Friday, 24 February 2023

Abraham Lincoln's law office bookcase

This five-shelf bookcase was once owned and used by the future president in his law office in Springfield, Illinois. Though simplistic in design, it is accented by a thin midnight-blue velvet trim. The two doors of the bookcase are missing.  

Currently at auction with Heritage Auctions


Thursday, 1 December 2022

The Library at Elsinore

Bookcase installation by Tom Phillips, who died earlier this week.
Books, acrylic and pigment ink 
151.7 x 114 x 20 cm

"The mock bookcase contains real books overpainted in grey with titles borrowed from Hamlet in black. These are titles of actual books by actual authors in order of the apprearance of their words in the play. There must of course be more no doubt being borrowed as I write but these are all that my research has turned up. Most are (rightly I presume) obscure but others are by known writers from Lloyd George to Graham Greene with, most recently, Alan Bennett's Single Spies (Simon Callow suggested, he claims, this brilliant choice of title)."

More details here and here


Monday, 28 November 2022

Dachshund bookcase

The "Dachshund" sideboard. A wooden sideboard with a twist. This sideboard develops a rotated tail end where you can store books or other items in a more special way. 

Deniz Aktay


Wednesday, 16 November 2022

A bookish blade

A knife, with metal blade and fitting, the handle of carved fruitwood, Northern European, 18th/17th century or earlier. 8 5/8 in. (22 cm.) length, 3 1/4 in (8 cm.) circumference. The handle in an unusual design of four stacked books, showing carved covers, clasps, banded spines, and fore-edges with traces of red staining still visible. (Wear commensurate with age and frequent use.)

Christies


Friday, 14 October 2022

The Book Lover's Joke Book

My latest book is out now! Here's the blurb from the publisher (the British Library):

The Book Lover’s Joke Book is the funniest book about books you’ll ever read. You’ll find jokes about writers, agents, publishers, librarians, grammar, poetry, bookcases, and lightbulbs. There are rib-ticklers for typographers, crackers for critics, and badly foxed quips about antiquarian bookshops. Here too are the best literary April Fool’s (the joke’s on you), rejection letters (the joke’s on the publisher), cookbook jests (the joke’s a bit crumby) and wardrobe puns (the joke’s Narnia business). This delightful literary celebration will make every bibliophile laugh out loud, even in the library.

And here are some examples:

His new novel is called Nagb. It’s pretty controversial. In fact it’s bang out of order.

A man talks into a bar. You’ll have to leave, says the landlord, we don’t serve your typo in here.

My enormous plate of spaghetti got into the Guinness Book of Records. I’m having a devil of a job cleaning it off.

What do cows shout if they don’t like a play? Moo

How many Dylan Thomases does it take to change a bulb? None. They just rage, rage against the dying of the light.

- I fancy a curry tonight I think I’ll go for a Tarka Masala.

-  Don’t you mean a Tikka Masala?

- Nope, it’s quite similar, but it’s just a little ‘otter

This morning I forgot the French word for strawberry, so I had to look it up in a fraise book.

Louise Glück, Patrick Modiano and Kazuo Ishiguru go into a pub and order three pints of beer.

“That’ll be £21 please,” says the barman. “You know,” he says proudly, “we don’t get many winners of the Nobel prize for literature in here.”

“At £7 a pint I’m not surprised,” says Ishiguru.

I couldn't find the Mills and Boon section at the library so I asked the librarian and she told me I’d been looking for love in all the wrong places.

Available wherever good books are sold but ideally from your local independent bookshop.

 

Thursday, 6 October 2022

Bookshelves in the Age of the COVID-19 Pandemic brings together perspectives from literary studies, book history, and publishing; investigates the complex relationship between the material book and its digital manifestation; deals with the cultural phenomenon of visible bookshelves brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. Some open access material.

Palgrave Macmillan



Thursday, 29 September 2022

Bibliothèque Portative du Voyageur


A 38-volume early 19th century French travelling library containing the works of ten 17th and 18th century French authors including Corneille, Voltaire, Molière, Fénelon and Racine, many with portrait frontispieces. Bindings are in full leather, the page edges gilded, and the spines and covers decorated with gilt tooling. The carry-case, in the form of a book, is 25x35cm, with marbled paper edges. Each book measures 9cm tall.

University of Cambridge


Wednesday, 21 September 2022

Book crib

Designed in 1941. Made of Beech with 3 compartments.Treated with clarcoat. Length 500, width 270, height 270 mm.

Bruno Matthsson


Tuesday, 30 August 2022

Cosomopolitan picks Rooms of Their Own

Large thanks to Cosmopolitan which has picked out Rooms of Their Own to feature in their list of "32 Gift Ideas for Writers That’ll Get Those Creative Juices Flowing". Here's what they say:

Sometimes the best way to cure writer’s block is to get lost in a fascinating book, and this one will definitely do the trick. It takes readers around the world to show where 50 of the most beloved writers and authors ever found their inspiration.


Friday, 24 June 2022

Gothic coffer book chest

The coffer is made of wood, covered with leather, with a metal lock and fittings. Leather straps were threaded under the bands on the side for it to be used as a carrying case. Attached to the inside of the lid is a woodcut depicting God the Father in Majesty; it is derived from a liturgical book printed in Paris in 1491.

Cabinet/University of Oxford



Wednesday, 1 June 2022

HOMCOM bookcase storage reading seat

You can now stop the search for the best reading spot at home thanks to this HOMCOM bookcase seat. Made from particle board for strength and reliability over the years, the base is crafted into a design which features six open cubes for handy storage, with a curved cut-out seat and soft padded cushion to allow you to comfortably immerse your head into your book for hours. Sleek rustic brown in colour, it will sit in any style room with ease in a unique design.

Aosom


Tuesday, 17 May 2022

Ouseburn Bookshelf

Handcrafted from solid wood its geometric design creates plenty of storage space with its discrete pockets of shelf space.

Funky Chunky Furniture Co


 

Friday, 13 May 2022

Libro bookcase staircase



Libro is a free staircase; a cross between shelving and footstool. Simply placed on the ground like a piece of furniture, away from the wall and on the threshold to the next floor, Libro will take you by surprise. Made of steel and bamboo, the straight or quarter turn Libro staircase is very stable and hardwearing. An elegant handrail can also be added, should you wish. 

JOA


Friday, 6 May 2022

Michel de Montaigne's bookshelves in Rooms of Their Own


There are a lot of bookshelves and bookcases in the illustrations by James Oses in my new book Rooms of Their Own about where great writers write/wrote. Here's his interpretation of the circular setup beloved of the iconic 16th century essayist Michel de Montaigne in his tower writing room. We know that around part of the walls were rows of curving bookcases where he kept his personal library of around 1,000 books while on the ceiling above his head where he worked were dozens of motivational quotes.


Wednesday, 27 April 2022

Trap bookcase

We create "cells, or neurons atoms" equal pieces together, we are able to generate all different "organs, molecules or brains", offering the possibility to create a multitude of possible combinations ("people, materials or thoughts "). To do this, we work on finding new simple geometric shapes that allow a multitude of possible combinations between them.

Kambiam for Homify