Comment du Jour

St. Patrick's Day Parade/NYC


A sea of Green flooded Fifth Avenue for the 255th annual St. Patricks Day Parade.
Just days after a debilitating blizzard and ice storm which slammed the metropolitan area,
City sanitation crews swept the Queen of Avenues clean for the annual parade honoring Irish
Americans.

Bagpipes and marching bands from the New York Police and Fire Departments were joined from marchers across the country and world, including Ireland, France and Spain, in the Big Apple's biggest parade.  The New York State Police marched honoring its centenary of service.

The parade which traces its roots to 1762 or more than a decade before the American Revolution, celebrates   Tradition and Irish Pride.

As a  particularly poignant part of the Parade,  the New York City Fire Department (NYFD) 
 marched with 343 American Flags, each banner honoring one firefighter killed during the 
September 11th 2001 terrorist attacks on America.  

Comment du Jour

New York Antiquarian Book Fair

The 57th annual Antiquarian Book Fair in New York

The mid March event brought together over 200 American and international book dealers

for an extraordinary four day event . Held at the venerable Park Avenue Armory, the Fair attracted an overflow and enthusiastic crowd of patrons from the USA and Europe.

   

One of the amazing selections came from New York dealer Seth Kaller, with an
ALEXANDER HAMILTON collection of important original letters, documents and
imprints from this key figure in the American Revolutionary period and the early
American Republic.  Material relating to the Revolution, the Federalist Papers, and
Hamilton's key role in the Founding of the Republic are in the collection. So too is a
Hamilton love letter to Eliza Schuyler.

 
Whitmore Rare Books from California brought along an edition of Casino Royale
the early Ian Fleming spy thriller.  Beyond being a coveted First Edition, the book
has a rare dust jacket which was sparingly used in the first printing.  Very rare, quite
pricey.


European dealers, especially from Britain, France, Italy, Germany and the Netherlands were a mainstay of the show.

Equally sellers from as far away as Australia again rejoined the show with fascinating selections. 
Asian Bookroom, Canberra, Australia


Naturally the Fair is renown for its sweepingly beautiful maps and color volumes,  which are presented below.