blogis librorum. A blog about books. Rare books.

In 1853, industrialist and social reformer Robert Owen witnessed a seance by American medium Maria Hayden. The experience convinced him of the existence of an afterworld and the ability of the dead to communicate with living. Hayden had converted Owen to Spiritualism. Owen was not the only leading figure to embrace Spiritualism; years earlier, Alfred Russel Wallas, who co-discovered the theory of evolution, wrote a book called Miracles and Modern Spiritualism (1896), and British Prime Minister Arthur Balfour became a member of the British Society for Psychical Research, founded in 1893. 

If you're new to the world of book collecting, you've undoubtedly encountered plenty of jargon already. Rare and antiquarian book dealers often painstakingly describe a book's condition because it's such an important aspect of the book's value. Reputable dealers are as accurate as possible in their descriptions, and it's not unusual to run into the terms "ghosting," "sunning," and "foxing," all of which refer to different causes of discoloration to paper. 

Moshe Prigan is an accomplished book collector, freelance writer, and retired teacher of art and history. He lives in Haifa, Israel but searches globally to make new acquisitions for his collection. While mainly interested in English and Italian volumes of Umberto Eco, he also collects other authors including Alice Munro and Margaret Atwood. Moshe has generously shared his collecting insights with us in the following interview.

The multifaceted philosopher, mathematician, political activist, and writer Bertrand Russell was born in Trelleck, Wales on May 18, 1872 to Lord and Lady Amberly. He had two older siblings, Frank and Rachel. Although Russell was set up for a perfect childhood, by the age of six he had experienced more death than imaginable. His parents died before he was three years old, and his sister and paternal grandfather soon followed. Russell and his brother, Frank were sent to live with Countess Russell, their paternal grandmother. While Frank was sent to a private school, Russell was homeschooled by private tutors, making his childhood fairly lonely and isolated. His seclusion was not all for naught, as he discovered a passion for math during this time, loving it for its certainty. During this time he was also introduced to Percy Bysshe Shelley and Euclid, which changed his way of thinking forever.

If you're new to the world of book collecting, you may have encountered multiple uses of the word "facsimile." It's an important term for collectors to understand in various contexts, as a "facsimile" anything--book, dust jacket, signature, etc.--can substantially impact the true value of a rare book.

When you think of famous women, lots of people might come to mind, from author’s to movie stars to politicians, however, not very many people have been able to successfully do more than one of those things. The list below encompasses some of the most important women leaders and contributors to of our time who have also produced some acclaimed, noteworthy, and highly collectible books.

Prolific author Lyman Frank Baum wrote a total of 55 novels, in addition to four books that were lost before publication. Baum is best known for The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, which was an immediate success and inspired the iconic movie The Wizard of Oz. The film has eclipsed the books in popular culture, overshadowing even the life of its creator. But Baum was a truly fascinating character!

During her lifetime, critics dismissed Daphne du Maurier as a lightweight romance novelist—a categorization that infuriated the bestselling author. The Christian Science Monitor said that her masterpiece, Rebecca, “would be here today, gone tomorrow.” Time has been kind to du Maurier, however; Rebecca enjoys continued popularity—voted the fifteenth “best loved novel” in a 2003 BBC survey—and du Maurier is now acknowledged as a master suspense writer.

"When you read a good story, you keep reading. When I write a good story, I just keep writing." 

Haruki Murakami rose to become one of Japan's most accomplished and beloved authors, yet he eschews the limelight. Thanks to Murakami's varied, engaging style, his books have sold millions of copies and been translated into at least fifty languages. 

This year marks the official centenary of Mother's Day: on May 9, 1914, President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation establishing Mother's Day as a national holiday and making its official celebration on the second Sunday in May. But the holiday had been celebrated in various forms for many years. Thus the holiday's origin is a bit complicated. Numerous people--mostly women--could claim credit for Mother's Day.