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

  • Bassenge - Photography

    05 Jun 2013

    Bassenge - Photography

    "Galerie Gerda Bassenge Kunst- und Buchauktionen" is an individual house whose distinctive profile is valued throughout the world. We offer long-standing experience to our clients - collectors,...

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BooksellersAntiquarian Booksellers

  • Bouquinerie Aurore

    Bouquinerie Aurore

    Vassonville - FRANCE

    Specialties: Children's books, Literature, Medicine, Modern first editions, Modern illustrated books, Old and rare books

    Most recent catalogue:

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Rare Book Gallery

  • Harmonices Mundi Libri V

    KEPLER, Johannes

    Bookseller: Jonathan A. Hill, Bookseller, Inc.

    Harmonices Mundi Libri V
    Five engraved plates & numerous woodcut diagrams & illus. in the text. 4 p.l., 66 (i.e. 64), 255 pp. Folio, cont. vellum over boards... More

    Buy from:

    Price: 235000.00 USD

  • [MANUSCRIPT LETTER, SIGNED BY JOHN PAUL JONES, ORDERING A MEMBER OF THE...

    Jones, John Paul:

    Bookseller: William Reese Company - Americana

    [MANUSCRIPT LETTER, SIGNED BY JOHN PAUL JONES, ORDERING A MEMBER OF THE MARINES TO ATTEND A COURT MARTIAL ON BOARD HIS SHIP, THE BONHOMME RICHARD]
    On Board the Bonhomme Richard at L'Orient, France. June 14, 1779.. [1]p. manuscript letter on a folded folio sheet. Docketed on the fourth page and... More

    Buy from:

    Price: 75000.00 USD

  • ISAGOGE IN TYPUM COSMOGRAPHICUM SEU MAPPAM MUNDI

    Apianus, Petrus:

    Bookseller: William Reese Company - Americana

    ISAGOGE IN TYPUM COSMOGRAPHICUM SEU MAPPAM MUNDI
    Landschut: Joannem Weyssenburger, [1521].. [8]pp. Woodcut map on titlepage. Small quarto. Modern three-quarter vellum and marbled boards, leather... More

    Buy from:

    Price: 85000.00 USD

  • THE BIRDS OF AMERICA

    Audubon, John James:

    Bookseller: William Reese Company - Americana

    THE BIRDS OF AMERICA
    New York & Amsterdam: Printed in Holland for the Johnson Reprint Corporation and Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, 1971-1972.. Four volumes. Limitation... More

    Buy from:

    Price: 80000.00 USD

All ArticlesRare Books - Articles

  • Encyclopaedias


    Encyclopaedia Britannica

    The biggest and best online Encyclopaedia, accurate and up-to-date reference. The articles are written by more than 4,000 contributors and editors chosen from all over the world for their high standing in their fields of expertise. Each article, picture and video is fact-checked by Britannica editors for consistency of style and language level.

    L’Encyclopédie

    The famous „Encyclopedie“ by Denis Diderot and Jean d’Alembert. First published between 1751 and 1777, the 32 volumes include 21 volumes of text with more than 70,000 articles on subjects ranging from asparagus to zodiac. The other 11 volumes contain beautifully engraved plates illustrating many of the articles. The Encyclopédie was the major achievement of the French Enlightenment whose aim was to "change the common way of thinking" (Diderot) through the expansion of knowledge and the development of critical modes of thought. The website makes the monumental encyclopaedia accessible to English-language readers. If you prefer a modern reprint, however, go to www.frommann-holzboog.de, and if you adore the original volumes, browse the metasearch on www.ilab.org 

    Brockhaus Encyclopaedia

    The German „Britannica“ in 30 volumes with 300.000 items – the most important German encyclopaedia is online now. However, you can only browse it, if you have bought a password with the CD-Rom edition.

    Wikipedia

    The open online encyclopaedia: multi-language, multi-functional, millions of items and links. Beware: Although all articles are checked, there can be mistakes.

    Zedlers “Universal-Lexicon”

    The largest German encyclopedia of the 18th century: Johann Heinrich Zedlers Grosses und Vollständiges Universal-Lexicon aller Wissenschaften und Künste was originally published in 68 volumes with more then 288.000 items about the knowledge, the thinking and the curiosities of the pre-enlightenment.

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  • Investing in Books – Rare Books as Investments?

    Investing in Books – Rare Books as Investments?

    „There are fields of collecting in which you hear stories of someone who spent $5 at a flea market on an item that turned out to be worth $5 million. Book collecting is not one of those fields. a multimillion dollar Shakespeare First Folio up for auction gets a lot of attention. But for most collectors, books represent a stable, long-term investment. It’s a rarefied pursuit, one that can be financially rewarding if you have the necessary expertise, diligence, and patience. …  Ask a dealer if books are a wise investment strategy and the short answer is no.” John Moore has found more elaborate answers in his article “Investing In Books: Safe Returns Between the Covers”. He has asked John Windle, Rebecca  Rego Barry, Thomas Joyce and other dealers to determine the real value of a rare book.

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  • John Thomas Baines - English Artist and Explorer (1820-1875)

    John Thomas Baines - English Artist and Explorer (1820-1875)

    His paintings, sketches and lithographs about Africa and Australia have become book illustrations, the originals are kept in various museums and at the Royal Geographic Society. A river and a mountain in Australia are named after him, and a family of beetles has been called "Bolbotritus Bainesi".

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  • Books stolen by Nazis to be returned

    The Guardian reports: 70 books stolen from the Social Democratic party by the Nazi regime will officially be returned on August 31, including an 1883 English edition of The Communist Manifesto thought to come from the library of Friedrich Engels. The Social Democrats, Germany's oldest political party, was outlawed after the Nazis came to power in 1933. The return of the books is part of a larger project by the Berlin library to rehome Nazi "loot". In April, it had already given ten books and three journals back to the Jewish Community of Berlin.

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  • New Trends in the International Antiquarian Book Trade

    New Trends in the International Antiquarian Book Trade

    We all blame the internet for dramatic changes in the rare book trade. But have our problems really changed within the last decades? Reading Anthony Rota's lecture given in Tokyo in 1990 you could be inclined to say: No! He writes: "Booksellers, like the collectors and librarians they serve, are conservative creatures. By their very nature they are resistant to change; yet they are caught up in the changes that beset us today, and if they do not welcome them they must at least learn to adapt to them if they are to flourish. The antiquarian book trade has managed to cope with changes over a number of centuries now, and I do not doubt for a moment that it will continue to do so."

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  • Spanish Police recovers 12th century Codex Calixtinus manuscript

    Spanish Police recovers 12th century Codex Calixtinus manuscript

    A year ago the spectacular theft of the Codex Calixtinus was reported in the press. Almost 12 months later, this famous Codex, which is considered one of the most valuable books worldwide, has been found by the National Police in a garage in Santiago de Compostela. On Wednesday, 4th July, the police arrested the alleged thief, Manuel Fernández Castañeiras, who had been working as an electrician at the Cathedral for several years. It is said that he claimed 400,000 € compensation from the Cathedral for his unfair dismissal.

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