Where can you purchase a rare, signed first edition of e.e. cummings’s 1931 collection of artwork, “CIOPW” (Charcoal, Ink, Oil, Pencil and Watercolor), alongside signed first editions of Walter Farley’s “The Black Stallion”, Robert F. Kennedy’s 1967 “To Seek a Newer World”, and a first edition of E.B. White’s first book, “The Lady is Cold”? The library’s community room and the adjoining Hinds Plaza will be the location of the 2016 Friends of the Princeton Public Library Book Sale on October 14 – 16. All book sale proceeds are used to help the library fund collections, programs and services.
What makes this tremendous undertaking possible is our community, who have donated an astonishing 12k items to the library. Our tireless volunteers sort, by hand, every item received. Continuing to be one of the top used book sales in the region, this year’s is the largest to date with books for all ages, most priced between $1 and $3. The selection includes art, history, political science, fiction, mysteries, cookbooks, and a variety of world language items, as well as CDs, DVDs and audiobooks.
Beginning at 8 a.m. on Friday, October 14, numbered tickets to enter the preview sale will be available to purchase at the door for $10 each. Though, the preview is free for Friends of the Library who have donated $50 or more to the library, and is slated for 10 a.m. to noon. After that, admission is free to all. The sale will be open to all until 8:30 p.m. on Friday, 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, and 1 to 5:30 p.m. on Sunday. (On Sunday, books will be sold at half price.)
Dedicated to the memory of physician and Holocaust survivor Charles Rojer, a long-time Friend and book sale stalwart who died last year, this year’s event offers additional unique items including:
- 14 volumes of The Bibliophile Library fine edition of Elie Wiesel’s works, including a signed copy of “The Jews of Silence.”
- A signed copy of “Subtle is the Lord” by Abraham Pais, the definitive biography of Einstein by his colleague at the Institute for Advanced Study.
- A first edition copy of “Letters from His Excellency, George Washington…” from 1803, in its original binding.
- A first American edition of “The Kingdom of the Pearl” with illustrations by Edmund Dulac.
- A rare 1888 copy of “Bric-a-Brac”, the Princeton University undergraduate yearbook, replete with whimsical illustrations of campus, societies and clubs, plus other Princeton ephemera.
- The collection of Professor Alan Rosenthal, the eminent political scientist, former Director of the Eagleton Institute of Rutgers University.
Being in the book business, we know that every book has its reader. We hope you’ll join us to discover just the book that’s been waiting for you all along.
Photo courtesy of the author.