There’s even more to experience, more to enjoy and – best of all -- more to buy, when the Brooklyn Antiquarian Book Fair returns to the Brooklyn Expo Center in Greenpoint, September 8-10, 2017.  One of New York City’s most eagerly awaited fall events, the 100-exhibitor fair, produced by Impact Events Group, is among the largest regional antiquarian book fairs in the country.   This year show goers will be introduced to a whole new world of collectible treasures with the debut of a “Works on Paper” gallery. 

Sunlight from the exhibition hall’s large windows will flood into individual gallery spaces where exhibitors have brought together outstanding collections of prints, drawings, etchings, engravings, lithographs and photography to add to the fair’s abundance of rare and vintage books from top dealers from across the U.S., Canada and Europe.   Whether you’re looking for a book under $50, a rare edition, or a fine print to cherish for years to come, you’ll find it at this fair.  With the addition of the Works on Paper gallery, the Brooklyn Antiquarian Book Fair’s expanded offerings make it feel like two great shows in one!

To celebrate the debut of the Works on Paper gallery, the Fair will mount an exhibition of works by the late Maurice Sendak, beloved children’s author and illustrator.  The first gallery-style showing and sale to be held in the artist’s native Brooklyn, this special event will feature original drawings, watercolors, vintage posters, signed prints and etchings, most of which have never been offered for public sale.

These items have been collected over a period of fifty years and were largely acquired directly from the artist himself. This is an unprecedented opportunity to own a fine art print, actually produced by the artist in 1971 from some of his favorite book images, for as little as $25.  For the serious collector, an exceptional signed first edition of his most famous children’s book, Where the Wild Things Are, is being offered by Enchanted Books for $22,500.  The Sendak exhibition and sale will include a special viewing of Moo-reese, the three-dimensional plaster cow created by Sendak for the Manhattan Cow Parade in 2000.  The cow is completely covered with “Wild Things” characters and is signed and dated by the artist. And there will be a special lecture by Leonard S. Marcus, one of the world’s leading writers about children’s books, called “Sendak Back in Brooklyn.” Marcus is the author of a number of critically acclaimed books and was the editor for Maurice Sendak: A Celebration of the Artist and His Work. He writes for the New York Times Book Review, teaches at NYU and the School of Visual Arts, and lectures across the world.

If the work of Matthew Carter looks familiar, it’s because you might use it yourself – on your computer. The Center Street Studio is bringing a dramatic exhibit of a print portfolio by the renowned digital type designer, who has seven of his designs in the collection at the Museum of Modern Art. This portfolio consists of the 26 letters of the alphabet in his favorite typefaces of his own creation, which will be displayed on a 24-foot wall.  Some of the fonts include his best known, such as Verdana and Georgia, as well as some from type designs still in progress.

Pop-Up Mania, a program of special events, is fun for the entire family.  Imagine the joy in sharing with your child a book filled with characters that pop right up out of its pages. Ellen Rubin, known as the Pop-Up Lady, invites children and their parents to join her on Sunday for a 20-minute dramatic reading of the pop-up book, The Three Little Pigs.   Ellen is an expert on the history of moveable paper and will give an informative talk, “A History of Pop-up Books:  900 Years of Paper Engineering,” on the topic.   She will also present an amazing exhibit from her massive collection of rare pop-up books from around the world. 

Joining her on Sunday is Matthew Reinhart, a world-renowned children's book author, illustrator and paper engineer.  He will share the secrets of how to transform paper into magical, moving, three-dimensional structures that defy imagination in his demonstration, “Cut, Fold And Repeat.”  Matthew is known best for designing the impossible in his acclaimed pop-up books, among them the New York Times bestselling “Star Wars: A Pop-Up Guide To The Galaxy, Cinderella: A Pop-Up Fairy Tale, Dc Super Heroes: The Ultimate Pop-Up Book And Mommy? with the legendary Maurice Sendak.

For people new to collecting rare books or prints, two talented professionals will present informative talks on Saturday.  The History Channel’s “Pawn Stars” personality and rare book specialist, Rebecca Romney, will give a talk on “The ABC’s of Starting a Rare Book Collection, and will sign copies of her newly published book, Printer’s Error:  Irreverent Stories from Book History.  Art appraiser and renowned print specialist Jeannot R. Barr will discuss the fine points of getting started on a print collection in his presentation, “Starting a Print Collection on Any Budget.” It’s a unique opportunity for collectors at all levels to learn directly from experts.

One of the signatures of this show is its depth of variety.  Visitors could spend hours combing the aisles for personal favorites:  nostalgic snapshots of early New York from the vast collection of Stacy Waldman, owner of the House of Mirth; Brooklyn-based bookseller Lizzy Young’s vintage cookbooks and ephemera, including menus from the ocean liner RMS Lusitania.  A collection of beautifully bound books from Austin Abbey Rare Books, has gilt-embossed covers that turn into glowing miniature works of art under direct light; and a huge collection of vintage luggage labels from Sheryl Jaeger of Eclectibles is sure to induce romantic visions of faraway places.  

World War II history buffs will be drawn to two important and very rare propaganda postcard collections that demonstrate how history unfolds on paper.  Exhibitor Kurt Sanftleben’s Black Album, a collection of ten photographic postcards, is one of the earliest visual documentations of Nazi atrocities against Poland’s Jewish citizens.  Emil Allakhverdov’s Anti-Nazi, Anti-Soviet postcards, were reconfigured illustrations from a Ukrainian children’s book, published after the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945.

A Friday evening preview benefiting the Rare Book School, is a must for those wanting to get first pick from the fair’s thousands of rare items before doors open on Saturday. 

LOCATION:

Brooklyn Expo Center

79 Franklin Street

Greenpoint, Brooklyn

HOURS:

Friday Preview, September 8 – 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm.

Saturday, September 9 –11:00 am to 7:00 pm

Sunday, September 10 – 11:00 am to 5:00 pm

ADMISSION PRICES:

Friday Night Preview Benefit -- $25.00

General Admission Weekend Pass for $15 or $10 on Sunday

Visit: www.brooklynbookfair.com for more information.