Peter L. Masi - books

Click here to read Catalog 268.
well, file last updated in march – helluva hiatus – major distractions have been veggie garden – late start – not so wet as last summer – good beds of salad greens, broccoli rabe, escarole – kale and collards coming back after insect eradication – plenty of basil – lots of pesto in the freezer – decent bed of green romano beans – yellow squash, zucchini, cucumbers off to great start, then succumbed to molds and mildews – various peppers ripening – tomatoes having good year, blight held off until plenty of fruit developed, some damage from catbirds and some rodent, but enjoyed tomato sandwiches, tomato basil pasta sauce, lots of gazpacho, even canned 20 quarts – modest crops of garlic, onions, corn – dug 3 rows of potatoes – picked strawberries few times at warner farm, blueberries few times at kenburn orchard, where I’ve also cut Christmas trees, but owners have sold and moving to retirement community – home raspberry crop good – next distraction is long overdue house painting – got staging up on west wall and prepped and painted and now staging on streetfront with pediment – not sure about that high peak – in spare time had to find new source of firewood – have been spoiled by fairly inexpensive and dried wood from fellow who worked part-time for state but got full-time offer and quit firewood – got 2 dried cords for twice the price from turners falls tree service, now about stacked and 2 more on way – spent pre-birthday weekend in newfield, ny with son zach, wife lauren and my granddaughter talia, delightfully responsive and endlessly amusing – she’ll be a year old soon – celebrated birthday with edie at blue heron in sunderland – so catalog production bumped along – plenty of new stock to tackle – so here’s 268 – latest mixed bag – siftings and scrapings from recent buys – sent with fingers crossed you’ll be amused, perhaps inspired to order –
at your service – peter
cover: item 236

Dear Friends,
We have just tackled a collection of books on printing, catalogs of printing equipment and type specimens from the late Michael Denker of Potomac, Maryland. Mike was a builder by trade, but his avocation was letterpress printing and he collected trade catalogs, type specimens and books about books. We have added some relevant material from other recent acquisitions and stock.
We invite you to read the list, hoping you will find something of sufficient interest to order.
At your service,
Peter
Peter L. Masi – books
masibook@verizon.net
413.367.2628

Click here to read Catalog 267.
well, file last updated early february – it’s april – no major news besides new catalog – garden fare gone – irish side honored with soda bread and corned beef and cabbage – hello spring – off to chilly start – crocus and daffodils putting good face on it – put away the cross-country skis and got snow tires off – enough firewood for few more weeks – next show will be Allentown april 27-8 – so here’s 267 – latest mixed bag – tackled lots of trade catalogs from Michael denker from Potomac – siftings and scrapings from other recent buys – sent with fingers crossed you’ll be amused, perhaps inspired to order – cover: item 62 (enlarged) –
at your service –
peter

Click here to read Catalog 266.

well, file last updated October, 2023 – whole new year and season – garden mostly memory – picked peppers, greens, butternut squash, tomatillo, dug potatoes – feasting on pesto, greens, beans from freezer, onions, garlic, potatoes, squash from cold storage – ground frosted, froze – house repair and painting project put on ice til spring – 4 cords of firewood reduced by over half – much of life spent in proximity to woodstove – Halloween usual melee – spent November weekend with son zach, wife lauren and new granddaughter talia – thanksgiving with Middleboro siblings – early December headed to Washington d.c. to work on appraisal and book call in Potomac, md – acquired collections of trade catalogs and type specimens – in long queue to be cataloged – decorated tree with edie and swapped usual comestible gifts – few days before Christmas hiked sugarloaf mountain with zach and family en route to lauren’s family home – Middleboro for Christmas with sister and family then boxing day in Winchester with brother and family – usual new year’s eve with edie in Greenwich – hello 2024 – we’ve had few snows – been cross-country skiing handful of times – rain, too, and warm days – sunny and cold currently with mostly bare ground – papermania been and gone – 266 finally ready to launch – mixed bag of recent acquisitions – sent with hopes you’ll be amused, perhaps appetized – cover: item 16 –
at your service – peter

Click here to read Catalog 265.

well, file last updated August 1 – mid-October – uber busy times here – garden nearly done – no frost as yet – still picking some peppers, celery, tomatillo, collards – dug small crop potatoes – tomato plants lookin’ dead – ‘nuff corn to call it a season – small crop of butternut squashes – got on roof to clean chimney – mostly stacked 4 cords of firewood and redid stove gaskets somewhat successfully and been burning nights – when not pushing to publish catalog in hand, been putting in time getting hacienda ready to paint – been bit too long – also got carpenter on some long overdue repairs – rotted or malfunctioning kitchen casement windows replaced with sliders – son Zach and wife Lauren now proud parents of Talia Romana Masi – call me Gramps – all going well there – 2 fairs in 2 weeks – fall Allentown then Boxboro – next show January – hopefully time to produce few more catalogs – new acquisitions abound – still working through pamphlets from Reese Co warehouse – buying at shows perhaps too productive- so here’s catalog 265– off to Eagle for hard copies and PDF distribution – sent with  hopes you’ll be amused, perhaps appetized  – at your service –   peter

cover: item 283

Click here to read Catalog 264. well, file last updated May 23 – it’s august 1 – back to mostly pamphlets, some books, broadsides – plenty of new stock from recent shows, ephemera from Maine estate, and a visit to the Reese Co warehouse being emptied – spring and summer have offered new norm of whacky weathers – mostly we’ve had too much rain – garden is a disaster and cellar not much better – few sweltering days, currently lovely cooler stretch – should not have paid attention to pea package which promised 4-5’ vines – they hit 8’, flopped over into major mess – potatoes not looking happy with water – good bed of salad greens – root crops mostly leaf, little root – picking collards – broccoli all stalks and greens, few heads – tomato blight took year off but it’s back – some expired – planted many outside fence thinking deer would not eat – they showed me – eggplant persevere after flea beetle damage – few pepper plants failed to thrive – rest limp along – been picking romano beans, yellow squash, zucchini – cucumber vines starting to wilt – garlic looking solid – turned my back and onions got overgrown with weeds – corn happy so far – first pack basil seeds didn’t germinate – just planted seedlings from round 2 – saw infectious diseases specialist who ruled out lyme, so back to long COVID – symptoms seem worse, enhanced with bout of insomnia – have a carpenter undoing some years of home neglect by yours truly – nice to get work done – shame to redo work done not that long ago – your friendly bookseller a septuagenarian by time you read – early brunch with siblings, spouses and longtime dear friend edie brown last Sunday – baby shower for Zach and Lauren in few weeks – then summer papermania in Hartford – so here’s catalog 264– off to Eagle for hard copies and PDF distribution – sent with hopes you’ll be sufficiently seduced – at your service – peter

Click here to read Catalog 263.
well, file last updated March 2 – it’s may 23 – last two having binged on ephemera, bookshelves went full to bursting – Samuel Chamberlain collection bought over a year ago – variety pack from Capen family house in Monson – agriculture, architecture, camping, education – longtime customer’s parents house in Pawtucket – mom taught fashion and marketing at Community College of Rhode Island, dad ran Outlet Store in Providence – more deaccessioned cookery – curious clutch of British military unit histories – larded with miscellany of books sourced variously, not cataloged for wanting repair or research, some can’t recall why – meanwhile the world turns – burned last of firewood not so many days ago – after achieving ninety degrees for a few days – cross-country skis put away – garden tools fetched – plot rototilled, manure hauled, composts turned – much time and money to add 2’ chicken wire along base of wire grid fence to hopefully avoid last summer’s bunny feasting – peas up, potatoes planted, onions, beds of salad greens, turnips, beets, carrots seeded – collard and broccoli seedlings transplanted – Memorial Day on deck – traditional time to plant tomatoes, peppers, other sensitive stuff – thought low-grade symptoms over winter maybe long COVID, seems instead coincidental Lyme infection, so medicating – third time ‘round – highly not recommended – mild winter and ticks abound – zach and lauren visited in April – shared welcome news they expect baby in October – could be a whole new life phase – have yet to hear bad word of grandparenting – cleared spring fair hurdles – will set up at Paper Town in Boxboro early June and Papermania in Hartford in August – hopefully tackle recent ephemera and book acquisitions in between – off to Eagle for hard copies and PDF distribution – sent with hopes you’ll be sufficiently seduced – at your service – peter
cover: item 255