The fourth BIBLIO.live virtual book fair launches this week, October 7th-16th. We call this one the ‘Western States Edition’ because it ties in nicely with multiple prominent fairs on the west coast of the United States, but the beautiful thing about virtual fairs is the ability to bring in a wide range of sellers and items from around the world. At our fair, a select group of our worldwide sellers offers their newest and most exciting books in one easy-to-browse place. Whether you’re looking for signed books, antiquarian books, leather bindings, fore-edge painting or the new Stephen King, book collectors of every kind will find something of interest at the fair thanks to our wonderful booksellers.
The west coast of the United States evokes images of both exploration and glamour and there are multiple sellers from the area handling both. At Dawson’s Book Shop you will find books on Californiana, photography, voyages, and travel, perfect for our little Biblio-geographical adventure. David Spilman Fine Books specializes in books about California, Oregon, and Alaska as well as Antarctic and Arctic Exploration, Gold Rushes, Maps, Travel, Voyages, Exploration, and Western Americana.
The Heritage Book Shop in Beverly Hills specializes in California, Early Printed Books, Finely Bound Books, Illustrated And Color Plate Books, Nineteenth-Century Literature, Science, Travel, Voyages, and Exploration. They will be featuring a gorgeous copy of Le Morte Darthur by Sir Thomas Malory, illustrated by Aubrey Beardsley, as well as a first edition of Abraham Lincoln’s patent for “Improved Method of Lifting Vessels Over Shoals” from 1850 (Lincoln later became the first President with a patent).
Across the country, Irving Book Company in Biblio’s home town of Asheville, North Carolina, specializes in classical, Catholica, Southern, Photography, Poetry, early Modern Library Editions, and Scholarly texts.
Heading north to the state of Maryland you’ll find The Kelmscott Bookshop, which specializes in artists’ books, private press, William Morris, and general rare and antique books. You will find beautiful items ranging from a delicately detailed sewing kit by artist Marina Soria to an inventive set of cyber-related tarot cards from artist Béatrice Coron and writer Mick Stern.
Generally, you would need to take a long flight or sea voyage across the Atlantic to see what Paul Foster Books and White Eagle Books have in their shops in the UK. But you can browse Paul Foster’s collectible editions of Joyce, Tolkien, and Doyle, and obscure titles of interest from White Eagle Books, without leaving your living room.
Across the channel, you’ll find ARTEM in the Netherlands and Jeff Weber Rare Books in Switzerland. Jeff Weber Rare Books has a large inventory of rare books, including many books with custom fore-edge paintings (including some landscapes and some NSFW bedroom-scapes). ARTEM features Vida de J. J. Dessalines, printed in 1806, the first American and first illustrated edition of the first biography of J.J. Dessalines, leader of the Haitian Revolution.
The most far-reaching sellers from our North Carolina home are Khalkedon Rare Books in Turkey, and Archives Fine Books in Queensland, Australia. Khalkedon Rare Books sells rare, collectible, and scholarly books on the Turkish and Islamic world from Central Asia to Andalusia including manuscripts and documents from the Ottoman Empire. Archives Fine Books boasts “One Million Books on every topic” and has been selling second-hand, collectible, and rare books since 1985.
If you want to ride a little outside the book route, you can browse the ephemera and memorabilia offerings of Armadillo & Dicker Books & Ephemera and Tamino Autographs. Featuring captivating collectibles of the non-book variety, Tamino Autographs is featuring signed photographs by James Brown and Aretha Franklin, Albert Camus, and Irving Berlin, among others.
by James Jean – Listed by Annette and Larry Hancks
Our most popular category throughout the first year of Biblio book fairs has been Children’s Books. Collecting children’s books is an important and ever-growing field, and we’re excited to feature such sellers as Bookcharmed, who has a signed first edition of The 1619 Project: Born on the Water, as well as Books of Wonder, Gargoyle Books, and Annette and Larry Hancks, who have many signed first editions, including Ursula LeGuin’s picture book Cat Dreams.
Next Stop? Shop Biblio.live!
Help your search by getting preregistered for the fair! Set your price range, currency, and username to chat with booksellers during the fair. Visit the buyer information page to learn more and get registered today!
Amy C. Manikowski is a writer living in Asheville, NC.
Any first editions or signed Stephen King?
Gorgeous, and I did not know Biblio had an Asheville connection…
I am looking for my copy of The Diaries of Adam and Eve. It was an old edition with no indication of the author’s name on the red cover.It had funny, not anatomically more correct, line drawings and alternated between comments by Adam and comments by Eve. I have bought many editions trying to find a replacement. It was a red board cover.
looking for the book
Astrology
by Jane Lyle