Bytown Bookshop » Richard

The Frankenstein Horror Series

Richard — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 16:52:36 +0000

A friend of mine brought to my attention the Frankenstein Horror Series, published in the early 1970′s by Popular Library, last week and it has been a really interesting little series to read about. This post from the Groovy Age of Horror website is by far the best review of the series and has great photos of the book covers.

Only 9 books were printed in the series from generally unknown authors. The print runs on them were likely pretty low as they don’t seem to turn up very often (although can be had readily on the web for $10-15 each). Here is a brief bibliographic checklist for the series.

Here’s how they described the series on the back covers:

THE FRANKENSTEIN HORROR SERIES is a group of entirely new stories that follows the fates of the primal monsters and their heirs, as they re-emerge from the Pit of the Unknown, the Unspeakable, and the Undead.

Upcoming Book Launches

Richard — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 02:29:47 +0000

Here is the info for a couple of upcoming book launches from local mystery authors:

Peggy Blair’s The Beggar’s Opera

Thursday, 16 February, 6:00 pm – 8:30 pm
The Orange Art Gallery, 233 Armstrong Street, Ottawa, Ontario

There will be live Cuban music with the terrific Cuban duet of Caridad Cruz and César Ricardo. Cuban food will be served and the wonderful photographs of Havana by David Barbour will be on display. Thanks to Beau’s Beer, Domaine Perrault & Blue Gypsy Wines, there will be beer and wine. There might even be mojitos!

Contact Peggy Blair at pjblair@rogers.com for an invitation (space is limited).

R. J. Harlick’s A Green Place for Dying

Tuesday, 28 February, 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Heart and Crown Pub in the Market, 67 Clarence St., Ottawa

R.J. Harlick is launching the fifth title in the acclaimed Meg Harris mystery series. Free for anyone to stop by and enjoy the evening.

Wouldn’t it be Murder?

Richard — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 14:56:13 +0000

We recently acquired a copy of the Cheshire Cat Press’ Wouldn’t it be Murder, a wonderful letterpress book illustrated with engravings by George Walker and printed at the Poole Hall Press. The book contains the talk Alice scholar and enthusiast Joseph Brabant presented to the Lewis Carroll Society of North America at its first meeting in Canada, on May 12, 1990. The talked explored the question, from a humorous legal view of the situation, as to whether or not it would be murder if Alice left the Duchess’ child behind after the Duchess tossed it to her.

This fine copy is one of a limited 177 copies (as with all Cheshire Cat Press editions). But unlike other copies I’ve seen, it is signed by the artist George Walker and has an additional Alice engraving tipped onto the blank opposite the title page.

25 Things I Learned From Opening a Bookstore

Richard — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 02:49:09 +0000

While many of the items on the struck a close cord with many of my observations when we had the open store, unfortunately I can’t lay claim to this humorously honest list of 25 Things Learned From Opening a Bookstore. I can however confirm that while I’ve encountered pretty much everything on the list, numbers 16, 18 and 21 are definitely 100% accurate!

Letterpress Gazette #9 – January 2012

Richard — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 00:26:22 +0000

The first Letterpress Gazette of 2012 is out and it is a stellar issue as always complete with articles on the Chappel, Setting Type, and the 2012 Ottawa Press Gang collective project. This issue also comes with a little ephemera packet filled with bookmarks, engravings and other goodies.

Hand-set and printed at the Weathervane Press, the Letterpress Gazette is a limited edition (usually around 50-60 copies) quarterly publication of the Ottawa Press Gang. If you are interested in specific issues (current and past), or an annual subscription, please contact me at info@bytownbookshop.ca for pricing.

Five Fabulous Workshops!

Richard — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 11:35:54 +0000

Mixed media and book artist Holly Dean will be hosting a series of weekend workshops starting the second Saturday in February at her studio in Merrickville. Workshops range from how to incorporate text into your artwork to creating hand-bound muse journals, all with the goal to help you learn new techniques and approaches to your artwork. Details and registration for the Workshops can be found on Holly’s website here: http://www.hollydean.com/the_rest/holly_dean_workshops.html

Human Library Day at the Ottawa Public Library

Richard — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 00:19:02 +0000

Saturday, January 28, 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m at various libraries throughout Ottawa

The concept

An individual accepts to take part in the event as a Book
Book reservations for specific time slots will be available the day of the event, at each site
Books get “checked out” for 20 minutes by a Reader
Talk to the person one-on-one about their diverse experiences.

Participants that can be “checked out” range from OC Transpo drivers and CBC journalists, to spiritual advisors and sex workers. There will also be a special set of participants at the War Museum also participating in the event. Details can on the Human Library Day can be found here.

Unique Hemingway First up for Auction

Richard — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 03:11:02 +0000

The February 8th Heritage Signature Book Auction is offering up as one of the major highlights of the sale a signed presentation copy of Hemingway’s first book, Three Stories and Ten Poems. The book is signed by Hemingway to Margaret Anderson and Jane Heap, editors of “The Little Review”, and first to publish some of Hemingway’s prose. What is doubly great about this lot is the write up they did detailing the history of Anderson and Heap, and their relationship with Hemingway. The lot starts at $37,500 with an estimate around $75,000, but I feel that the book will easily find its way into the six digit range.

The sale also features a first edition of Moby Dick, signed Ian Fleming firsts, and a first edition of Poe’s Tales of the Grotesque. Should be a fun auction to watch.

Ducks in a Row Press

Richard — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 19:31:38 +0000

Ducks in a Row Press is the new letterpress imprint in town. Book artist and calligrapher Nancy Trottier moved to Deep River (about 2.5hrs northwest of Ottawa) about a year ago, but has just recently acquired a beautiful 8×12 Challenge Gordon Press playfully dubbed “Ned”. Check out the great books she’s been making on her website, and her post on the reception of “Ned” into their home is wonderful (and well illustrated!).

Nancy has also become a member of the Ottawa Press Gang, and has already been busy sharing great news articles and resources. Very much looking forward to meeting her at a future Press Gang meeting.

Random House now the Sole Owner of McClelland & Stewart

Richard — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 01:06:31 +0000

After over a hundred years of publishing history and launching the careers of Canadian literary icons such as Margaret Atwood, Pierre Berton, Farley Mowat, Leonard Cohen, Mordechai Richler, Margaret Laurence, Michael Ondaatje and Rohinton Mistry (just to name a few), McClelland & Stewart is no longer Canadian.

As of Tuesday, Random House has now become the sole owner of McClelland & Stewart.