Sun 9/25 @ 10AM-5PM
There’s something about reading an old book that feels like time travel. Sure, the words on the page haven’t changed, but there’s a mystery and allure associated with the turning of pages in, say, a first-edition book from the early 20th century. Who was the first person that read the novel? What was happening at the time?
This leads us to the Northern Ohio Bibliophilic Society (N.O.B.S.), which is devoted to the recognition, dissemination and preservation of fine and antiquarian books. In order to broaden public awareness of book collecting and book arts, as well as stimulate the book trade and encourage the scholarly appreciation of publishing history, the local group holds two annual events. The next is the annual Cleveland Antiquarian Book & Paper Show, which takes place Sun 9/25 @ 10am-5pm at the Shaker Heights Country Club.
CoolCleveland talked to Northern Ohio Bibliophilic Society (N.O.B.S.) member and Loganberry Books owner Harriett Logan about the annual affair.
Tell us a little bit about the history of the show.
This is an annual book fair featuring a regional gathering of antiquarian booksellers and paper dealers exhibiting their most interesting stuff. NOBS has been doing book fairs for about 30 years, but the Cleveland fair has been spotty, although we’ve been holding this for five consecutive years.
What is it about old books and paper that draws people out?
Because books are cool and because in the antiquarian world, having one dealer is sometimes not enough to show depth of field and focus on different genres and specialties. So to please everybody, you need a smattering of dealers to really represent all of those fields in depth. This fair, for instance, will have dealers who specialize in children’s books, both of the antiquarian variety as well as American classics in fiction, American history, beautiful letter bindings, atlases, maps and literature. You name it.
What will you be doing at the fair?
I’m a dealer participant, so I rent three tables and bring interesting books from my bookstore for sale.
The Cleveland Antiquarian Book & Paper Show attracts 200 to 400 people annually. Who are these folks coming out to the event?
There are two types of attendees. There are the regulars who know many of the dealers in the room even if they’re from Michigan or Indiana. They come specifically to see their friends and of course the goods they bring. The other kind of attendee is somebody who is not a regular and doesn’t really know what to expect but likes old books. They come to check on possibilities, “ooh” and “ahh” on some of the more rare and esoteric things and find a couple of bargains of things they remember when they were kids or literature that they have loved or beautiful things that filled them with happiness.
It seems as though this type of show is similar to PBS’ Antique Road Show.
It has an Antiques Road Show kind of feel to it, especially since we have a table where customers can ask an expert to give an informal evaluation for books they own. You can bring up to three of your own for this service, so that’s a definite Antiques Road Show kind of parallel. We also have ephemera dealers specialize in postcards, advertising, posters, mats and other things that were printed on paper and not necessarily bound. Things that are not necessarily meant to be saved, like a manual for a Model T. It’s very cool to look at but who saved their car manual?
So what’s hot or highly sought-after in the antiquarian book world?
It’s a difficult kind of question because there are so many different types of people who all want something different. In modern firsts, Hemingway is always hot. There’s always a Cleveland interest in Langston Hughes. There’s renewed interest in people like Dawn Powell, who was a comic writer in the ’20s in New York City. In children’s books, Dr. Seuss has become very, very hot. First editions of his books are hard to find and also hard to identify. A perennial favorite is like Lois Lenski, as well as illustrator Tasha Tudor.
It seems as though for some people the book fair is tantamount to visiting a museum?
That’s true. One difference from the museum aspect, you can go with the museum mentality to see what a first edition Ernest Hemingway looks and feels like. That’s cool but you can also find a lesser edition that you can own. There’s a huge price point range at the fair, as well as a huge range of dates of books. I’m sure somebody will bring something from the 17th century and fancy bindings from the 19th century and earlier. Then people will bring very modern things like Harry Potter.
Finally, the attraction of old books is more than just literary interest. It’s the smell of history, right?
I’ve heard that said. It’s a wonderful thing. I laugh because part of that smell is dust but also part of that smell is also the physical materials of the book and old paper does smell different than new paper.
[Written by John Benson]
Shaker Heights, OH 44122