Vancouver Antiquarian Book Fair: Free Public Lecture by Irvin Ungar

In addition to our highly anticipated Vancouver Antiquarian Book Fair at VPL Library Square October 15-16, a free public lecture has just been announced.

DATE: Thursday, October 14, 2010

TIME: 7-8 pm
PLACE: Pulp Fiction Books, 2422 Main Street
       (Main & Broadway) Vancouver, B.C.

Mr. Irvin Ungar, Proprietor of Historicana, a Burlingame, California antiquarian bookstore specializing in a wide ranging selection of historic Judaica will be the speaker. He is known as the foremost expert on the art of Arthur Szyk.

Irvin will be speaking about the making of the Szyk Haggadah, involving a discussion of the man Arthur Szyk, what a haggadah is, and what is different about Szyk’s haggadah from other haggadahs. The major focus of the presentation, however, will be on the luxury limited edition of the Szyk Haggadah featured in Amphora #147, the quarterly journal of The Alcuin Society. The Deluxe and Premier editions will also be on display.

Irvin Ungar has also produced a documentary on the work of Arthur Szyk which also tells the story of the production of his edition of the Szyk Haggadah. Eight video clips are available on YouTube, and in this clip below, the latest printing technology is employed with old world craftsmanship to produce the final spectacular result.



Click here to watch all 8 clips in sequence.

We hope to see you there for this special event!

How Ink Is Made

The producer of a short film about ink has passed their YouTube URL to us; having watched the film, I can confirm; it is lovely and informative, especially in HD. So good, you almost can't tell it's advertising. From the video description:

A Chief Ink Maker shows how colour and ink is created from the raw ingredients--powder, varnish, and passion. Everything designers and printers need to know about the process, the challenges and joy of ink making.

Presented by Peter Welfare, president and head inkmaker, The Printing Ink Company.

Written and produced by Ian Daffern and Directed and Edited by Tate Young.

Frankfurt Book Fair October 6 to 10, 2010

In addition to the already full plate of book events on the horizon comes the grand daddy of them all, the Frankfurt Book Fair. In case you aren't able to make it to Frankfurt, you can catch a glimpse of the event through some of their social media tools online, where you'll find a blog section, a photo gallery, and AV section with podcasts highlighting last year's event. Check back for more during the event. I can't be certain how much of this year's programming will be in English, but if we're lucky, there may be some live-streamed events worth catching. Keep tabs on the event through Twitter, where German tweets will be tagged with #fbm10, or in English at #fbf10


Here's the teaser promo that was put together for the fair, featuring a rather timid and confused spider, winding his way precariously through the city. Will he make it to the Frankfurt Book Fair in time? Will he get enough to eat? Find out, in Frankfurt!

Word On The Street Vancouver 2010

The media release I received today reminds us there's just six sleeps left until Word On The Street Vancouver 2010. Coming Sunday September 26, 2010 at Library Square and CBC Plaza. One Day Only, 11am to 5pm, FREE admission.

The crackles of September mean Fall leaves … and turning pages at The Word On The Street! Vancouver’s The Word On The Street is back for its 16th year with another full free day of indoor and outdoor author events, exhibits, performances, a marketplace, and all-round reading and writing excitement—Sunday, September 26 at Library Square and CBC Plaza (Homer and Hamilton Streets between Robson and Georgia).
[more from WOTS]

I do believe their web UI is new as well; I do like the addition of the due date card pocket in the bottom right!

A Bevy of Upcoming Book Fairs

The details of our upcoming book fair in Vancouver (October 15-16, 2010 at Library Square, Vancouver Public Library) are now posted online, including a list of exhibitors and more. As you may know, there has not been an antiquarian book fair in Vancouver since the early 1990s, so it's high time for a comeback!

Who can you expect to see at the Vancouver Antiquarian Book Fair? To answer this, I've compiled a list:

Booth 101   Purpora Books   www.purporabooks.com
Booth 102   Joyce Williams Antique Prints & Maps   www.jwprintsandmaps.com
Booth 103   Stephen Lunsford Books
Booth 104   Stillman Books   www.stillmanbooks.com
Booth 105   Thompson Rare Books   www.thompsonrarebooks.com
Booth 107   Brendan M. Moss, Esq.
Booth 108   Chorbajian Books
Booth 109   Tremain Haynes
Booth 110   Alexandre Antique Prints, Maps & Books   www.alexandremaps.com
Booth 111   Amicus Books
Booth 112   MacLeod's Books
Booth 113   J. King, Bookseller   www.abebooks.com/home/alcuin
Booth 114   Historicana / The Szyk Haggadah   www.szyk.com
Booth 115   The Wayfarer's Bookshop   www.wayfarersbookshop.com
Booth 116   Voyager Press Rare Books   www.voyager-press.com
Booth 117   Wilfrid M. de Freitas, Bookseller   www.defreitasbooks.com
Booth 118   Aquila Books   www.aquilabooks.com
Booth 119   Greenfield Books   www.greenfieldbooks.com
Booth 120   Bjarne Tokerud, Bookseller   www.bjarnetokerud.com
Booth 201   Sagewolf Books
Booth 202   David Ellis, Bookseller
Booth 203   Kestrel Books   www.kestrelbooks.ca
Booth 204   Craig Bowlsby, Bookseller
Booth 205   Women in Print
Booth 206   Brown's Books   www.brownsbooks.ca
Booth 207   Hourglass Books
Booth 208   Bill Bartlett Collectibles
Booth 209   Sorensen Books   www.sorensenbooks.ca
Booth 210   Murdoch's Bookshoppe  www.abebooks.com/bookseller/murdochsbookshoppe
Booth 211   Ainsworth Books   www.ainsworthbooks.com
Booth 212   The Alcuin Society   www.alcuinsociety.com


Not to be outdone, it seems there are a host of other cities with upcoming book fairs of their own. This includes the Montreal Antiquarian Book Fair (September 25-26, 2010), the Seattle Antiquarian Book Fair (October 9-10, 2010), the Toronto International Antiquarian Book Fair (October 29-31, 2010), and of course, who can forget Frankfurt (October 6-10, 2010). Next year will see the California Antiquarian Book Fair in Los Angeles (February 11-13, 2011), as well as the New York Antiquarian Book Fair (April  8-10, 2011).

Which of the book fairs is the fairest of them all? Well, that honour might have to go to the New York Antiquarian Book Fair, whose website boasts: "THE BEST BOOK FAIR IN THE WORLD". The quote is attributed to none other than Andy Rooney of 60 Minutes, CBS. The event celebrated its 5oth anniversary in April of this year; to see if they live up to their reputation, you'll have to read this enticing account of the event and decide for yourself: http://antiquesandthearts.com/...2010-04-27__12-59-07.html