Brought to you as sort of a public service announcement, because us literary fans have to support each other. For more information, contact Bobby Plapinger at
R. Plapinger Baseball Books
PO Box 1062
Ashland, OR 97520
541-488-1220
baseballbooks@opendoor.com
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This is just a brief note to bring you up to date on some collectible baseball books in the news. Let’s face it, baseball books are a small niche in the twin worlds of book and sports memorabilia, so its unusual when they’re featured anywhere outside of small specialty catalogs & the like. But…well.. when it rains.. it – sort of – pours.
For those you interested in baseball fiction an ebay seller “malcombook” has a 1st edition of Murrrell Edmond’s “Behold Thy Brother” for sale. Please understand, this is not an endorsement of the seller or of his asking price – I’ve had no direct dealings with this person & have never had a copy of the book for sale.
That said, “Malcombook” seems to have been around in the “brick & mortar” days, apparently has a good ebay reputation & I can’t say I wouldn’t ask the same price – or maybe even a bit for, for the copy of the book.
It is, as the auction description states – very rare.
The other “baseball book” news is sort of bittersweet. Serendipity Books was a Berkeley, Ca. institution – which mirrored the likes, dislikes, incredible breadth of interests, knowlege & experience in a variety of fields – of it’s owner Peter Howard. As is often the case with institutions that are so closely linked with the person who created them – he left no “succession plan”. And so, when he passed away last Spring, there were no instructions as to what to do with the store inventory or Howard’s substantial personal collection.
So… it’s going to auction. A series of “themed” offerings from the store’s stock & Howard’s personal collection will be offered by Bonhams Inc. throughout 2012. The first one is Feb. 12 & includes about 20-30 interesting, scarce & potentially valuable baseball books & related ephemera including most notably a copy of Gutsmuths. “Spiele zur Uebung…. and a copy of Kidgell’s “The Card”.
If you’re familiar with these pieces – you’re aware of their scarcity & significance. If you’re not & want to learn more, I suggest checking out the catalog at Bonhams.com
Peter Howard was a rabid baseball fan & collector – with a particular fascination with the origins of the game & San Francisco Bay Area baseball.
As additional material from his estate & inventory is made available, I’ll let you know, assuming you’re interested.
Again, please understand that I’m just presenting information here because some of you might be interested & may not have been aware of this. I’m not endorsing OR criticizing of Bonhams handling of this material – just telling you where you can get more info if you choose to do so.
And… of course, you can always call or e-mail me if you want additional information or have questions or comments or want to hear “my opinion”… Or… well.. just about anything else.
Thanks very much.
is available on Amazon.com,
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