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
Literature, Moderns, Videos
Favorite Authors: Virginia Woolf
In this short film, Las Vegas bookseller Mary Olsson tells you why she loves the work of Virginia Woolf. Read More
Literature, Moderns, Videos
The Story Behind A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
In this short film, Las Vegas bookseller Christy Shannon tells you the story behind Ernest Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms. Read More
American Revolution
Forgotten Founders: Thomas Paine, Part 2
In Part 1, I explored the controversy over whether Thomas Paine was a Founding Father. This post is about Common Sense, his most famous work and the most influential, brilliant, and… Read More
Literature, Moderns
I Seek Another Place: Edna St. Vincent Millay’s “Bluebeard”
The French folktale of a murderous nobleman called Bluebeard had been around for the better part of two centuries by the time Charles Perrault published his version in Histoires ou… Read More
Polar, Travel, Videos
The Story Behind South by Ernest Shackleton
In this short film, Las Vegas bookseller Greg Hicks tells you why he loves the story of South by Ernest Shackleton. (Image above by expedition photographer Frank Hurley.) For more… Read More
American Revolution
Forgotten Founders: Thomas Paine, Part 1
Should an independancy be brought about…, we have every opportunity and every encouragement before us, to form the noblest purest constitution on the face of the earth. We have it… Read More
Illustrated - Art, Photography, Architecture, Science/Natural History
The Story Behind John James Audubon’s Birds of America
It was a chance encounter with nature artist Alexander Wilson that made John James Audubon realize he could make a living from selling his drawings featuring birds of America. At… Read More
Polar, Travel
John Franklin: The Man Who Ate His Boots, Part II
When we left off last, Sir John Franklin and his crew had abandoned Canada’s northern coastline and were making their way toward Fort Enterprise. Circumstances conspired and forced the party… Read More
American Revolution, History
Forgotten Founders: John Dickinson, Part 3
In Part 1, I introduced you to John Dickinson, the “Penman of the Revolution” who became a Forgotten Founder by refusing to vote for independence. In Part 2, I showed… Read More
Civil War, History, Videos
The Story Behind Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant
Watch this short film featuring Las Vegas bookseller Greg Hicks with a great story about the publication of Grant’s Memoirs. Read More