Catalogues

Spring Smorgasbord

Spring Smorgasbord

My Funk & Wagnalls gives the secondary definition of smorgasbord as: a wide range of something; a variety.  And so it is with our Tuesday FS offering this week, 15 items of a divers nature, from a Houseworth ‘Celebrities’ trade cabinet card, to an ephemeral Chapman & Hall announcement of a new set of Dickens’ Works; a rare 4 issue consecutive run of the Black Rock Gazette from 2001 to a late 19th C piece of erotica; from a scarce piece of Californiana from the 1860s to a signed item from the founder of Rare Book School, the esteemed Terry Belanger.  

Odds & Ends

Odds & Ends

As a generalist antiquarian bookseller, a myriad of material crosses my desk any given week…  this week’s FS offerings reflects that diversity, hence the “Odds & Ends” title, while also reflecting a few of our sub-specialties, e.g., a couple unusual Dickens items, a Florence Nightingale CDV and, in keeping with our new affinity for Burning Man material, a rare photobook of one summer on the playa.  You’ll also find  numerous signed works [including Larry McMurtry’s 1st published book], an uncommon civil war era African-American tale, etc, etc.

Odds & Ends

Odds & Ends

Odds & Ends.  In other words, "An assortment of small, miscellaneous items”, which describes the 13 items that comprise this week’s Tavistock Books FS list.  Therein, you’ll find a couple items from our main specialty, Dickensiana, as well as an interesting early 20th C work on China, a nice die-cut Children’s item, an uncommon cookery book, a scarce Dime Novel, a work on typography, and even an interesting 19th C. edition of Dante.

Theatre Ephemera & Memorabilia

Theatre Ephemera & Memorabilia

Charles Dickens is readily recognized as one of the greatest 19th C authors, with such titles to his credit as David Copperfield & Great Expectations.  But did you know he was also a lover of the theatre & quite the accomplished amateur actor?  And his love of theatre influenced his writings, such that aspects of his novels readily lent themselves to dramatization.  So much so that an entire volume has been published that devotes itself to chronicling such efforts:  Dickens Dramatized, by Philip Bolton [NY: 1987].  Such dramatizations began even as Dickens was still writing, and continue today.   With today’s list of a baker’s dozen titles, half are adaptations of Dickens' works; one a playbill from Dickens’ early play The Village Coquettes [1836] & the remainder a diverse selection of material that popped out when I did a keyword search for ’theatre’ on tavbooks.com.

A Dickens Miscellany

A Dickens Miscellany

Charles Dickens was born on February 7th 1812... to celebrate his birthday, we have selected 15 items from our extensive inventory of Dickensiana, and herewith present same.

Enjoy!

Bound In Vellum

Bound In Vellum

Vellum, a term often found in bibliophilic writings, generally, refers to an animal skin, usually calf, which is employed as a writing / printing surface or as a book's binding.  It is this latter use to which we focus this week’s offerings…  15 items, most pre-1800, that are bound in vellum.

Recently Shelved

Recently Shelved

A hearty hello this Tuesday morning from Tavistock Books!  Since our last list 2 weeks ago, I continue unpacking & cataloguing, such that in that 2 week period I’ve shelved approximately 300 volumes from which I selected 15 to comprise this week’s list of offerings.  You’ll find our usual eclectic mix, from Architecture to Doyle, from America to Africa, etc., etc.