Book Collecting

Collecting Ex-Libris Bookplates

Ex-Libris Bookplate

Originally uploaded by Deborah Swain

There’s an increasingly popular field of specialization in book collection – collecting books because of the ex-libris bookplates found pasted inside them. I’ve just launched a new Website dedicated exclusively to this area – The Ex-Libris and Bookplate Store

This particular bookplate looks very much like a Rockwell Kent design however I’m not certain…if anybody has any further thoughts or any ideas as to the identity of David Adams, please do leave a comment below. The ex-libris is pasted into a 1931 First American Edition of The Waves by Virginia Woolf, published by Harcourt, Brace and Company.

Monkey by Wu Cheng-en | Translated by Arthur Waley | Dust Jacket by Duncan Grant

Monkey is the title of Arthur Waley’s popular 1942 abridged translation of the traditional Chinese folk tale Journey to the West which was first published during the Ming Dynasty in the 16th century and is now ascribed to the scholar Wu Cheng-en. It actually translates only thirty of the hundred chapters of the original tale. …

Why Collect Science Fiction Books?

By Alan Chudnow It all begins with sense of wonder. At some point it hits you, an almost magical attraction to books. It may be books by a particular author or books about a distinctly engaging concept or it may be the sheer joy of holding a unique volume with a compelling physical appeal. However …

Collecting First Editions for Pleasure or Profit

By Justin Power If the idea of making money from a hobby appeals to you, then you should consider collecting first edition books. Let me give you a real-life example. If you had bought a copy of the Nobel laureate Seamus Heaney’s first collection of poetry, Death of a Naturalist, in 1999 you would have …

Book Signings | Penelope Lively | Moon Tiger

When I was a child my favourite contemporary writer was, without a doubt, Penelope Lively. Many of her books dealt with ghosts or the supernatural, or played tricks with layers of time; I remember that I was glued to them and would very nearly have devoured them in one sitting if allowed! The Ghost of …

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