Fore-edge Paintings by Clare Brooksbank

Arion. Sammlung auserlesener Gesangstücke mit Begleitung des Pianoforte. Leipzig, Robert Crayen, (c. 1830). Two oblong octavo volumes, each with a wrap-around fore-edge painting by modern British artist Clare Brooksbank.

The set contains sheet music and lyrics for pianoforte gathered from a variety of composers, such as Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven. The subject matter is reflected in the fore-edge paintings, which show interior views of a European opera house surmounted by a total of twelve portraits of great composers, including, in addition to Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Strauss, Purcell, Handel, Schubert, Wagner, Chopin, Vivaldi, and Bach.

RBMS Preconference Booksellers' Showcase

Bromer Booksellers will be exhibiting in the Booksellers' Showcase at the Rare Books and Manuscripts Section Preconference, taking place this year from June 19th to 22nd in San Diego. The title of the Preconference is Futures! and it "will explore a multiplicity of futures for the rare book, manuscript, and special collections community." More information on the Preconference can be found here.

The Booksellers' Showcase will be on Wednesday, June 20th from 8:00am to 7:30pm in the Emerald Ballroom at the Westin San Diego. If you are attending the Preconference, we hope you will visit our display, where we will have a fine selection of books from across our specialty areas. We look forward to seeing you in sunny San Diego!

I'll Die Tomorrow by Mickey Spillane

I'll Die Tomorrow by Mickey Spillane. Berkeley, Del Milion Editions, 2009. Printed by Peter Koch and illustrated with digital pigment prints of seven photographs by Karen Filter.

Karen Filter made her name on the Los Angeles music scene in the 1980s, photographing everyone from jazz greats like Dizzy Gillespie to Devo and the Go-Go's. These photos were selected from her "B-Movie Series" and "Detective Series," which have a vintage aesthetic and were originally printed using a unique color technique that she created based on Carbro prints from 1930s and 1940s and Technicolor from the 1950s.

E-catalogue 25: 40% Off Selected Children's Books

In the process of choosing a specialty area for our first e-catalogue of the summer season, our thoughts turned to childhood. It can be argued that summer is best enjoyed when one is young, and many of our best memories spring from experiences as children in summertime.

We have therefore gathered together a group of fifty-odd children's books and related material for your consideration. And because this is also a time of year for sales, we are offering the items in this e-catalogue at 40% off the listed price. Simply enter the promo code "ecat25" in the promotional code field when checking out, and the sale price will be calculated. Shipping charges will be applied separately, and we will notify you with a shipping estimate once your order is received.

View e-catalogue here.

FABS Book Tour and Symposium

The Fellowship of American Bibliophilic Societies Book Tour and Symposium is in Boston this year from June 6th to 10th. Hosted by the Ticknor Society, the Book Tour takes advantage of the wealth of bibliophilic opportunities in the Boston/Cambridge/Salem area. The Symposium highlights "Boston and the Book Arts" and will be held on Saturday, June 9th from 1:00pm to 4:00pm in the Mount Vernon Room at the Sheraton Commander Hotel in Cambridge, near Harvard Square. For more information on the Symposium speakers, go here.

In conjunction with these events, there will be a Booksellers' Showcase before and after the Symposium on Saturday in the Terrace Room at the Sheraton Commander Hotel. Bromer Booksellers and 23 other local book dealers and organizations will be exhibiting from 10:30am to 12:30pm and 4:30pm to 7:00pm. Both the Symposium and the Booksellers' Showcase are free and open to the public, so if you are in the area, we hope you will join us for a fun and interesting event!

Joe Average

Joe Average is an original artist's book by Jennifer Gibney of Victoria, Australia, a painter and a sculptor, with a background in graphics and book illustration. 

The hand-drawn book features a jester-like character, Joe Average, who appears throughout the accordion-folded pages in black, sepia, and sanguine ink. He also accompanies the book as a porcelain sculpture with the word "ordinary" repeated over and over on his clothing and hat.

 
The story follows Joe as he is overwhelmed by the pressures of life. He is bombarded from all sides by the trappings of modern society, including ringing telephones, shouting radios, the "Net" that traps him, and the TV that shows him "reality." Joe, we are told, "must get out of his box," and he does so by opening a book, which "opens a dream," allowing him to escape the distractions of the world into the endless possibilities of his imagination.

Joe Average: a parable for our time.