c1911, 21 1/2" x 19" Negro Church League Photo - At CA Antiquarian Book Fair

[CarltonHendricks]

http://s213.photobucket.com/user/Car...%20Book%20Fair
The once a year 2015 California Antiquarian Book Fair was held this weekend at the Marriot in Oakland...above is a photo I spotted there...and below a few other things...click the photobucket link above to see all 27 photos I took...

As I understand it the California Antiquarian Book Fair is one of the best book shows in the world...so it's not to be missed if possible...it alternates each year between S.F. bay area and Los Angeles...I once heard say the San Francisco (now Oakland) show was better than the New York show because dealers were more prone to attend it because NY is so expensive...The worn out phrase "not what it used to be" applies...but nevertheless it's still a rich fun venue...I well remember the ones before the internet...you could feel the electricity in the air it was so exciting...now it's more relaxed...you can buy it there or wait for a better deal online...

It's a bit of a highbrow affair...The dealers are from all around the world...many are in coat and tie...or if they are really established and respected...the old double brested blazer with a bow tie...the bow tie ones are really important...and if they have a bow tie AND an English accent...then you're really in the big time..and there's all these dealers with 12th century manuscripts and all...and all kind of lofty academic specialty dealers...some...if you ask if they have any baseball books...tilt their head slightly forward to get a better look at you over the top their glasses...and with raised eyebrows go...nooo...then there's an awkward silence and the balls in your court to either say thank you and leave...or just leave period...kind of quickly no meandering...some of them...as a courtesy I think to baseball collectors...wear leather patches on their elbows...so you know straight up not to bother them...classical music is another tip off...One dealer this year I was talking to...when I asked if he had any sports broadsides...thought for a moment like he was trying to imagine what a sports broadside was...then said no they didn't have anything like that...I got a laugh out of him though...I told him that's ok...I've been thrown out of lots of booths...

Anyway back to this years show...that 1909 AllAlaskaSweepstakesProgram very much had my attention...marked $600.00...offered for $425.00...I have a panoramic photo of the winner J. Berger's sled team, that belongs with it...seen in this link about half way down the page...Man what a thing to find...great piece for $200.00...but no way was I going to plunk down $425.00 for a dog sledding program...before I left the show I asked him what was the best he could do...had he said $300.00 I may have very grudgingly paid it...but he said $400.00 was the best...I walked...situation like that makes you almost wish you hadn't seen it LOL...I went home with it weighing on my mind...Should I go back Sunday afternoon the last day and make an offer; I thought...



So I go on line looking to see if there might be another some place for sale...pretty slim chance naturally...I mean how many people at the race bought the program...and how many of them have survived...So I'm googling this and that...trying different key words...and after a bunch of tries I saw a ABE listing...I clicked it on and saw the price $35.00 and thought it was a reproduction...turned out it was missing the back cover and last page...To a highbrow book person that's sacrilege...but hey for $35.00 I'll live with it...Below a few more shots of what I saw...

[MooseDog]

I was there too, I work for a Friends of the Library organization and we got a free both in the Special Exhibits hall - quite an experience. High-brow is an apt description, I went by that 12th century manuscript booth (double wide and the three things I looked at in the glass case were all over $100K) and the guy looked at me funny.

I think it was the fact that I was underdressed, long-sleeve tee-shirt and jeans, but hey at least it was a clean shirt. But I had no business even looking at that stuff.

[patricka]

Pretty sure that church league photo is from Chicago. I have seen that photographer's name before related to a Chicago studio and the Clark street address makes sense.

[steve B]

On the pic of the trophies...........

Are those two different years? Or were there Two Jacob Bergers? The one on the left says " Jacob Berger winner of first place" while the one on the right says "Jacob Berger winner of second place"

Or ..........Some how he was both first AND second

And if so, how many competitors didn't bother if he was going the next year?

Steve B

[steve B]

Fantastic stuff by the way. I've been to the Boston show and the main show mostly had wonderful stuff I could never afford. The lower brow Ephemera part of the show was more to my liking. Even if it was actually partly held in the parking garage

Steve B

[CarltonHendricks]

Steve, Good observation...yes I too took note of J. Berger winning both first and second place...I figured once I get my $35.00 copy I'll read the whole story that surrounds the trophies and learn the reason...though I surmised he, Berger, probably entered more than one team...by a quick cursory look into the question I was able to establish that the winner of the 1910 race entered three different teams...and won first and thrid place...So apparently it wasn't unusual for someone to enter more than one team.

http://www.nomekennelclub.com/nkchistory.htm
Excerpted from "Nome Kennel Club History" - Howard Farley's History of the Nome Kennel Club written in 1985.?
....The record which still stands today, eighty years later, was set in 1910 by teams brought over from the Siberian side. They were Siberian huskies, dogs brought over by Fox Maule Ramsey. He entered three teams in the 1910 All Alaska Sweepstakes and he took the number one position with a man driving for him who was called Iron Man Johnson. That record of 74 hours and some odd minutes stands to this date. Fox Maule also took third place at that race with a team of those Siberians that he was driving himself....

[Runscott]

Originally Posted by CarltonHendricks

It's a bit of a highbrow affair...The dealers are from all around the world...many are in coat and tie...or if they are really established and respected...the old double brested blazer with a bow tie...the bow tie ones are really important...and if they have a bow tie AND an English accent...then you're really in the big time..and there's all these dealers with 12th century manuscripts and all...and all kind of lofty academic specialty dealers...some...if you ask if they have any baseball books...tilt their head slightly forward to get a better look at you over the top their glasses...and with raised eyebrows go...nooo...then there's an awkward silence and the balls in your court to either say thank you and leave...or just leave period...

Well-written Carlton. You need to practice in advance, so that you have a response for some of the snooty looks you receive;e.g: "...wrestling magazines?"