Category: Catalogs

Catalog 274
well, file last updated July 4 – it’s mid-October – long-COVID has backed off a bit and energy back – restarted housepainting – got staging up on one side of back addition – waiting for two cords of firewood stacked and working on second two – woodstove is on – garden produced tomatoes, peppers, romano green beans, salad greens, garlic, few onions to supplement some canned and frozen food from last summer – will have to address weed situation some day – busy fall show schedule – Boxboro, Allentown, Northampton in November – rent at better shows beyond my low 2-figure comfort zone – trade looking for more expensive unique material – next year intend to limit to 2 shows in allentown – rent is cheap, show is large, buying and selling profitable – will spare you political rant though plenty of fodder for this overeducated northeastern elitist ultra-lefty – intended to offer ‘current events’ in 274, but as part of few agonizing business reappraisals, started looking at rooms full of shelves full of books acquired over last 40+ years and simply shelved and forgotten – checking against internet to see what might warrant the effort – many books banished to 50c shelves on front porch, from there to free piles on other side of porch, from there to roundabout books in greenfield where they have a sideline in recycling paper – then listing books with potential to produce profit – thorough mixed bag of subject matter, languages, fiction, poetry – results follow – sent with fingers crossed you’ll be amused, perhaps inspired to order – cover: item 217 – peter

well, file last updated April – it’s been a challenging time for me physically – I’ve had long COVID since 2020, but it has only mildly affected me for all the years until last November when it returned with a vengeance – it abated late December and I was able to enjoy the best cross-country ski season in decades – but returned in march, perhaps worse than before – I struggle with chronic fatigue, post-exertion exhaustion, brain fog (which many dismiss as being universal, but not like this, focus is difficult and I’m on high alert while driving), plus occasionally short of breath, heart palpitations, really checking all the symptom boxes – and there’s no cure in spite of all the links to studies that people share – I try to get the basics done, but matters on many fronts have gotten little or no attention – this time last year I had one of my best vegetable gardens going and was painting my house working on staging and stacked 4 cords of firewood – those tasks now seem profoundly daunting – business bumps along but many business projects have languished – actually still have some canned and frozen food from last summer which I’ve been consuming – but situation not conducive to strong appetite – got garden tilled and planted some onions and tomatoes and peppers and eggplants which I’ve nursed along but the weeds have taken over most of the plot which is quite large with a perimeter of 200’ – way too weak to paint – we’ll face the firewood dilemma in a month or so – recent bright spot was weekend with son Zach, wife Lauren and two granddaughters, Talia and Yarra – they’re a joy – still enjoy bi-weekly visits with friend edie brown from Greenwich (pronounced Green-witch, NY – keep abreast of what’s happening in country I hardly recognize anymore – as I write this on July 4, I find little to celebrate and the dimmest hope for our future as a country – we’re so polarized (thank you Ronald Reagan, Rupert Murdoch, Fox News and their many spawn) that we simply have separated into camps and live on different planets – recent shows have been fairly disastrous for me and hoping to reduce my show schedule to perhaps only the Allentown show, but have already paid rent for Boxboro in September – still selling in my usual two figure comfort zone and it’s hard to pay the rent at shows these days selling items for fifteen or twenty bucks – but we managed to assemble a new catalog – much from the dealer stock acquired late last year – heavy on trade catalogs and a large section of souvenirs from world’s fairs – filled out with some of the usual suspects, plus a group of type specimens – so here’s catalog 273 – sent with fingers crossed you’ll be amused, perhaps inspired to order –
at your service –
peter

cover: item 296

Click here to read Catalog 272!

well, file last updated last November – it’s a whole new year and almost April – painting season perished with winter weather – 4 cords of firewood stacked and burned and winter persists – got another half cord of some funky looking wood from Mike Martino – but it’s dry and burning – winter fare often matter of consuming before spoilage – binged on stored butternut squashes and onions – working on potatoes as they start to sprout – supplemented with canned tomato with various vegetables tossed in and forays into freezer for greens and beans and corn – lots of raspberry jam on toast for breakfast – used last of apples for crisp for dessert  – fodder for doom scrolling habit olympicaly apocalyptic – global zone flooded by madman at helm of former foremost world superpower – shocking scenes from streets of Minneapolis rapidly obscured by catastrophic military attack of Iran – precipitating widespread violence in Mideast and global shockwaves – dark and scary times with no end in sight – during the violence in Minnesota I lowered the flag on the town common across the street from me to half-mast – there it waves – fair schedule greatly reduced by death of Papermania and dropping few high end shows because paying the rent got to be risky selling in my usual two figure comfort zone – will be at Allentown in late April – meantime acquisitions bit out of control – still hustling carloads of Rex Stark reference books, bought heavily at Allentown last fall, recently acquired about a dozen cartons of former dealer stock and already had a roomful or two awaiting – then acquired another carload at recent Douglas auction in Deerfield where they sold library of Clarke School for Deaf in Northampton – 19^th and 20^th century literature on deaf education – another project on the runway – but meantime here’s 272 – somewhat usual mix of recent acquisitions – sent with fingers crossed you’ll be amused, perhaps inspired to order -at your service –

peter

cover: item 101

Dear Friends,
Years ago when Peter Luke and Rich West bought the contents of the Van Norman Book Company from Illinois, I bought a formidable quantity or material from them. This included about 8 bankers boxes of Lincolniana. In what has become somewhat of a habit here, I cataloged a fair number of items, them moved on to other projects. Bad habit. I have recently regathered the uncataloged material and done some sorting and even a little cataloging.
I thought in commemoration of that respectable Republican, I would offer a list of what I’ve cataloged and have available. This is a tip of the iceberg. There are many books and pamphlets on deck, as well as runs of periodicals, dealer and auction catalogs, offprints, programs, and correspondence to and from Illinois State Historian Harry Pratt.

We have attached a short list, which you are welcome to peruse and purchase, and we also invite inquiries from parties of interest in other materials.

With thanks,
Peter

well, file last updated february – it’s spring – cold start – 3 inches of snow yesterday – firewood gone – think new supplier shorted me – scared up carload but won’t last – flip on furnace when chill is on – still eating potatoes from last summer – emptying freezer and canned tomatoes and raspberries – probably time to plant snow peas and salad greens – put in few hours at ‘hands-off’ protest in Amherst – 47 and cronies continue to degrade government and perpetrate atrocities against immigrants, critics, media, law firms, schools – we try to stay informed – subscribe to nyt, wapo, nyker, boston globe, heather cox Richardson – painful to observe and powerless to prevent and can’t see an end to it – world stage no prettier– convinced insufficient credit given Rupert Murdoch and many copycats monetizing and weaponizing pervasive conservative echo chamber which keeps 47% pissed about non-existent or trivial issues – end of rant – but there’s plenty to catalog and here’s another – tackled books been sitting about and recent acquisitions – some modern architecture, Sunday-school Union chapbooks courtesy colleague mz via aas, more printing equipment catalogs and type specimens sent by widow of late Michael Denker, small care package from dallas, brattleboro collection from nearby auction – filled out with siftings and scrapings from the several rooms of material awaiting attention from cataloger – sent with fingers crossed you’ll be amused, perhaps inspired to order – cover: item 288
at your service –
peter

Click here to read Catalog 269.
well, file last updated last september – helluva hiatus – garden under half-foot of snow and woodpile down by half – filled the freezer with various veggies and greens, pesto – canned many quarts of tomatoes, jars of raspberries – got potatoes and butternut squashes in storage – last of fall’s apple picking gone to apple crumble – managed to paint west wall of house and most of front before painting season ended – need to do second coat on front – got 4 cords of firewood stacked, now over half burned – my team took a beating in November and the returned regime came prepared to wage war on our federal government and wasted no time – tough to watch the damage and it’s only just begun – ‘flood the zone’ strategy seems to have overwhelmed the opposition – no relief from congress and courts take time and have been loaded with conservative judges – global damage likely profound – world seems bent on illiberal authoritarians and oligarchs – such times hard to imagine few decades ago – painful to observe and difficult to ponder when and how it will end – winter’s been cold, windy, rain as likely as snow though maybe half a foot on the way tonite – enough to cross-country ski a few days, but mostly not enough – that may change – winter life mostly woodstove-centric – dining table, work station and reading chair all handy – papermania seems to have perished – I exhibited every January and august for decades – flamingo sold Boxboro show to Richard mori and retired from show business – perhaps fewer shows will parlay into more catalogs – few peculiar business projects – perhaps unwisely bid on storage unit full of books belonging to dealer rex stark – many poorly packed in usps tubs on foredge and stacked 6 high – repacked into perhaps 200 bankers boxes – now in sorting piles and shelves on first floor, few loads to Montague Bookmill, many boxes in storage unit – tons of collectible reference books, auction catalogs, coffee-table books on native Americans, blacks, baseball, photography, decorative arts – bought few carloads of very interesting antiquarian books, but did some detective work and discovered they were all stolen – it hasn’t been dull – but there’s plenty about to catalog and finally managed to assemble one – so here’s 269 – latest mixed bag – siftings and scrapings from recent buys – sent with fingers crossed you’ll be amused, perhaps inspired to order – cover: item 55 – at your service –
peter

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