Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair

The Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair&nbsp;(BIABF) celebrates its 46th year at the Hynes Convention Center in Downtown Boston, November 8-10, 2024. This three-day event welcomes the top international dealers offering the most sought-after collections of fine and rare books, maps, illustrations, and ephemera on the global market. In celebration of the 75th Anniversary of the <a href="https://www.abaa.org/">Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America</a>&nbsp;(ABAA), a series of special events and programs will be presented in Boston. For information, visit <a href="http://www.bostonbookfair.com">www.abaa.org/bostonbookfair</a> or call 617-938-8879. More than 100 rare book dealers from Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Italy, Netherlands, Serbia, the UK, and 19 U.S. states will exhibit an alluring treasure trove for seasoned bibliophiles and first-time attendees. Prices range from the millions to the eminently affordable. Whether immaculately preserved or intriguingly weathered, each item tells its own story. Booksellers hold a seemingly bottomless wealth of knowledge, both artistically and historically, about each item in their collections. A complete list of exhibitors can be found at<a href="https://www.abaa.org/bostonbookfair/exhibitor-list1"> https://www.abaa.org/bostonbookfair/exhibitor-list1</a>&nbsp;&nbsp; “We are thrilled to be capping off a year-long celebration of the 75th Anniversary of the ABAA in Boston,” says Julie Roper, CEO of Capricorn Event Management, LLC, who has managed the Boston Book Fair since 2015. “This milestone year marks a significant evolution of the organization, characterized by a shift in the diversity of its membership and the material it promotes. Notably in Boston, there has been an increase in women ABAA dealers and a younger, more diverse audience at the Fair, reflecting an ongoing and longtime commitment to fostering growth.” <img src="https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXe_LYjJlww4IuqIdDxCJ-VvtRGuvh8vpdd7cJTjR8bAsM4xwU8-iigAKHlZbtO2gYEJibah2sXT67qtzb1HuF6tdK2oyESyZVisaS8U0As62k5dwydReRqCHOgWelcQtfQ3w3hGEwf6LpbJSC_GjWqbsBF_Qk9b7Fm-Pb27FQ?key=lqB1wIg7MiHpqFQ6Q3YwpQ">Whether browsing or buying, the Fair offers something for every taste and budget—books on art, politics, travel, cooking, science, sport, natural history, first editions, Americana, fashion, music, children’s books, and much more—appealing to a range of collectors and casual browsers. From the historic and academic to the religious and spiritual, from the exotic to everyday—the Fair represents every conceivable genre and subject. Attendees will have the unique chance to view rare and historic museum-quality items, offered by some of the most prestigious members of the trade. The event features fine and rare printed materials from around the world, including illuminated manuscripts, modern first editions, ephemera, photographs, maps, and autographs, as well as antiquarian books on a vast array of topics The Boston Book Fair is sanctioned by the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America (ABAA) and the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB). In recent years, the BIABF has increasingly captured the attention of novice and young collectors seeking one-of-a-kind offerings at more accessible price points. For attendees wanting to start a collection without breaking the bank, there will be dealers offering “Discovery” items priced at $100 or less. Special events at this year’s fair will include in-person talks, announced in early fall.&nbsp; The Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair is sponsored by the New England Chapter of the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America.

Hynes Convention Center

Draw Me Ishmael: The Book Arts of Moby Dick

Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick is the most persistently pictured of all American novels, with timeless themes that continue to inspire creatives of all types. Draw Me Ishmael: The Book Arts of Moby Dick, now on view at the Peabody Essex Museum, is the first exhibition focused on the book arts of the hundreds of editions and adaptations published since 1851. vDrawn almost entirely from Peabody Essex Museum’s Phillips Library collection, Draw Me Ishmael explores decades of approaches to interpreting the novel visually, in book form. Dan Lipcan, curator of the exhibition, will provide an overview of the show and bring examples for the audience to examine! The&nbsp;46th Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair&nbsp;(BIABF) is a three-day event featuring 100+ top international dealers offering the most sought-after collections of fine and rare books, maps, illustrations, and ephemera on the global market.

Collecting on a Shoestring Budget: Books, Sports Ephemera, and Original Art

Over the past six decades, Richard (Dick) Johnson has collected, both as an essential part of his duties as a museum curator at The Sports Museum and as an expression of his passion to search for additions to an eclectic personal collection he started in grade school. In due course, he has assembled one of the best libraries of sports publications in America while also seeking out affordable pieces of original art by artists such as Winslow Homer, Thomas, Nast, Andre Gill, and John Held, Jr., among others. This presentation will focus on the means by which to collect in a multi-dimensional, ever-changing marketplace and, most importantly, the thrill of the hunt. The ABAA Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair&nbsp;(BIABF) celebrates its 46th year November 8-10, 2024, at the Hynes Convention Center in Downtown Boston. This three-day event welcomes the top international dealers offering the most sought-after collections of fine and rare books, maps, illustrations, and ephemera on the global market.

The Ticknor Society Collectors' Roundtable: Off the Beaten Track

Many, if not most, rare book collectors happily search among the mountain peaks, focusing on the high points in their chosen area. But some, for various reasons, venture off the well-worn roads, explore lesser-known byways, and even forge new paths through uncharted territory. Join the annual Ticknor Society Roundtable and hear from collectors including Gerald Prebble, who collects Little Magazines of the 1920s and 30s. Hear panelists tell their stories, why they left the regular paths, what they found along the way, and what it has added to the larger historical narrative in their area of collecting. The Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair&nbsp;(BIABF) celebrates its 46th year November 8-10, 2024, at the Hynes Convention Center in Downtown Boston. This three-day event welcomes the top international dealers offering the most sought-after collections of fine and rare books, maps, illustrations, and ephemera on the global market.

 Subverting Expectations: the Contemporary Dimensions of a Rare Book Collection

Acquiring artists’ books for a college’s liberal arts collection implies risk and obligation with every decision. Will they be used? Is the maker’s intent clear? Will they continue to resonate over time? These works demand skilled interpreters who will present them as hybrid book-objects that merge language, material, and visual presence as metaphors. An academic library provides outstanding opportunities to integrate artists’ books with historical collections of rare books and manuscripts—to remind the viewer that they are not separate from earlier forms of the book, but relatives in a long evolutionary line of human expression. Join Ruth Rogers, Curator of Special Collections at Wellesley College as she discusses a curator’s challenge of discerning from the vast range of possibilities and imagining how one’s choices will become a permanent part of teaching and learning at their institution. The Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair&nbsp;(BIABF) celebrates its 46th year at the Hynes Convention Center in Downtown Boston, November 8-10, 2024. This three-day event welcomes the top international dealers offering the most sought-after collections of fine and rare books, maps, illustrations, and ephemera on the global market.

Hynes Convention Center 

Collecting Trash: Wastepaper in Early American Bindings

Bear, fox, skunk, raccoon, and muskrat bones. Earthenware vessels and ceramics in shards. Tobacco pipes. Clam and mussel shells. These are the typical contents of an 18th-century trash pit from New England. But there are never any books. Instead, printed waste was part of the larger ecosystem of 18th-century printing, binding, and bookselling. It was incorporated into the bindings of many early American books, just as it is today embedded in the very fabric of life around us. In this talk, Ashley Cataldo introduces the many uses of printed waste in early American bookbinding, drawn from the collections of the American Antiquarian Society, from the 1640 Bay Psalm Book to 19th-century printed books from Hawaii. <a href="https://www.americanantiquarian.org/node/28">Ashley Cataldo</a>, Curator of Manuscripts, American Antiquarian Society, will present a talk on Collecting Trash: Wastepaper in Early American Bindings (sponsored by the Bibliographical Society of America). The&nbsp;46th Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair&nbsp;(BIABF) is a three-day event featuring 100+ top international dealers offering the most sought-after collections of fine and rare books, maps, illustrations, and ephemera on the global market.

Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair Opening Night

Get a first look at items for sale at this festive preview of the Boston Book Fair —an opportunity to browse the collections of U.S. and international dealers and to mingle with other bibliophiles, collectors, museum curators, and special collections librarians. The Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair (BIABF) celebrates its 46th year November 8-10, 2024, at the Hynes Convention Center in Downtown Boston. This three-day event welcomes more than 100+ top international dealers offering the most sought-after collections of fine and rare books, maps, illustrations, and ephemera on the global market.

Belle da Costa Greene: A Librarian's Legacy

Belle da Costa Greene, the first director of the Morgan Library &amp; Museum, was a world-renowned librarian. Known for her knowledge of medieval manuscripts and keen collecting eye, she was also a woman of color, passing as white (of Portuguese descent) in the racist and segregated Jim Crow America. Join Morgan Library Curator Erica Ciallela &amp; Harvard University Librarian Anne-Marie Eze to discuss Belle Greene’s background and her rise to prominence in the world of rare books. An upcoming exhibition on Greene will be held in the fall of 2024, marking the centenary of the Morgan Library's life as a public institution in New York City. Just a short walk from Grand Central and Penn Station, the Morgan is a major exhibition venue for fine art, literature, and music, one of New York's great historic sites, and a wonderful place to dine, shop, and attend a concert or film.

Hynes Convention Center - online this year!

Get a first look at items for sale at this festive preview–an opportunity to browse the collections of U.S. and international dealers before everyone else!, and to mingle with other bibliophiles, collectors, museum curators, and special collections librarians. Celebrating its 45th year, The Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair (BIABF), is a three-day event (October 27-29 at the Hynes Convention Center) featuring fine and rare printed materials from around the globe, including illuminated manuscripts, modern first editions, children’s books, ephemera, photographs, maps and autographs, as well as antiquarian books on a vast array of topics.

S22: conversations

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S11: happening this weekend

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S21: roundups

Our top picks: outdoor dining, free events, spring festivals, best bars, upcoming concerts, museum parties - the latest in and around Boston.  Slug: joyraft-top-picks-best-things-to-do-boston-ma

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100+ free things to do in Boston and beyond

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