles Dickens, and found a way to incorporate him into our mix as well!

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Q: How would you say this Pasadena fair equates with previous Pasadena fairs?

V: Better, see above.

S: Once again, I must agree with Vic. It was better. We also tried something new this year – as we had two main, lighted display cases – which while beautiful can also make people feel a bit too timid when it comes to inquiring about an item. Therefore, we also had several boxes of items in mylar sleeves out in our booth. People seemed much more intrigued by this concept as they were able to flip through and pull items out and touch them in a more accessible manner. I truly believe this helped make our booth a bit more “shoppable”.

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Q: How would you say it holds up in comparison with the Oakland fair? Obviously the Oakland fair is a bit easier for us, but in terms of customers and purchases is there a markable difference?

V: Well, this a difficult comparison… I think our Pasadena booth location this past weekend contributed significantly in our results. Our Oakland location was not so positioned. We’re hopeful for 2021 this changes, especially since, in 2021, John Knott & Tavistock Books plan to have adjoining booths, where we’ll open things up & have a larger, more visible footprint in the aisle.

S: Yes, a comparison between the two is a bit tough as, especially for us locals the Oakland fair is much easier! We are able to bring more items… and I can sleep in my own bed (huge plus)!

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Q: Samm, how was this Pasadena fair for you? This is your second ABAA fair, right? What was your favorite experience down in Southern California?

S: Set up went relatively quickly, so I had some free time to go to the norton simon museum with a colleague! sometimes its good to break away for a bit. but overall the fair was good, met and chatted with several new institutions about what collections they are building and how we can assist. there were some critiques i was hearing from others but i felt it was a really nice fair and a lovely time down in Pasadena!

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Q: Vic, how did you feel heading towards the end of your Presidency of the ABAA? Did that play any part in this fair?

V: Yes, my term as President concluded with the ABAA’s Annual meeting this past Sunday morning. As President, I feel like I personally experienced aspects of Einstein’s Theory of Relativity [as I understand it], which is to say, the two years went by in a blink of an eye, but some days dragged on interminably! lol

My successor is Brad Johnson, in whom I have unwavering confidence that he will successfully meet all the future challenges the Association may face. And let me again, in this forum, give a shout-out to Brad, who tremendously surprised me with a parting gift… a San Francisco Giants jacket!* OMG, I was blown away. Brad, thank you!

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Q: What’s next on the agenda for you both? Perhaps some to catalogue, we hope!

V: To be honest, I’m not sure what I will do with the time I regain in my schedule… maybe catch a few more Giants games while sporting my wonderful new jacket! 🙂

S: And while Vic is enjoying those Giants games, I will be working on a catalogue! Also, if you find yourself in the area next month, please come and see us at the Sacramento Antiquarian Book Fair on Saturday March 28th!

Thanks, you two! Samm is right… onto the next!

Some more photos from this year’s fair:

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President out. (Cue mic drop.)

The Future of Antiquarian Book Fairs

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As Antiquarian Booksellers, we are intimately familiar with book fairs. For those of you who have never attended such a fair before, we highly recommend it. For collectors and bibliophiles, scholars and tradesmen alike – book fairs are a wonderful place to get a feel for our world. All sellers bring a variety of items, and you can make note of who has items of interest to you and research them further. It is a wonderful place to make contacts with like-minded souls and spend time talking books. Tavistock Books has now been in business for decades, and we like to think that our fearless leader, Vic Zoschak (who also happens to be the current President of the Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America – the ABAA) has a fair amount of experience in this field. We share with you a mini Q&A with him and his thoughts on the past and the future of the antiquarian book fair.

Photo courtesy of Fine Books and Collections magazine.

Vic, Thanks for answering our questions. We’ll get right to it – what changes have you witnessed in antiquarian book fairs over your many years in the trade?

Vic Sac IOBA When I started doing fairs back in the early 90s, book fairs were an opportunity for collectors to see a bunch of material they may not otherwise have access to. There used to be lines around the block awaiting entry to the fair. No more. Remember, then, there was not widespread internet access… so no searching 20,000 bookstore inventories with a click of the mouse. Today, a collector, or just an individual searching for a given book, need not attend a fair to look for material. Today, when buyers search for their title on vialibri.net, they search the inventory of 20,000 booksellers. That’s an unprecedented access to inventory that has not been possible at any other time in bookseller/book buyer history. What that means for fairs is that most regional fairs have gone by the wayside…. in those early 90s, on the West Coast, I did 20+ book fairs a year. Now, 3. The local/regional fairs just don’t bring in the number of buyers that they used to. And if exhibitors don’t sell books at the fair, they won’t come back. Today, it’s my opinion, that a book fair needs to be an *event*, perhaps coupled with other *events* that same week. The ABAA book fairs are trending in this direction… not only will a potential attendee have the book fair to attend, but also events offered by sister organizations, like the Grolier Club, or the Book Club of California, or the Ticknor Society. As I think about them now, in response to your query, I think fairs are a somewhat endangered species…. continuing to exist, but in a fragile state and in need of attention.

How are the fairs different for you now as President of the ABAA?

Well, here there is, in fact, a challenge that faces the ABAA… our New York Fair, and our California fair, are too close together on the calendar. There’s a long back story there that brought this to pass, much too long to recount here, but suffice it to say, there’s no easy solution. I only wish, as President, I had a magic wand to fix it. But I don’t, so it’ll be a significant issue that my successor will, hopefully, be able to resolve.

Vic at a recent Seattle Antiquarian Book Fair.

What fairs that you attend (New York, LA/San Fran, Boston, Seattle, Sacramento) have stayed the same throughout the years and which have changed? Have they changed for the better?

I now only exhibit at 3 a year: Sacramento [local, one day, and easy to do], as well as the ABAA CA fair [this coming year in Socal, Pasadena]. But I do attend, as a visitor, all ABAA fairs, which means I’ll be heading to Boston in a week. This year, I also exhibited in Seattle, which was fun, but not particularly remunerative, so it’s a question mark for 2020.

Re: change? Here I have to give a shout-out to Jim Kay, the Sacramento promoter. He’s kept that local fair alive and vibrant. And I also want to give a shout out to the local ABAA book fair committees – Boston, NY & California – who have the task of keeping our ABAA fairs alive & well. In this challenging economic environment, they are doing a bang-up job in my opinion. They have evolved to meet the needs of the current book collecting milieu.

A shot from the New York ABAA fair, photo courtesy of LitHub.

How do you see antiquarian book fairs faring (pun intended) in the future?

I think we’ll be fine, especially if we continue to market our fairs as ‘events’. Give people more than one reason to attend. There’s a lot of competition for an attendee’s time & money; let’s make our pitch for our fairs be one that compels.

Amen to that! Keep the book fairs coming, people.

There and Back Again – The Seattle Antiquarian Book Fair Edition

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This past weekend saw the Tavistock Team exhibiting for the first time in a couple years at the Seattle Antiquarian Book Fair. A great experience for them, resident factotum Samm Fricke to tell us all about it. We highly recommend this fair to any and all in the book trade – whether you are a bookseller, a collector, a librarian or a bibliophile! You won’t be disappointed. Have a look at her answers below!

Q: How much experience do you both, Vic and Samm, have with the Seattle Book Fair?

Samm: For me, the Seattle Antiquarian Book Fair was a whole new experience – I have never attended nor worked that fair ever before. Vic, however, has done it many times, despite the fact that Tavistock Books has not exhibited there for a couple years. We are glad to be back!

Booth mates! This year we shared our Seattle booth with Laurelle Swan, of Swan’s Fine Books in Walnut Creek, CA.

Q: Because we must ask, as usual – how was load in, load out? Everything flow smoothly or were there some hiccups that needed to be addressed in either situation?

Samm: Load in and out was GREAT! So easy. Brad Johnson (of Johnson Rare Books & Archives) drove a caravan from Los Angeles and gathers booksellers’ books as he travels up the west coast. In short… we did not have to lug anything! We were lucky – it was probably the easiest load in and load out we have ever had! Thank you, Brad!

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Q: We noticed that before you got to Seattle you sent out a list of the items you decided to bring. How was the feedback from that list? Does it generate interest in the items already listed or are collectors and sellers using the list to see a general overview of our stock and then requesting you bring other items?

Samm: We did get some interest in the list before we left, and I do think it brought other booksellers over to our booth during set up to take a peek. However, the list was just text – no pictures – (unlike the bi-weekly short lists we send out!). In any case, I think people (booksellers and collectors) are always happy to have the first peek!

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Q: How were sales, down up or concurrent with previous years at the Seattle fair?

Samm: As Vic likes to (politely) say, sales were “soft.” But at fairs you usually do well at either buying or selling – not always both at the same time. Luckily, we were able to buy some really neat items, so keep an eye on our inventory in the near future!

Q: What were the best moments of the fair? Dinners, talks, social events… what was the salvation this time around?! Book fairs, while wonderful experiences for booksellers to hang out with like-minded souls, can be extremely draining. Being constantly on, constantly available, and not to mention working hard – what made it all worthwhile for you both this time around?

Samm: For me, it is always the dinners after the show. Getting to commiserate about the day, laugh about funny moments, eat great food (concession stands just don’t cut it, I’m sorry to say) and have a well-blended cocktail – a much needed boon after a long day of continuous meet and greets! Seattle was no exception – we had some really great meals with some amazing people! We are looking forward to the next fairs where we can all meet again!

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A New Adventure at the Chicago Antiquarian Book Fair

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Recently, Team Tavistock flew out to Chicago to exhibit at the Chicago Antiquarian Book Fair. A first time exhibiting at this fair for Tavistock, we got the low-down on their experiences below!

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So Vic, is this your first time exhibiting at the Chicago fair? And if so, what made you decide to try it out?

VZ: Indeed, this was my first time exhibiting in Chicago, and I did so because it was held at the prestigious Newberry Library. A lovely venue.

Samm, have you spent any time in Chicago before this fair?

SF: Yes, I have spent quite a bit of time in Chicago before this trip. However, I was never in the area we were in – Lincoln Park is, I believe, the neighborhood that the Newberry is in. The park in front of the Newberry is absolutely gorgeous, and the Newberry Library was spectacular! Not to mention that we discovered a lovely breakfast diner called Tempo, and it was a delight. Every time I visit Chicago I seem to find great and beautiful places.

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Vic, how did you decide what was best to take with you, exhibit-wise?

VZ: We had contracted for two trophy cases, no tables. And to save on shipping costs, decided to carry everything with us on the airplane. So selections tended to have two aspects: a connection to Chicago, and being more of a pamphlet or otherwise ’smallish’ item. What inventory we brought with us was supplemented by the 85 Dickens titles I acquired at the 1 May Hindman auction. And no, we didn’t put out all 85! Just a half dozen or so.

Samm, what was load-in and set up like? How did it compare to the previous fairs you have worked on?

SF: Overall, load-in was easy. It is always a bit confusing when first arriving at a book fair – where to go and what doors lead to what rooms. But it is definitely the way when you have never even been to the venue before! Other fairs I have attended have had very detailed load-in and load-out policies and rules, but that did not seem to be the case at the Newberry. It is a HUGE venue and easy to get turned around if you are unfamiliar with it.

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Vic, what was the best part of the fair, as one who has so much experience both exhibiting and shopping fairs around the country?

VZ: In this case, for me, the best part of the fair was the Friday night exhibitor dinner arranged by the fair promoter, Sammy Berk. Was a quite enjoyable evening, with good food, good drink, & good company.

Samm, what was your favorite thing about this fair?

SF: To be honest, I think its one of my favorite things about every fair I have exhibite at so far. Meeting people I have only talked to on the phone or emailed with! It is always nice to put a face to voice or name. People’s responses to me are typically along the lines of “its nice to meet you in person, I have been seeing you on Instagram and the blog.” Haha!

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And last but not least… Vic, do you think you’ll be exhibiting at the Chicago Antiquarian Book Fair in the future?

VZ: TBD! I say this, for despite the fantastic venue, sales were, shall we say, less than robust, and at the end of the day, one must have sales to remain a bookseller.

And there you have it, ladies and gents!

Looking forward to the next book fair report this fall, coming to you from Tavistock Books.

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