What does a Rare Bookseller do when remodeling closes the bookstore for a week ? Enquiring minds want to know. Well…he might just get together with a programming pal from Silicon Valley for some nerdy recreation.Together, they might devise an algorithmic procedure whereby geometric shapes and hues of colour correspond to alpha-numeric characters. They then might code a simple program based upon that algorithm, which would manipulate and output an image based upon an input of text – say …the title of a famous book.Energy permitting-hey, writing code is an all night thing-they could then get an image of the 1st Edition Dustjacket of  a great book…by F. Scott Fitzgerald for example…

Original 1st Edition Jacket

open it in their new little program…type in “Tender is the Night”…and hit the manipulate button.

JAX Image

” OMG IT WORKS!!! ” might be heard at high decibels.

The resulting manipulated image might be way cool and they may manipulate  other 1st Edition dustjackets according to their titles – On the Road, Catcher in the Rye, The Grapes of Wrath-to name a few - and achieve the same insane results !

Eventually, the pair may print, frame and start showing their work to friends and bibliophiles, who absolutely freak out over the concept. Offers to buy might descend upon them to the extent they could decide to market them under some snazzy name like…

They might then announce the whole thing in a blog entry, and invite anyone interested in such unique artwork to click on any of the images in the posting to visit the Gallery- where they could view the whole line and buy them in a variety of mediums, sizes and frame styles.

They could even make a short film demonstrating the process, which would display when clicked upon…

And that is what a Rare Bookseller might do with some downtime, should that ever happen !

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 Well…we’ve done it. Demand for our custom made,rare book related pulp images has reached the level where we can no longer produce and sell in-house. Soooo….we’ve turned the Selling end over to the best Print-On-Demand house in the entire universe. These beloved images may now be ordered in a myriad of sizes and styles along with frame and matting services if you like.

WOW… we’re palpitating just thinking about it!!!

Click on these images and visit our Gallery to see the full, tawdry collection.

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The Kinsey Institute has released results of its decade long study of “Occupational Allure”. The report names Rare Bookselling as the most sexually attractive profession to men and women in the 21-45 age group.

The results are no surprise to Bertrand Hardstone, Head Cataloguer at the Heldfond Book Gallery,Ltd.(pictured above). ” When I go to parties, women treat me like the invisible man. But, when they discover I sell Rare Books…well…let’s just say I think I make Wilt Chamberlain look like a monk!”

The report has generated much controversy, with statements released by orgainzations as diverse as the Teamsters, the California Highway Patrol and the Chippendale Dancers, questioning the results of the Kinsey study.

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Tags: book collecting, first editions, jobs, occupations, rare books, sexy

A client of ours in Beverly Hills, sent us a confidential copy of Charlie Sheen’s medical record this afternoon.

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A well composed warning about the addictive qualities of Book Collecting .

BIBLIOPHILES BEWARE

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This from Bloomberg today. Very swank.Very posh.Very Tony. Very VERY !

Luxury Bookseller Pursues Potter, Bond for Royal Clients

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Nope…this is not a manipulated image. We found this photo in a 2007 article about OBL.Just goes to show that all sorts of people are book collectors.Very nice library. Very bad man.

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This past weekend, San Francisco hosted the largest and most prestigious Antiquarian Book Fair in the world. 271 Rare Booksellers from all corners of the globe, exhibited more than $70 million dollars worth of inventory. Of course, the HBG,Ltd. was pleased to participate.The highlight of the event for us was the appearance of the Pontiff, who took time from his busy schedule to bless our booth and do a little browsing. Thank you, your holiness!!!

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