ILAB Joins the Protest Against Amazon’s Bid to Control Top-Level Domain Names

Today, the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers has joined the numerous other organizations, such as the Authors Guild or the American Association of Publishers, objecting to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN’s) plan to sell top-level domains to private companies.  Online retail giant Amazon has bid to be the exclusive custodian of .book, .author and .read domains. Read more ...

Paris 2014 - 41st ILAB Congress

The ILAB and SLAM committees are very pleased to announce that the 41st ILAB Congress will run in Paris from the 13th to 16th April, 2014, to coincide with the 100th anniversary of SLAM. The Paris Congress will immediately follow the International Antiquarian Book Fair at the Grand Palais scheduled from 10th to 13th of April 2014. We hope that the very special  program that we have planned will attract numerous visitors to Paris and we are looking forward to meeting our new colleagues and welcoming old friends.

Anne Lamort, President SLAM, Tom Congalton, President ILAB

ILAB Patrons of Honour

ILAB is very proud to present Sir David Attenborough, Barry Humphries, René Fayt, Michael Knoche, Reiner Speck, Jay and Jean Kislak and Sid Lapidus as Patrons of Honour:

"Their commitment to the preservation of printed culture makes them our clients, our audience, and our inspiration, and very often all three. The paths that they have followed and the collections that they have formed are likely to have an extraordinary influence on the understanding of human culture for future generations."

16th ILAB Breslauer Prize for Bibliography

The 16th ILAB Breslauer Prize for Bibliography will be awarded in 2014 to one or more books about books published in any language and in any part of the world between 2009 and 2012. Publishers, librarians, collectors, antiquarian booksellers and all book lovers are very welcome to submit books to the prize until the end of April 2013 by sending a single copy to the Prize Secretary.

Support scholarship! Submit books to the most prestigious prize until April 2013!

The World’s Expert Antiquarian Booksellers - In 1 Book!

The new edition of the ILAB Directory contains all names, addresses and specialities of the ILAB dealers who are organized in 22 national associations and who are located in 32 countries all over the world. Have a look!

“Book collecting is and almost always has been a vibrant, exciting and engaging pastime"

"It’s our job to make others understand that.” An interview with ILAB President Tom Congalton about his career, his favourite books, Between the Covers, collecting, ILAB and the future of the trade. Read it!

ILAB Booksellers on Video

"A wonderful snapshot of the rich history of both the ABAA and the rare book trade" - ILAB is proud to present the video archive project by Michael Ginsberg and Taylor Bowie. Recently added: interviews with two amazing ladies: Marguerite Goldschmidt and Florence Shay.

"Out of the classroom and into the world" - ILAB Internships

ILAB has launched an internship program for young antiquarian book dealers. Alena Lavrenova, Anastasya Zhikhareva, and other young antiquarian booksellers from Russia, spent several weeks in Austria, Hungary, Germany, Netherlands, Australia and the United States. Read their exciting reports and join our new Facebook Group!

The World's Best Booksellers Met in Switzerland

From 22 to 26 September the presidents of 22 national antiquarian booksellers' associations and rare book dealers from all over the world met for their 40th Congress in Lucerne. Besides the meetings and elections on Saturday, Sunday and Tuesday, they climbed high mountains and dark caves and visited Switzerland's most outstanding museums and private collections. Read the online diary!

Old and Rare Books. From ILAB: the one stop FREE App for all lovers of rare books

The International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB)  has launched an ILAB Moile App which is now available in the Apple Store and the Android Market. Search for “ILAB rare books” or “International League of Antiquarian Booksellers” to find the free App ready to install on your phone.

GlossaryGlossary terms

CataloguesBook Catalogues

Book FairsRare Books - Next Fairs

  • London Map Fair

    08 Jun 2013 - 09 Jun 2013

    London Map Fair

    The largest Antique Map Fair in Europe, established 1980, brings together around 40 of the leading national and international antiquarian map dealers as well as hundreds of visiting dealers,...

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  • Bloomsbury Summer Book Fair

    09 Jun 2013

    Bloomsbury Summer Book Fair

    Dealers from the UK and abroad offer fine bindings, antiquarian, illustrated books, travel, modern firsts, children’s books, maps, prints, and ephemera.

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EventsRare Books - Next EventsRSS

  • Kurt Schwitters in England

    02 Jun 2013 - 25 Aug 2013

    Kurt Schwitters in England

    Kurt Schwitters (1887-1948) was one of the most influential European avant-garde artists to come to prominence in the interwar years. Associated at various times with DADA, Constructivism and...

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BooksellersAntiquarian Booksellers

Rare Book Gallery

  • Monograph of the Paradiseidae, or Birds of Paradise and Ptilonorhynchidae,...

    SHARPE, Richard Bowdler (1847-1909)

    Bookseller: Donald Heald Rare Books

    Monograph of the Paradiseidae, or Birds of Paradise and Ptilonorhynchidae, and Bower-Birds
    London: Taylor & Francis for Henry Sotheran & Co, 1891-98. 2 volumes in 8 original parts, large folio. (22 3/16 x 15 1/16 inches). Smaller... More

    Buy from:

    Price: 95000.00 USD

  • Candide, Ou L'Optimisme

    VOLTAIRE (Francois-Marie Arouet)

    Bookseller: Between The Covers

    Candide, Ou L'Optimisme
    (Geneva: No publisher) 1759. First edition, the true first printing preceding all others. 12mo. Text in French. Contemporary full mottled French... More

    Buy from:

    Price: 100000.00 USD

  • Bible. Eaux-fortes originales de Marc CHAGALL. Complete in 2 volumes

    (Chagall, Marc: 1887-1985)

    Bookseller: Gemini Fine Books & Arts, Ltd.

    Bible. Eaux-fortes originales de Marc CHAGALL. Complete in 2 volumes
    Paris: Teriade Editeur, 1956, first Chagall edition, two volumes, number 246 of 275 exemplars (total edition 295), printed on Montval paper, signed... More

    Buy from:

    Price: 125000.00 USD

  • Varia Opera Mathematica...accesserunt selectae quaedam eiusdem Epistolae, vel...

    FERMAT, Pierre de

    Bookseller: Jonathan A. Hill, Bookseller, Inc.

    Varia Opera Mathematica...accesserunt selectae quaedam eiusdem Epistolae, vel ad ipsum ?lerisque doctissimis viris Gallic?Latin?vel Italic?de rebus ad Mathematicas disciplinas, aut Physicam pertinentibus scriptae
    Woodcut vignette on title, two engraved headpieces, five folding engraved plates, & woodcut diagrams in the text. 6 p.l., 210, [3] pp. Folio,... More

    Buy from:

    Price: 150000.00 USD

All ArticlesRare Books - Articles

  • Bibliographies - Pseudonyms

    Online: Michael Holzmann und Hanns Bohatta, Deutsches Pseudonymen-Lexikon

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  • Collecting William Faulkner

    Collecting William Faulkner

    Faulkner provides opportunities for the beginning collector, and challenges for the veteran collector. After his literary reassessment in the late 1940s Faulkner's works were printed in larger numbers and collectible copies of most of his later works are readily available. Prior to this, however, Faulkner was neither widely read nor appreciated. Fine copies of his early works are particularly difficult to obtain.

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  • Reading The Landscape At The Sterling Morton Library

    Reading The Landscape At The Sterling Morton Library

    Summertime is almost here, and the living should be easy. But if you want your plants to grow as high as the cotton in Porgy and Bess, early summer is also the time to take Candide's advice to tend your own garden. The Sterling Morton Library, located at the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, IL., has created a virtual exhibit so beautiful that even those in the grip of early midsummer malaise will be inspired to get out the gardening gloves.

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  • Rare Books in the Press - Book Collecting Basics: Ditch the Dust Jacket?

    Rare Books in the Press - Book Collecting Basics: Ditch the Dust Jacket?

    "If you’ve ever purchased a hardcover book, you’re probably familiar with the dust jacket or, depending on which side of the pond you are, the dust-wrapper. Indeed, they’ve been around since the 1820’s! These paper coverings are designed to protect a book’s cloth cover as the book travels from the publisher to your bookshelf. Some readers remove their dust jackets—or even use them as bookmarks! But when it comes to rare books or collectible book, dust jackets should be treated with significant care as they often add significant value to the book."

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  • Young Dealers / Old Books - Blinded: On Being Wrong Part II

    Young Dealers / Old Books - Blinded: On Being Wrong Part II

    “Well,” he said slightly embarrassed, “if you can’t sell it you can always return it.” He was joking a bit, but I also knew he meant it. That’s how the book business is supposed to work. - Brian Cassidy on buying books on book fairs. How it should be, and how it should not be.

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  • The World Arrives in London for Book Fair Week 8–16 June 2013

    The World Arrives in London for Book Fair Week 8–16 June 2013

    SEVEN FAIRS displaying rare books, maps, photographs and ephemera have come together to set up the first London Book Fair Week from Saturday, 8th to Sunday, 16th June 2013. This is the first time all the fairs organisers have joined together to create a major event for both trade and public by holding all the major summer fairs in one week.

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