Rare Book Week West

Oak Knoll is headed to California for the Pasadena Antiquarian Book, Print, Photo and Paper Fair (January 31-February 1) and the California International Antiquarian Book Fair (February 6-8 in Oakland). We have some discount tickets to give away for both fairs; see the end of this post for details.

The Oakland fair kicks off Rare Book Week West, an impressive array of special events dedicated to rare and finely-printed books. See the RBWW website for full details on the book fairs, auctions, presentations, and exhibitions. Although we won’t be attending, we recommend the CODEX Fair and Symposium (February 8-11), which showcases 100 fine press printers, book artists, and fine art publishers from all over the world, including many of our Oak Knoll Fest participants.

We’ve packed our trunks with all manner of books about books–papermaking, bookbinding, calligraphy, typography, printing history, book collecting– a number of finely printed private press books, a little mountain of miniature books, and a selection of new and bestselling titles from Oak Knoll Press. Plus, we’re excited to debut some wonderful books that we recently acquired from the collection of Michael Peich, professor emeritus at West Chester University and proprietor of the Aralia Press.

Peich is responsible for making West Chester a hub for poetry: he co-founded university’s annual Poetry Conference in 1995, was instrumental in the establishment of the Poetry Center in 2004, and helped secure a permanent endowment to support future poetry-related activities at West Chester. His Aralia Press, founded in 1983, and located in WCU’s F.H. Green Library, provided an opportunity to publish contemporary poetry, while teaching students the craft of fine printing.

Peich’s collection is full of lovely private press material from the 1970s to 2000, including presentation copies, a number of publications from the Toothpaste Press (predecessor of the Coffee House Press), and work from the San Francisco Renaissance poet William Everson (aka Brother Antonius), a conscientious objector and a fine press printer in his own right.

Click the images below to see what we’ll have at the fairs:

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Book Fair Details

Pasadena Antiquarian Book, Print, Photo, and Paper Fair
January 31-February 1, 2015
Pasadena Convention Center
Pasadena, CA
Booth #106
We have a limited number of complimentary and discount tickets, available on a first-come, first-served basis. E-mail [rob (at) oakknoll.com] to claim one.

California International Antiquarian Book Fair
February 6-8, 2015
Oakland Marriott City Center
Oakland, CA
Booth #600
We have a limited number of complimentary tickets, available on a first-come, first-served basis. E-mail [rob (at) oakknoll.com] to claim one.

Ladies of Letterpress Conference

Bailey and I had a great time representing Oak Knoll at the Ladies of Letterpress Conference last weekend. We learned a lot, admired beautiful examples of printing (and even bought a few!), met some nice people, and ate some great food. It was our first time in Asheville, and we loved the city. We will have to go back when we have more time!

Here are some of the pictures we took at the conference:

Some of the broadsides we liked

Letterpress ladies browsing at our booth

Abby Rorer of The Lone Oak Press demonstrating her engraving technique

A marbling demonstration

Bailey tries her hand at marbling

The drive home was beautiful

Thank you to the Ladies of Letterpress for putting on such a great event. We look forward to seeing you again in October for Oak Knoll Fest!

~ Laura Williams

A successful mini-fair

This past Saturday, The Bookshop in Old New Castle hosted a mini-book fair sponsored by the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the ABAA. Thirteen booksellers participated in the fair, and author Joel Silver signed copies of his new publication Dr. Rosenbach and Mr. Lilly. The day was very successful, and we were excited to see those involved enjoying the opportunity to sell and purchase books. One participating bookseller, George Krzyminski from Certain Books, had wonderful words to say about the event:

“Speaking only for myself, I did very well, in buying as well as selling – better than some all-day or all weekend events I’ve exhibited at in the recent past. I met at least 3 new customers, quoted them some other material afterwards and met several dealers with which I’d had no previous contact – all to the good. I believe others at the show had similar experiences. We also had the opportunity to purchase & have Joel Silver sign his newest book, “Dr. Rosenbach & Mr. Lilly.” And of course, we all dipped into shopping the shelves at Oak Knoll the entire time…

I repeat Penny’s compliments and thanks to Bob & Millie & Rob Fleck and their staff, to all the other Bookshop in Old New Castle dealers – Bordentown, Kelmscott, Between the Covers- for their willingness to ‘share the space’ and custom with us all – and to all the dealers and their partners and staff that showed up for the workshop & show, who fully participated and had a good, profitably-spent time!”

Thank you, George for your kind words. We are happy you had such a great experience, and we hope all the rest of the booksellers had a great time as well! We look forward to participating in other similar events in the future.

Click here to view more pictures on facebook.

San Francisco recap

Author Steven Abbott with Publishing Director Laura Williams

This past weekend, Rob and I were privileged to represent Oak Knoll at the antiquarian book fair in San Francisco. It was great to meet new people and to match faces with names of people I’ve corresponded with extensively, like Steven Abbott, author of our Gore Vidal bibliography. The book fair was a success, both in terms of sales and in terms of the experience that Rob and I gained and the contacts we made. I just got a small taste of the city of San Francisco, so I hope to be able to visit again sometime to explore it further!

– Laura Williams

On our way to San Francisco

Tomorrow morning, Rob Fleck and I will board a plane to San Francisco, to represent Oak Knoll Books and Oak Knoll Press at the 44th California International Book Fair. This will be my first trip, and Rob’s second, to the City by the Bay, so we are excited to explore the city! In addition to exhibiting at the fair, we will be visiting important book places such as the San Francisco Public Library, Serendipity Books, and the CODEX book fair. We hope you will stop by and visit us at booth 208!

Laura Williams, Publishing Director

The Flecks Head to Italy

Bob Fleck

The Flecks (Millie, Rob and and I) are off to Italy tomorrow to participate in the International League of Antiquarian Bookseller’s (ILAB) Congress and Bookfair. This will be Rob’s first Congress—Millie and I have been doing them since 1990 (Tokyo, Cologne, Amsterdam, Los Angeles, Vienna, Edinburgh, Scandinavia, Melbourne, Madrid) and have met wonderful friends over the years. This year, Millie, former head coach of the A.I. DuPont High School cheerleaders, will take up her pom-pom again and lead the cheerleaders for the rest of the world when they try to beat the local Italian team (all booksellers of course). Rob will be a forward on the team and I will be cheering. We will keep you posted.

-Bob, President and Owner

Rob Fleck

Yes, I will miss my lovely girlfriend, but who can pass up a chance to visit Bolongna for a week and a half while participating in the ILAB Congress Book Fair? I’m extremely ecstatic about going to my first Congress! Being the cook at my house, I’m also particularly excited about the food experience that I will indulge myself in. Bolognese sauce was originated in Bologna, and has given me a sense of what to expect when I touch down. I also recently bought a Nikon D40 DSLR camera which I will use on my trip for documentation. See you when I get back!

-Rob, Antiquarian & Library Sales

My First Book Fair

I don’t think I have ever been surrounded by quite as many booksellers, librarians, and bright-eyed book lovers as I was yesterday. Tuesday, June 22, 2010, marked the date of my first book fair with Oak Knoll, and more formally the 51^st RBMS Pre Conference Book Fair in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Since I had never attended a book fair before, I was very curious to see just what kind of events this new endeavor would bring.

After spending the night before setting up our booth with my fellow workers, Rob and Laura, I was already energized and excited to start the fair and showcase some books. The festive Mexican restaurant we dined at on the way home surely didn’t hurt my enthusiasm either! After a good night’s sleep, we had returned to Philly, and it wasn’t long after we had arrived that other booksellers were already coming to our booth to say hello and browse our titles. They were of course all friendly and talkative, and with such a crowd meandering throughout, I learned why the name tags they provided were so important!

As the day continued, I was able to take some time to walk around the room and look at other sellers’ books. Now, while I thoroughly enjoyed fancying the samples of each seller’s inventory, the more inspiring aspect was discovered through conversations with some truly unique individuals in attendance. Many of the experienced booksellers (and even many of the younger booksellers!) had such an astronomical knowledge of rare books, that it was invigorating to see such a specialized field of interest so strongly represented. An immense passion for books was present no doubt.

After all was said and done, and the delicious wine and cheese served was devoured, I was able to leave my first book fair with a feeling of reward. It was nice to finally put faces to many of the booksellers and customers who play in active role in Oak Knoll’s success. It was also satisfying to know that even though I still have years of knowledge to gain in the world of books, I was able to apply what I do know to help my company and our customers.

– Danielle Burcham, Publishing Assistant