Auction Alert-Dr. Seuss

The January 7th auction at PBA Auctions in San Francisco is going to include 85 lots of Dr. Seuss material; books, original sketches and ephemera with many of the items signed.

factoid

I love it when in snows in New York, (especially New York City) it seems that I always get a jump in online orders when the weather gets bad there.

Auction Price Realized- Darwin On the Origin of Species

From www.Artdaily.org

First Edition of Charles Darwin's 'On the Origin of Species' Sells for $170,569


The book was recently rediscovered sitting on a bookcase in the guest bathroom of the vendor’s house. Photo: Christie's Images Ltd. 2009.

LONDON.- A rediscovered first edition of Charles Darwin’s (1809-1882) 'On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection' sold today at Christie’s in London for £103,250 / $170,569 / €114,298 (estimate: £40,000 to £60,000). Recently rediscovered sitting on a bookcase in the guest bathroom of the vendor’s house, it had been bought for only a few shillings over 50 years ago. The book was sold 150 years to the day after this seminal work of scientific literature was first published (November 24, 1859). It was bought by an anonymous client bidding by telephone.

Margaret Ford, Director and Head of Books and Manuscripts, Christie’s London: “It is a very fitting occasion to have sold this rediscovered copy of Darwin’s 'Origin of Species' 150 years to the day after it was first published. One of the most important and influential scientific books ever written, the copy sold today was an unusual rediscovery having been found in the guest bathroom of the vendor’s house. We are thrilled to have seen so much interest for the book leading up to the auction where clients competed in the room and by telephone, with an anonymous telephone bidder winning the battle and acquiring it for £103,250.”

The vendor’s son-in-law was recently visiting an exhibition on Darwin when he noticed a first edition of the book on display. Seeing the distinctive green spine, he recognized it as a book on a bookcase in the guest bathroom of his father-in-law; he found there a fresh copy of a rare first edition of the book. It was this copy that sold today at Christie’s for £103,250 / $170,569 / €114,298.

Charles Darwin (1809-1882) is most recognized for his theory of evolution, which states that all species of life have evolved over time from common ancestors. His most notable publication was 'On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection' which was first published on November 24, 1859, and which became one of the most influential scientific books ever written. He was buried in Westminster Cathedral alongside Sir Isaac Newton, and is one of only 5 non-Royal Brits to be honored by a State Funeral, the others being Lord Nelson, The Duke of Wellington and two former Prime Ministers; Lord Palmerston and the Rt. Hon. William Gladstone.

Book Scouting

On the subject of non traditional book scouting locations....


Rare Charles Darwin book found on toilet bookshelf

LONDON – An auction house says it is selling a rare first edition of Charles Darwin's "On the Origin of Species" found in a family's guest lavatory in southern England.

Christie's auction house said Sunday the book — one of around 1,250 copies first printed in 1859 — had been on a toilet bookshelf at a family's home in Oxford.

The book will be auctioned on Tuesday, the 150th anniversary of the publication of the famous work. Christie's said the book is likely to sell for 60,000 pounds ($99,000).

Darwin's "The Origin of Species" outlined his theory of natural selection, the foundation for the modern understanding of evolution.

Celebrations around the world this year have marked the 200th anniversary of Darwin's birth.

I also check out the books used for displays in furniture stores and restaurants, have not found anything exciting yet but I can dream...

bibliofanatic part II

Keeping a calendar of favorite authors publishing dates-fan

Downloading the ebook version at midnight on date of publication and then still buying the hard copy--fanatic

bibliophile

The most straight forward definition of a bibliophile is "a lover of books" and as a life long fan of books, both the reading and collecting thereof I think it would be fun to discuss the signs and symptoms of when a fan becomes a fanatic.

Buying every book written by an author as soon as it hits the stores-fan

Haunting the bookshops to see if anyone accidentally shelved a new title prior to the book's release date--fanatic


Discussing an author or specific book with friends-fan

Trying to talk about same book or author with strangers on the street--fanatic


Joining book groups to discuss books and learn about new titles or authors-fan

Trying to peek at the title of a book that the stranger on the bus (or gym, or doctor's office...) is reading--fanatic


Watching your favorite decorating show and trying to read the titles of the books on the shelves-fan

Refusing to ever watch said decorating show again when the decorator stacks books to hold up vases or removes dust jackets from books because "the books look neater"--fanatic

I'll post more examples of these as I do them, uhmm I mean as I think of them.

Gotta Love Grandfathers

I've sold children's books since the early 1990's, first by catalog sales and since 1996 via the internet. From my earliest days in business one of my favorite type of customer to talk to has been Grandfathers. In print or out of print they want to provide there grandkids with the best of the best. Whether it is my Armenian American grandfather who wants books that reflect that culture, the grandfather who wanted to replace the books he read to his daughter, for her to read to her own daughter, or the call I got recently from a soon to be granddad who wants to surround his new family member with the best of children's literature. They are dedicated buyers and repeat customers.