How Far Back?

In light of the celebration of the Cherry Blossom Festival, it seems only appropriate to tell you about a really cool donation the Friends of Reston Regional Library received.  Both items are for sale this spring.

We have two huge books of bound newspapers.  They are described this way in our TOPLIST:

Item 1:
Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper

weekly newspaper publ in New York / 51 weekly issues spanning 7 Jan 1860 - 29 Dec 1860 /
issue for 10 Nov 1860 (probable Presidential election results) was never bound in the volume /
custom binding in full leather has separated from the huge oversize text block / gilt label pasted
on spine / half of front endpaper is missing, half of back endpaper is also missing / some
damaged pages (with tears and signs of water damage at the page corners) appear to have
been bound in as is by the owner / free of internal marks, remarkably free of foxing for its age /
incredible reading copy for history buffs or for a library collection

Item 2:
Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper / Ballou's

Pictorial / New York Illustrated News
collection of three different US weekly newspapers spanning 1856-1861 / Leslie 26 issues 1858-
1859 / Ballou 11 issues 1856 / New York 6 issues 1860-1861 / huge oversize bound volume in
marbled boards with leather spine / gilt label pasted on spine / small estate seller's label on front
endpaper / an owner's name in script on front endpaper / some issues were not complete when
bound / some pages with tears appear to have been bound in as is by the owner / perfect
companion reading copy to the 1860 Leslie volume above, with fantastic full-page size
illustrations

Now you're asking -- what the heck does this have to do with the Cherry Blossom Festival?  Well, Item one has some amazing illustrations in it of the first official delegation to the US from Japan, in 1860.  Here is a photo of  saddle they brought as a gift (Click on the photo to see it closely):

Item 1 also includes this illustration of a politician that should be familiar to you from history. At this point, he was only a "wanna-be" president.

Don't you wish you could read the whole story illustrated by these illustrations on the left page? The page on the right shows Cyrus Field, the man who laid the first transatlantic cable, and a story about the cable itself.

This is great stuff folks - history buffs, genealogy gurus (just imagine the names and dates!), collectors, writers...

Let us know if you're interested!  E-mail or call us at 703-829-5467.

The Toplist for Spring 2011

TOP HAT?

TOP KNOT?

TOP GUN?

NO NO NO NO NO!

Friends of Reston Regional Library, Inc. present:

the SPRING 2011 TOPLIST

The anticipation towards the Semi-Annual Sale in April is building.  And to whet your appetite and induce you to renew your membership so you can get first crack at these books on Friends Night (April 6; 5-7:30) our TOPLIST is ready for review.  There are some really interesting books on here, so be sure to share it with your far-flung friends & family too!

Toplist books are specials -- ones that can command a premium price because of their rarity, condition, and/or higher demand. Our price on them is still less than you'll pay on the open market. Many of the books are unique, and are just a taste of what you can find in our Specials Room.  If you cannot view the toplist through this link, please e-mail us and we will send you a .pdf of it.

Please observe the following policies pertaining to the Toplist:

1)      A paid up Friends member may reserve a single item off the toplist for purchase on Friends night on Wednesday April 6.  Please submit a request by email HERE.  Requests for books made in this manner will be tracked by date and time -- first come, first reserved.

2)      The Friends display case at the library will be stocked on either Mon or Tue of setup week with "goodies of all kinds" (toplist or not).  First come, first serve.  The Friends reserve the right to place a limit on the number of items that a patron can purchase per day from the display case.

3)      The Friends never have enough space to show off everything that's up for sale, so please feel free to ask if you have a particular interest but can't seem to find what you want.

4)      The Friends are very grateful for all the donations from our community that make the sale possible.....   so many books, dvds and cds!  (of course, cash is nice, too).

As an aside, many people ask how we decide what to list on our RestonFriends site. Donations that come in that can command a good price (over $15) in the used book marketplace are considered for RestonFriends. The reason is that while we can save them for the Specials Room during the Semi-Annual Book Sale, often many of these are so unique, or the demand for them is so timely, that by the time we get to the Semi-Annual Sale, we will have lost the edge to sell them.

BUT, for many, if they have NOT sold on Amazon prior to the sale, we pull them back in, put them in the Specials Room, often add them to the "Toplist" and give you a price break.

So, it is a test of your gambling stamina:  are you willing to wait and see if you're the first one to get them on Friends Night, or do you want to get it now, while it is available?