2008 NY Antiquarian Book Fair

After getting caught slightly off-guard by a sudden monsoon this afternoon, we finished our day with a visit to the antiquarian book show currently running at the 25th Street Armory, right near home. With squishing shoes and heavy pants, we wandered through the exhibition hall, where more than 60 dealers of old and rare books were displaying their wares. Our soggy state didn't bother the booksellers, though; in fact, they couldn't have been nicer or more trusting, offering to "discourse on any number of esoteric topics," as one said, and leaving first editions of books like Gravity's Rainbow and The Sound and the Fury (currently fetching up to $7500 and $35,000, respectively) out for anyone to flip through. We weren't quite brave enough to go that far, but we did see enough books, maps, postcards, and brochures to plan out our next decade of birthday wish lists. If only we had as much liquidity in our bank account as we did in our socks.