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Photos: Lose Yourself In First Edition Fitzgeralds At 55th Annual Antiquarian Book Fair
By
Emma Whitford
Published Apr 11, 2015
Modified Apr 11, 2015
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By
Emma Whitford
Published Apr 11, 2015
Modified Apr 11, 2015
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Grab your bifocals and shake out your dust gloves, because the 55th Annual Antiquarian Book Fair is up and running, at the Park Avenue Armory. This year, over 200 dealers from around the world have shipped in their papery wares for the weekend-long show.
According to Sanford Smith, the fair's organizer for the past 30 years, "There are lots of New York-centric items here, because dealers tend to bring materials geared to [the city] where they are selling. There are New York satires, and histories, and novels, and maps." Like, say, a broadside poster for the Fall River Line, the ship that went between Boston and New York City from 1847 to 1937. Or a first-edition Great Gatsby with a restored dust jacket.
Smith, who's been managing fine art and design fairs since the late 1970s, has already done some shopping of his own. "I got a collection of thirteen issues of Interview magazine from the 1970s, in one batch. Bette Middler is on one cover. They're all about Warhol and the clubs."
And while there's no obligation to shell out thousands, Smith has advice for those hoping to masquerade as hot-shot European collectors: "A book is only valuable if it's a first edition," he says. From there, "It's more valuable if it has its original dust jacket, and even more valuable if it's signed by the author or, better yet, inscribed by the author."
This explains why an original Catcher in the Rye goes for $12,000, while the same book, signed and dated "1959" by J.D. himself, goes for $40,000.
One more piece of advice? Prepare to linger. Smith explains, "The thing about a book fair, as opposed to an art fair, is you've got to physically go into the booths. You've got to go the bookcases and pull out the books that you're interested in. That's why you can do an art show in an hour, but you can't do an art show in less than two or three."
As you can see in the gallery above, photographer Sai Mokhtari visited the the hall of crammed shelves and illuminated glass cases and found a mini history of New York City in the form of broadsides, first editions, posters, and maps.
The Antiquarian Book Fair is located at 643 Park Avenue between 66th and 67th Streets. Tickets cost $25 for the day, or $10 for students. Hours are noon to 7 p.m. on Saturday, and noon to 7 p.m. on Sunday.
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