Books aren’t just smart—they’re also good looking. In today’s episode, we’re talking about books as decor, and about some of our favorite decorating projects from over the years. Whether you’re designing a film set, high-end hotel bar, or model home, a curated collection of literature is an easy way to add personality and character to any setting. We’ll discuss the details of working with decorators—and the insulating properties of a big wall of volumes—on this stylish new #brattlecast.
Brattlecast #206 - More About Bookplates
In this episode, we’re responding to a question from a listener: What exactly is a bookplate? Basically, they’re little labels that indicate ownership, usually pasted onto a front endpaper. A holdover from a time when books were expensive luxury items, today bookplates are most commonly found in library books, although they can be a fun way to personalize a private collection as well. We’ll talk about instances when bookplates can add to the value of a book, and about collectors who focus on the bookplates themselves. Remember, no question is too big—or small—for the #brattlecast; if there’s something you’re wondering about, reach out to us at info@brattlebookshop.com.
Brattlecast #202 - The Suffragette Cookbook
In this episode, we’re digging into an unusual collection of recipes: The Woman’s Suffrage Cook Book from 1886. The first of a handful of cookbooks published by American suffragette associations, this volume was designed to raise funds—and to subtly rebuke the idea that involvement in politics would cause women to neglect their domestic duties. We’ll discuss some of its illustrious contributors and the renewed interest in often under-collected feminist history materials on this deliciously democratic new #brattlecast.
Brattlecast #201 - The Alcatraz Library
Although we spend a lot of time hunting for treasure in other people’s attics, the Brattle has its own nooks and crannies where we let interesting items pile up for years—ok, sometimes decades. When cleaning out a cubby in the office, Ken unearthed one of these inadvertently hoarded finds: an 1870s Harper’s Magazine from the Alcatraz library. We’ll use it as a jumping off point into a discussion of Alcatraz’s history, its place in popular culture, and prison libraries in general on this escapist new #brattlecast.
Brattlecast #175 - The A. Lincoln Story
In today’s episode we’re talking about past appraisal customers who ended up being dramatically, confidently, and sometimes abrasively wrong about their signed books. Anyone can look at an inscribed title page and get excited—you want to believe that your book’s former owner was that A. Lincoln, and not just a Lincoln. This is why booksellers and appraisers have to be cautious, do their research, and consult with colleagues, especially when it comes to big, thrilling items. Occasionally your appraisee’s belief in their impossible inscription will persist in the face of pretty compelling evidence—that the signed book in question was printed decades after the death of United States President Abraham Lincoln, for example—and they’ll storm out or hang up on you, hopefully to seek a second opinion. Learn more about the shop’s least likely finds on this farcical new #brattlecast.