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

  • Sotheby's - Photographies

    29 May 2013

    Sotheby's - Photographies

    Founded on March 11, 1744, Sotheby's is one of the oldest auction houses and the oldest company on the New York Stock Exchange. In 90 locations in 40 countries worldwide 250 auctions are held...

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BooksellersAntiquarian Booksellers

  • Harbeck Rare Books

    Harbeck Rare Books

    Brisbane - AUSTRALIA

    Specialties: Australiana, History, Illustrated books, Natural history, Pacificana, Photography, Travel

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Rare Book Gallery

  • William Congreve and the development of rocketry: unique archive of...

    Congreve, William

    Bookseller: Jeremy Norman

    William Congreve and the development of rocketry: unique archive of manuscripts and books.
    Congreve, William (1772-1828). Unique collection of materials by and relating to rocketry pioneer William Congreve, including the following (for... More

    Buy from:

    Price: 125000.00 USD

  • [GUTENBERG BIBLE]. A noble fragment : being a leaf of The Gutenberg Bible...

    GUTENBERG, Johannes (c. 1398 - 1468)

    Bookseller: Douglas Stewart Fine Books

    [GUTENBERG BIBLE]. A noble fragment : being a leaf of The Gutenberg Bible 1450 - 55
    With a bibliographical essay by A. Edward Newton. New York : Gabriel Wells, 1921. Designed by Bruce Rogers and printed by William Edwin Rudge.... More

    Buy from:

    Price: 85000.00 AUD

  • A MAP OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE IN AMERICA WITH THE FRENCH AND SPANISH...

    Popple, Henry:

    Bookseller: William Reese Company - Americana

    A MAP OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE IN AMERICA WITH THE FRENCH AND SPANISH SETTLEMENTS ADJACENT THERETO
    London: Engrav'd by Willm. Henry Toms, 1733 [but ca. 1735].. Engraved map by William Henry Toms, with very fine full contemporary hand- coloring... More

    Buy from:

    Price: 275000.00 USD

  • A Map of the British Empire in America with the French and Spanish...

    POPPLE, Henry (d.1743)

    Bookseller: Donald Heald Rare Books

    A Map of the British Empire in America with the French and Spanish settlements adjacent thereto
    London: "Engrav'd by Willm. Henry Toms", "1733" [but circa 1735]. Folio. (20 1/2 x 15 inches). Engraved map by William Henry Toms, with very fine... More

    Buy from:

    Price: 275000.00 USD

All ArticlesRare Books - Articles

  • “The desire to learn something new every day and an undying passion for antiquarian books”

    “The desire to learn something new every day and an undying passion for antiquarian books”

    From Canada to the Kilimanjaro, from Moscow to Buenos Aires and back to Vancouver. “I guess my claim to fame is that I've visited over 4000 used and antiquarian booksellers, including over 1000 ILAB members, in my travels to 92 countries.” Eric Waschke is a real global player and well-known for his reports about the antiquarian book markets in South America,  Russia or Eastern Europe. His recent project: After 15 years the Toronto International Antiquarian Book Fair will return in October 2010, organized by the ABAC. An interview with ABAC President Eric Waschke about his career, the upcoming fair and rare bookselling in the 21st century.

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  • Rare Books in the Press: Rare Comic Taken From Nic Cage Resurfaces

    "A valuable comic featuring the debut of Superman has re-surfaced in a storage locker, and police said Monday that it appears to be the same one stolen from Nicolas Cage more than a decade ago", the police reported on April 11, 2011. An article about the comic theft in Ventura County Star.

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  • British Map Engravers: A Dictionary of Engravers, Lithographers and Their Principal Employers to 1850

    British Map Engravers: A Dictionary of Engravers, Lithographers and Their Principal Employers to 1850

    The ultimate guide to the identification of British antique maps and their makers: An illustrated dictionary of over 1,500 members of the map trade in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, of British-born engravers working overseas and foreign engravers working in the British Isles, from the beginnings until the mid 19th century. Included are all the known engravers and lithographers, globemakers and retailers, the principal map sellers and publishers, key cartographers, makers of map-based games and puzzles, but also the remarkable lives of many artists, dealers and publishers, whose fates have been unknown so far.

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  • The History of the Antiquarian Booksellers' Association (A.B.A.) Part 1

    The History of the Antiquarian Booksellers' Association (A.B.A.) Part 1

    This short survey of the British ANTIQUARIAN BOOKSELLERS' ASSOCIATION consists of the account of its first half-century prepared by Dudley Massey for the fiftieth anniversary in 1956 (slightly revised) with a continuation to the present year by Martin Hamlyn. It was published in the ILAB Newsletter 36.

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  • The President on Safari - Dublin’s Fair City

    The President on Safari - Dublin’s Fair City

    Laurence Worms, President of the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association (ABA), promised the ABA members that he would travel around the British Isles to see as many of his colleagues as possible. He publishes his travel accounts in his blog “The President on Safari”. This is Laurence Worms' report about the legendary Irish hospitality and a very special trip to Dublin.

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  • Sid Lapidus and Jay and Jean Kislak - ABAA and ILAB Patrons of Honour

    Sid Lapidus and Jay and Jean Kislak - ABAA and ILAB Patrons of Honour

    The Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America is delighted to announce that Sid Lapidus and Jay and Jean Kislak have been awarded the ABAA and ILAB Patron of Honor.  The ABAA feels these individuals demonstrate how the printed word materially affects history, scholarship, and cultural intelligence and the importance of collections to institutions and the public.

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