Six from the Antiquarian Book Sale

It happens every year on the last weekend in June: the Antiquarian Book Sale, held in one of the unairconditioned buildings within the Minnesota State Fairgrounds. I've missed it for more years than I can say, but this year I got a reminder just in time and managed to cruise through it for about an hour. It wasn't enough for serious browsing, but the place is a visual delight.


This 1899 novel, about a "gentleman juror," has color and typography with a proto-Nazi look, but the art is wonderful.


Great cover! It sounds like this book about the San Francisco earthquake and fire was one of the first "ripped from the headlines" titles ever published. Charles Morris, a prolific writer of the time, went to San Francisco immediately to interview survivors and observe firsthand. The book was rushed into print a soon after. The earthquake was in mid-April, and the book does have a 1906 copyright, which is pretty fast for the technology of the time.


This cardboard display with all of its original goods intact was the best thing I saw. The neon Post-It tag obscures the heading: Malcolm X Air Fresheners. Eliminating Odors Through Any Means Necessary.


This poster, illustrated and printed by A.J. Epstein in 1968, may be come newly relevant in Cleveland this year.


I love the title of this collection of Thackeray short stories, though after looking through the book, I couldn't see why it was called that.


I apologize for this dreadful photo, but this early-20th-century edition of the Teenie Weenies reminded me of a later version my grandparents had, which was much more colorful:


That book may have been the source of my interest in all things miniature.