It’s not news that we’re selling books (even though lending is our usual M.O.) we’ve been selling books in our Cafe Bookstore for a while.  But some of our donated books are a cut above the usual.  Some of them are signed, first editions, or rare, out-of-print books in excellent condition. So we’ve put them online through librarybooksales.org to give a wider audience a shot at owning these awesome books. Of course, we want to make sure our patrons can see what we have to offer, too.

So, check out the list of titles currently for sale.  All pricing, posting, and packaging are done by library volunteers, and the proceeds go toward the Library Building Fund.

Antique and Rare Books For Sale

Beautiful, fascinating and moving–three adjectives to describe three different titles that have come through donations into our bookstore. All are for special sale, by email: bshank@watertown-ma.gov

Beautiful
The word doesn’t do justice to Frank Weitenkampf’s FAMOUS PRINTS: MASTERPIECES OF GRAPIC ART REPRODUCED FROM RARE ORIGINALS. Charles Scribner, 1926. Number 342 of a limited edition of 1025 copies. Very good condition with gold stamp on green cloth, gilt top edge, art paper. 70 fine black and white reproductions with introduction and critical notes by the author. Large format-12 x 15 1/2 inches. $125

Fascinating
W. Nephew King’s THE STORY OF THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR AND THE REVOLT IN THE PHILIPPINES
offers first hand accounts by Navy Lieutenant King and is illustrated with black and white drawings and photographs and colored paintings. Peter Fenelon Collier & Son, 1900. Stressed condition with loose binding and pages. Red cloth with gold stamp. Large format- 19 1/2 x 11 1/2 inches. $40

Moving
Allan Rohan Crite illustrated THREE SPIRITUALS FROM EARTH TO HEAVEN. Harvard University Press, 1948. Roland Hayes writes in the book’s forward that Crite’s black and white drawings capture both the simplicity of Negro Spirituals and the grandeur and symbolism with which they are filled. Very good condition. Green cloth binding. $75

The Library’s Bookstore Cafe is brimming with new items and some of the quirkier are those older children’s titles.  We culled some interesting ones that will fetch a little more than the regular stock in our bookstore.  Email me at bshank@watertown-ma.gov if any of these make you nostalgic about childhoods past or present!

Byrd Baylor’s THE BEST TOWN IN THE WORLD is a picture book signed by the author
that celebrates a Texas hill town of years past where everything is better and bigger.  Illustrated with charming watercolors by Ronald Himmler. Scribner, 1982.  Great condition, blue cloth.  $10

Roald Dahl’s CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY has achieved children’s classic status. Perhaps a first edition, illustrated with line drawings by Joseph Schindelman. Knopf, 1964. Very good condition with paper cover. $10

Anne Orth Epple’s NATURE QUIZ BOOK tests the knowledge of 10 to 16 year olds, as it was understood in the mid-1950s. 26 quizzes with answers. Platt & Munk, 1955. Very good condition with paper cover. $10

Howard Garis’ UNCLE WIGGILY AND HIS FRIENDS offers many adventures of the friendly rabbit.  Illustrations are in color and black and white . Platt & Munk, 1955. Good condition, green binding with some wear in corners. $50

Johnny Gruelle’s RAGGEDY ANN STORIES are familiar to many generations. Color and black and white illustrations by the author. Bobbs-Merrill, 1947. Good condition, spine worn. $10

Laura Lee Hope’s THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT WINDMILL COTTAGE is just one title in another very popular children’s set. Grosset & Dunlap, 1938. Good condition. $5

Dean Koontz’s ODDKINS is “a fable for all ages” by the best selling novelist. Color illustrations. Warner Books, 1988. Excellent condition, paper cover. $10

Josephine Lawrence’s NEXT DOOR NEIGHBORS written for older elementary school girls. Cupples & Leon, 1926.  Good condition, paper cover. $10

Arthur Rackhams’s FAIRY BOOK introduced many children to Beauty and the Beast, Jack and the Beanstalk, Aladdin and Cinderella. Illustrated. Lippincott, no date. Very good condition. $5

Fran Striker’s THE LONE RANGER is based on the famous cowboy’s adventures by George Trendle.  Grosset & Dunlap, 1936. Good condition, partial paper cover. $5

Specially Selected Book Buys

Eclectic is the word for our Cafe Bookstore collection. We’re dependent on donations from library patrons who clean out their book shelves and offer us good quality, interesting titles with real sale potential.

Among the Grisham paperbacks, children’s books and popular non-fiction, some specialty items show up. Those are culled out and specially priced.

Recently a number of art and architecture books have come in. Their “coffee table” format and pristine condition make them perfect gift items.

Popular treatments include:

Jonathan Glancey’s ARCHITECTURE (part of the DK Eyewitness Companions series), a global view of important historical structures spanning thousands of years of building. 2006. $15

TIME’s GREAT BUILDINGS OF THE WORLD, a picture essay of “The World’s Most Influential, Inspiring and Astonishing Structures”. 2004. $5

Steve Dunwell’s EXTRAORDINARY BOSTON, beautiful photographs from all parts of the city, in all seasons and at all times of day. 2005. $15

George Cushing’s GREAT BUILDINGS OF BOSTON, a black and white photographic guide, arranged by neighborhoods. 1982. $5

Edward Hoak’s MASTERPIECES OF AMERICAN ARCHITECTURE, first published in 1930 and a Dover reprint, contains photographs and architectural drawings. 2002. $10

Then there are the funky and unusual gift books.

Eight books of drawings and pictures of the 20th. century Dutch graphic artist M.C. Escher cover all aspects of his life and art. Titles in this collection include THE MAGIC MIRROR OF M.C. ESCHER, THE GRAPHIC WORK (2 volumes), VISIONS OF SYMMETRY (hard and softcover), IMPOSSIBLE WORLDS, and Al Seckel’s MASTERS OF DECEPTION. Prices vary from $5 to $20.

All the titles (and more for future postings) have a home in my office and are waiting for the right buyer. Email me at bshank@watertown-ma.gov Proceeds go to the library Building Committee and their efforts to support the new library’s programs and services.