Reviewed by Jennifer Larson Zinman, Michael. 2025. The Critical Mess. Annals of Collecting no. 10. New Jersey: Privately printed for the author. Distributed by Temporary Culture. This compendium of essays by and about Michael Zinman is itself a “critical mess” as defined by the author: “My approach to collecting was […]
Jennifer Larson
10 posts
by Jennifer Larson, FABS Chair JOIN FABS via Zoom for Bookish Presentations and Discussion The FABS (Fellowship of American Bibliophilic Societies) special interest Zoom groups are up and running! We invite you to share items from collection(s), discuss bookish matters and learn from fellow bibliophiles in an informal group setting […]
by Jennifer Larson Berger, Sidney E. 2023. The Dictionary of the Book: A Glossary for Book Collectors, Booksellers, Librarians, and Others. Second Edition. Lanham MD: Rowman and Littlefield. Do you know what a quaternion is? A chronogram? The study of filigranology? Do you know what distinguishes lithographic from intaglio printing? […]
Recently I had the pleasure of sitting down with BSA Executive Director Erin McGuirl for a Zoom conversation about bibliography. What follows is a revised version of our conversation about the academic discipline and its professional association, the Bibliographical Society of America. JL: What should collectors know about bibliography? EM: […]
On Feb 8, 2023, FABS member societies from opposite ends of the continent gathered via Zoom for “The Nation Bracketed,” a joint quadragennial celebration. “Forty is a fine and promising number and it bodes well for the future of the clubs and the Republic of Books to which we all […]
Editor’s note: Today’s post is by Boštjan Petrič, author of the blog The Fate of Books. Huh? What? I thought this was supposed to be a blog about book collecting? … Calm down, everything is OK, it’s still the same blog you left last time. This is a guest post, […]
What’s the difference between an autograph and a signature? How can you avoid being cheated on Ebay when purchasing an item hand-written or signed by your favorite author, artist, scientist, or statesman? And once you have that coveted manuscript material, how should you display and store it? These are some […]
“It’s the people you meet.” For Kenneth Gloss, second-generation proprietor of Brattle Bookshop in Boston, the joy of book-hunting is in the people and the stories that come with rare books and papers. Gloss, an author, lecturer and expert appraiser who grew up in the bookshop, spoke to an appreciative […]
The original concept behind FABS was for member societies to welcome each other at their events. The Book Club of California carried on this tradition in February 2022 by hosting a reception at the 54th California International Book Fair in Oakland. Guests from FABS societies included members of The Caxton […]
by Jennifer Larson Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray. 2021. The Personal Librarian. New York: Random House. Heidi Ardizzone. 2007. An Illuminated Life: Belle da Costa Greene’s Journey from Prejudice to Privilege. New York: W. W. Norton and Co. In The Personal Librarian, authors Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray […]