Detail face image from the Copper engraving from the expanded second edition of Hanmer's illustrated Works of Shakespeare
Illustrated - Art, Photography, Architecture, Rare Books

The Illustrative Processes: Etching

Etching falls under the intaglio and engraving category of printmaking, where the printing press applies great force to push ink into lines. Though an etching is an engraving, not all… Read more

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selection of photography rare books

Rare Books 101

Rare Books as Gifts

Books make great gifts because they have whole worlds inside of them. And it’s much cheaper to buy somebody a book than it is to buy them the whole world…. Read More

atlas shrugged dust jacket

Literature, Moderns

Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged

“Who is John Galt?” With this question, Ayn Rand began her final novel, Atlas Shrugged, one of the most controversial, influential, and bestselling books of the 20th century. It’s a… Read More

Portrait of Ulysses S. Grant in uniform

Civil War, History

General Grant and Mark Twain: The Story Behind Grant’s Memoirs

As changes in fortune go, the swings experienced by Ulysses S. Grant during the final chapters of his life are somewhat legendary. From an early age Grant was preoccupied with… Read More

illustration of Peter Rabbit

Children's Lit

Beatrix Potter: Nature, Love and Success

Ducks, mice, kittens, and of course, rabbits. A menagerie of small creatures inhabits the pages of Beatrix Potter’s books. As a young girl, she loved nature, feeling more at home… Read More

first page of The first edition, 1893-4, of Beardsley's Morte D'Arthur

Literature, Rare Books 101

Collecting Camelot: Rare Arthurian Books, Part 2

Someday, I’d like to play King Arthur in a production of Lerner and Loewe’s Camelot. I long ago memorized all of Arthur’s songs and a lot of his dialogue—including the… Read More

King Arthur book cover

Literature, Rare Books 101

Collecting Camelot: Rare Arthurian Books

When I visited Walt Disney World, one thing I really wanted to do was tug at the Sword in the Stone, right next to the Fantasyland carousel. I’d heard the… Read More

person standing in water at New Jersey beach

Rare Books 101

The Personal Library: Beach House

The Jersey Shore was my beach. If you can imagine New Jersey as a woman sitting with her legs crossed, I grew up where the calves are. We chased the… Read More

the new negro book

Literature, Moderns

Culture Beat: Highlights of the Harlem Renaissance

Looking to escape the summer heat? You can’t beat a blissfully cool day exploring MoMA’s current show, “One-Way Ticket: Jacob Lawrence’s Migration Series and Other Works.” Jacob Lawrence’s masterful Migration… Read More

tender is the night with dust jacket

Literature, Moderns

Greater than Gatsby? Why Tender is the Night might be Fitzgerald’s “intended masterpiece.”

The sick and tired adages regarding the relationship between art and the artist are rarely more evident and appropriate than in the curious case of F. Scott Fitzgerald and his… Read More

matisse sketch inside Ulysses

Illustrated - Art, Photography, Architecture, Moderns

The Writer, the Painter, and the Department Store Tycoon

In 1929, George Macy (of department store fame) founded the Limited Editions Club press for the purpose of publishing beautiful livres d’artiste.  Artist’s books, which became especially popular in the… Read More