This episode is a recap of the recent Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair, which recently returned to the Hynes Convention Center after years of online-only events. How did it go? The short answer is, Great! It was well attended, with over 120 dealers exhibiting, so everyone could enjoy seeing old friends – and making new ones – in person again. Rare books sold briskly, panel discussions got lively, and the Brattle gave out about 35 pounds of M&M’s – regular and peanut. If you couldn’t make it this year, don’t worry: we’re already planning events for 2023 and 2024. Listen to learn more, and head to bostonbookfair.com to keep up with future fair news.
Brattlecast #90 - Go West!
Ken takes a journey from West Street out to Western Massachusetts and finds a bonanza of early material on the Westward expansion. Not long after the Louisiana Purchase and the Lewis and Clark expedition, there were magazines selling the idea of missionary work, opportunity, and adventure in the Pacific Northwest, brochures encouraging people to settle and farm in the Midwest, and travel posters created by railroad companies to promote the newly created National Parks. These engaging pieces of ephemera can give us a new perspective on how it might have felt to live through this often romanticized era of American history.