The International League of Antiquarian Booksellers is a non-profit umbrella organization of bookseller associations, with its legal location in Geneva, Switzerland. It federates 22 National Associations of Antiquarian Booksellers, [1] representing nearly 2000 dealers in 32 countries. Antiquarian booksellers affiliated to the League adhere to the ILAB Code of Ethics, and the League aims to server as a global network for the rare book trade.
The idea of forming an international organization of antiquarian booksellers that would beneficially link national associations of antiquarian booksellers was originally conceived by the former president of the Dutch Association, Menno Hertzberger. [2] As a Jew, he had spent part of the Second World War hiding from the Nazis. To quote him:
"Five long years (of war) had put up … barriers between nations. There was no communication. This enforced extra chauvinism - worse, hatred. Was there a possibility to do something about inter-human relationships, to bring nations more together? This was my dream. But how could it be realized? Only on common ground, on mutual interests. Therefore, for an antiquarian bookseller, by THE BOOK!" [3]
In 1947 representatives from five countries, Denmark, France, Great Britain, the Netherlands and Sweden, met in Amsterdam to discuss the formation of such an organization, with the aim of establishing open markets, to foster friendship and understanding, and to counteract the animosity and suspicion engendered by World War Two.
The president of the British Association, Percy H. Muir, [4] chaired the first conference and became a major role player in the evolution of the League; Muir also assembled the important scientific library of Ian Fleming, later author of the James Bond novels - through Muir, Fleming himself became a director of the London booksellers Elkin Mathews. [5]
The ILAB was formally incorporated in Copenhagen in September 1948, with ten participating countries, among them Belgium, Finland, Switzerland, Norway, Italy, Great Britain, France, Sweden, the Netherlands and Denmark. William S. Kundig from Switzerland was elected the first ILAB President in the history of the League. In his opening speech the Danish bookseller Einar Grønholt Pedersen defined the universal aims and ethics of all ILAB antiquarian booksellers:
The commodity we handle - the book - is, I daresay, about the most international thing on the world market. It is the support of the research worker and the scientist, the indispensable tool of the intellectual worker thirsting for knowledge. It satisfies the desires of all thinking and sensitive individuals. It is the inspiration behind new ideas, new deeds - and last, but not least, it fulfils a great mission in enlightening the masses. Our mission is to find the right book, preserve and finally convey it to wherever it is needed and can bring benefit or pleasure. A mission which, by its very nature, imposes upon us a responsibility which we must not neglect.[ citation needed ]
22 national associations and some 2000 rare booksellers in 32 countries under one roof: Members of the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers are the national associations, their members are affiliated to the League, and known as ILAB booksellers or ILAB affiliates.
ILAB Congresses and ILAB Book Fairs are important market places of the rare book world. The ILAB Breslauer Prize for Bibliography is awarded every fourth year to outstanding academic works on bibliography and the history of the book. The ILAB Stolen Book Database aims to prevent book thefts worldwide.
ILAB's website contains information on books, manuscripts, autographs and prints. Each national association affiliated to the League has its own website, all of which are brought together under the umbrella of ILAB.
The League publishes, and upholds, a code of ethics and good practice based on the wide experience of all its member nations. ILAB affiliated booksellers are expected to follow this code. The display of the ILAB logo, and those of national associations, pledges to maintain authenticity of all material offered for sale, correct description of all such material, disclosure of all significant defects or restorations, accurate and professional pricing of all material, clear marking of all prices and care in the conduct of appraisals or valuations.
The ILAB Breslauer Prize for Bibliography was first awarded in 1964. [6] The Prize of $10,000 is awarded every fourth year to the author(s) of the most original and outstanding 'book about a book' in the broad field of bibliography worldwide. Any aspect of bibliography (e.g. enumerative, textual, history of the book, design, binding, book trade, etc.) is admitted. Certain categories are not eligible, notably manuscripts, catalogues of books intended for sale and translations of works appearing in another language. Apart from the Prize, the jurors may at their discretion award Honourable Mentions to other deserving entries.
The purpose of the Prize is to draw attention to what it regards as the best academic work being done in the field, to reward and honour it in appropriate terms, and to publicise the League's support for original scholarship.
The panel of judges (or jurors) consists of three professional scholars or librarians and three antiquarian booksellers. They are chosen with an aim to represent the widest possible range of nationalities so that the panel is qualified to adjudicate on books in various languages and on all aspects of bibliography and the history of the book.
Georges A. Deny (of Brussels) was appointed as the first Secretary of the ILAB Prize for Bibliography. He laid down the ground rules and supervised the first and second Awards. He was succeeded by Dr. Frieder Kocher-Benzing (of Stuttgart) who was the longest serving Secretary presiding over the third to eleventh Prize, then by Konrad Meuschel (Germany), Raymond Kilgarriff (Great Britain), and Mitsuo Nitta (Japan).
In 2008, the name of the Prize was changed into ILAB Breslauer Prize for Bibliography to honour a generous gift granted by the Breslauer Foundation which was set up by Dr. Bernard H. Breslauer (1918–2004), [7] an ILAB dealer who had a lifelong passion for bibliography. The first ILAB Prize for Bibliography was awarded in 1967 to Jean Peeters-Fontainas, followed by famous scholars like Claus Nissen, Wytze Hellinga, I. C. Koeman, Francois Weil, Gerhard Dünnhaupt, Anthony Hobson, and Lucas Heinrich Wüthrich. The 15th ILAB Breslauer Prize was awarded in 2010 to Lotte Hellinga and Jan Storm van Leeuwen for the Catalogue of Books printed in the XVth Century now in the British Library, BMC. Part XI – England (Hes & De Graaf Publishers BV, 2007) and Dutch Decorated Bookbinding in the Eighteenth Century (Hes & De Graaf Publishers BV, 2006). The 16th Prize was awarded in 2014 to Jon Gilbert for Ian Fleming: The Bibliography, [8] being the first work on a twentieth century writer to be awarded the prize. Arnoud Gerits (The Netherlands) was the Prize Secretary.
ILAB Congresses and International Antiquarian Book Fairs are open to all antiquarian booksellers affiliated to the League through their national associations. They are cultural and social events held every two years in another country, where the delegates have the possibility to study the treasures of book printing and arts, and to deepen business contacts.
The first congresses were held in Amsterdam and Copenhagen, followed by London, Paris, Geneva, Milan, New York City, Ravenna, San Francisco, Tokyo, Los Angeles, Melbourne and many other cities. In 2008, the 38th ILAB Congress and the 22nd International Book Fair took place in Madrid, while in 2010 antiquarian booksellers and bibliophiles met in Bologna for the 39th Congress and 23rd International Antiquarian Book Fair. The next congress and fair will be held in Switzerland in 2012.
ILAB also sponsors international book fairs organised by the national associations, as for example in Paris, London, New York City, San Francisco, Sydney, Stuttgart, Madrid, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Tokyo or in the Scandinavian capitals. These fairs provide members the opportunity to exhibit for sale books, prints and manuscripts.
Bookselling is the commercial trading of books which is the retail and distribution end of the publishing process.
John Waynflete Carter was an English writer, diplomat, bibliographer, book-collector, antiquarian bookseller and vice-president of the Bibliographical Society of London. He was the great-grandson of Canon T. T. Carter.
The Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America (ABAA) is an organization in the United States for dealers in rare and antiquarian books. The association is a member of the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB).
The Antiquarian Booksellers' Association (ABA) is the senior trade body in the Ireland and Great Britain for dealers in antiquarian and rare books, manuscripts and allied materials. The ABA organises a number of book fairs every year including its flagship fair held at Olympia, London in May, which features exhibitors from all around the world, and the Chelsea Antiquarian Book Fair in November. Fairs are held in Edinburgh in March and Bristol in July in conjunction with the Provincial Book Fairs Association. The ABA sponsors the London Rare Books School, the York Antiquarian Book Seminar, and a series of seminars at the University of London. The ABA Office is located on Bell Yard, off Fleet Street and next to the Royal Courts of Justice.
The Antiquarian Booksellers Association of Austria, formed in 1949, includes those Austrian antiquarian booksellers who exclusively or primarily buy and sell antiquarian books, magazines, prints, autograph letters or music.
La Chambre Professionelle Belge de la Librairie Ancienne et Moderne (CLAM)/Belgische Beroepskamer van Antiquaren (BBA), is the Belgian professional chamber of antiquarian booksellers.
The Antiquarian Booksellers Association of Japan (ABAJ) was established in November 1964 by ten major antiquarian booksellers from Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto. Japan was experiencing an unprecedented economic growth at the time and Japanese collectors, scholars, and curators were avidly selling and purchasing rare material domestically and internationally. The ABAJ was founded with the aim of developing the Japanese antiquarian book trade to meet an increasingly global age. In 1965, the ABAJ became a member of the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers. Since then, the ABAJ has grown to include thirty members.
The Antiquarian Booksellers Association of Korea (ABAK), the national antiquarian book association of Korea, was founded in 1989 and joined the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers in 1990 during the Tokyo Congress, thus becoming its 18th member.
Nederlandsche Vereeniging van Antiquaren (NVvA), the Dutch antiquarian booksellers' association, was founded in 1935 with the object of promoting reliability in the trade of old books and prints.
Vereinigung der Buchantiquare und Kupferstichhändler in der Schweiz (VEBUKU), the antiquarian booksellers association of Switzerland, was founded in 1939 and has been a member of the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB) since 1947.
Thomas Orlando Sheldon Jewitt was a British architectural wood-engraver.
The Associazione dei Librai Antiquari d'Italia (ALAI), the national antiquarian book association of Italy, was founded in 1947 as Circolo dei Librai Antiquari.
Adrian Harrington is a notable antiquarian bookseller, a Past President of the Antiquarian Booksellers Association (ABA), 2001–2003, and a recent Past President of the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB). He has exhibited at major international book fairs in America, Canada, Hong Kong, Britain and Ireland, and between 2000 and 2010 Harrington was the chairman of Britain's leading rare book event, the summer ABA Book Fair at Olympia, London. During his tenure, it was host to opening speakers including authors Jacqueline Wilson, Lynda La Plante, Joanna Lumley, Bob Geldof, Jeremy Paxman, Andrew Marr, Barry Humphries, Frederick Forsyth and former Poet Laureate Sir Andrew Motion. Harrington has been a regular consultant on rare books for Millers Price Guide, and has been interviewed on book-related matters by the BBC, and Australian Television
Biblio is a privately owned international online marketplace specializing in rare and collectible books. Biblio was established in 2000 in Asheville, North Carolina, by Brendan Sherar and Michael Tracey. Biblio also provides e-commerce solutions and web services to multiple professional bookseller associations, including the Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America (ABAA), the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB), the Antiquarian Booksellers Association (ABA), and the Australian and New Zealand Association of Antiquarian Booksellers (ANZAAB).
Oak Knoll is a bookseller and publisher based in New Castle, Delaware, United States. Oak Knoll includes Oak Knoll Books which specializes in the sale of rare and antiquarian books and Oak Knoll Press which is a publisher and distributor of in-print titles. Both divisions specialize in "books about books" on topics such as printing history, bibliography, and book arts. Oak Knoll has also been the sponsor of the book arts festival Oak Knoll Fest.
Bernard Hartmut Breslauer was a German antiquarian book dealer and collector, who lived in turn in Germany, England and the United States.
St. Paul's Bibliographies was a publishing company founded by Robert S. Cross (1925-2011) in 1979 in Winchester, England that specialized in bibliographical works and book history more generally. In the 1980s, the firm co-published in the US with Omnigraphics of Detroit. In 1992 the firm began co-publishing with Oak Knoll Press, and in 1993 Oak Knoll took over US distribution. In 1997 St. Paul's Bibliographies was purchased by Oak Knoll Press who continued many of its series under its own publishing imprint. Oak Knoll continued to issue publications under the St. Paul's Bibliographies imprint until 2015.
Percy Horace Muir (1894–1979) was a "distinguished" English antiquarian bookseller, book collector and bibliographer. He became "one of the most respected figures" in the rare books scene, serving as president of both the Antiquarian Booksellers Association and the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers.
J. A. Stargardt GmbH & Co. KG is a Berlin-based antiquarian bookshop and auction house that specializes in autograph and manuscript trading. Founded in 1830, it is the oldest autograph shop in the world and, according to Süddeutsche Zeitung, "probably the most important house in the world for collectors, archives, libraries and museums".
Ernst Philip Goldschmidt (1887–1954) was a Viennese-born antiquarian bookseller, scholar and bibliophile. During his career he issued more than 100 "meticulously researched" and scholarly sales catalogues, which "set high standards" and many of which are now standard reference works in libraries. He also wrote books and articles about early books and manuscripts, including his Gothic and Renaissance Bookbindings (1928), which remains "one of the most important works on bookbinding history", and works on the relation of humanism to the spread of printing, which "broke new ground".
{{citation}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) Media related to International League of Antiquarian Booksellers at Wikimedia Commons