Today I received an email which went like this...
I got a message through eBay saying you were offering 'Imaginative Sex' for
sale but when I tried to 'click' on the item number it said that it was either
ended or no longer available.
Blimey! what would the missus say? What would eBay say? I could be banned or even arrested.
Luckily for me, (and any customers) the only Imaginative Sex I am selling is a book of the same title, by John Norman who wrote the Gor stories, a series of fantasy sci fi adventures in the mould of Edgar Rice Burroughs or the Conan books.
Back in the day....John Norman was apparently ostracised by the industry after criticism from the domineering intellectuals of the genre, for
"being a mysoganist and a bit of a pervert, even a bit non-PC"
That ought to have been their actual words but I bet it wasn't. John Norman doesnt seem too bothered with the victimisation. Maybe he enjoys it?
Anyway I didnt read it. I think there were no pictures, but since his books were "not acceptable" the stores stopped stocking them and the printers stopped printing them..Pow! instant collectibles!
All of Norman's Gor books get interest, but this title even more so.. it's rare and valuable, selling on amazon for £70 in the UK .
If you would like to purchase Imaginative Sex, by John Norman, I suggest you try ebay first, If you unwittingly ask a shop keeper the same question I was asked, you may be rudely removed from the premises, or even worse led to the special room downstairs..
The American Libraries Association announces that UCLA in conjunction with the Rare Book School at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville is introducing a California Rare Book School in the summer of 2006. Aimed at people responsible for Rare Book Collections, it will offer guidance and education in all aspects of the specialisation involved with working with important collections.
Aha, further to the article on the website about the Great Gatsby first edition with errors, the book is back up for auction on ebay , in fact at the time of writing there are only 3 days left and no bids.
Heres the actual item on ebay which will show for the next 90 days I guess.
http://cgi.ebay.com/THE-GREAT-GATSBY-FITZGERALD-1925-1st-ed-1st-state_W0QQitemZ6557847370QQcategoryZ29223QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItemor click here.my opinion is its a bit ugly but , what do I know?
I dont know why , but I am a bit of an Indophile, if thats the correct terminology, and one of the delights I find is their wonderful use of the English language, both spoken, and especially written. Maybe its a bit of a throwback to Victorian styles, but if you are an expert wordsmith you really ought to use your skills at every opportunity. What's the point of acting like a craftsman when you can be an artist?
So anyway and tenuously here's another bookstore story about India.
click here
It's interesting, how some people can write really well, even about the sudden death of a stranger outside a bookstore in a small town . Thats exactly what
this article is about and since the deceased was a published poet and University professor its fitting that the writer is much more than just a man who lists the facts.
James Hilton wrote "Goodbye Mr Chips" which probably almost everyone has heard of, He also wrote a few other books and many of them were used in the movie business. His book "Lost Horizon" was made into a movie and a musical, neither of which strictly adhered to the fictional work.
a signed copy is coming up for sale at auction click here
For more info on the author click here..The James Hilton Society
Checkout ABES prices..here
These days, buying rare books on the internet is commonplace. The net has seized a huge chunk of the market and with good reason. The massively lower overheads of operating from home and dealing electronically makes it the book dealers first option. But this mass migration, has left holes in the more traditional methods, especially book shops, (or stores if you prefer), and also book fairs. This has created a challenge for promoters of these events. If you dont adapt, you may not survive. One example of this book evolution is the Annual Boston Antiquarian Book and Print Fair, who are trying to make their fairs more accessible to the less discerning public. I quote from the Maine Antique Digest:
Show promoters Jerry Oliver and Michael Gannon had sent a letter suggesting that the booksellers bring art-related materials in addition to their usual stock. "Booksellers," they wrote, "if you have artist-produced prints, catalogues raisonnés, artist monographs, exhibition catalogs, pamphlets relating to fine prints or graphic arts, please make an effort to include them in your inventory for the fair." As a result, it was a reinvented and redecorated show with lots of visually rich book jackets prominent on the dealers’ shelves. Lots of modern firsts, i.e.,
recent first editions, were evident too. Some old-school rare book dealers scorn them, but they can be steady sellers. The point is, would-be walk-ins, afraid of antiques, would have found many of the materials accessible and affordable, READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE:
I guess now all they have to do is let the more general public know about it. Maybe a name change would help.. or even, the same name declaring it is incorporating a secondary fair, perhaps resulting in getting a news story out of it..anyway.. Enough of my amateur book fair promoting, I will leave that to the professionals.
