1lilithcat
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/04/arts/imaginary-books-grolier-club.html?unlock...
Currently in New York, at the Grolier Club, it will travel then to San Francisco.
Currently in New York, at the Grolier Club, it will travel then to San Francisco.
2lilithcat
More on this from The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2024/dec/11/imaginary-books-exhibition-byron-s...
3Keeline
>2 lilithcat:, this one is pretty good. There's a typo for Norton Juster as "Norman Juster" but someone who is only casually familiar could easily make this mistake, especially if autocorrect gets involved.
It is an interesting art project to represent books which only exist in descriptions in other books or items which were started but never completed.
In the juvenile series book world, we have both "phantom titles" and even "phantom series". These links are from my Stratemeyer.org page with some examples.
Basically, it was common to advertise the next title at the end of the story, a bit like the screen that stated "James Bond will return in _____." Collectors call these "next title announcements" though the authors and others in the book trade called them "throwahead titles."
Sometimes the series comes to an end before the promised title is issued. How far along the title is at the time of the cancellation can vary. The story might be just a title or a full unpublished manuscript or somewhere between (outline, first draft, second draft).
In one example, Andy the Acrobat (Chatterton-Peck, 1907) was to be the first volume in the Great Show series. The story mentions that the next volume would be "Luke the Lion Tamer". The book was not published. However, the manuscript was written. Disagreements with the publisher prevented it from being issued by them or one of the reprint publishers. Since the manuscript exists, there's a chance of it being issued via print-on-demand though it is not in high demand so few would be sold.
In most cases only the title was planned.
In the middle of a series, a next title announcement might promise one title but it was changed. This is most common during a war when they might offer a non-war or war title and then issue something under another title instead when circumstances changed.
The 10-volume Mark Tidd series had stories serialized in The American Boy magazine. There were 13 novel-length stories. The remaining ones were published in book form by fans decades later. There are other examples similar to this.
The last Jerry Todd title promised "Troubles in Doubles." The absence of this volume was frustrating enough to fans that at least one wrote a version of the story in the style of the others. A second serial appeared in a magazine for fans of the author.
Yet another fan found some magazine stories that had not been compiled into a book but they fit the theme with some character name changes. So a limited edition book (30 copies) filled that space on the shelf for a few collectors.
The "phantom series" is a stranger example. Publishers might advertise a series that never made it to print. Or fans might make up series for an April Fool's prank.
I don't know if there will be a catalog of this collection like many Grolier exhibits have but if I do see one, I'll bet none of these will be included.
James
It is an interesting art project to represent books which only exist in descriptions in other books or items which were started but never completed.
In the juvenile series book world, we have both "phantom titles" and even "phantom series". These links are from my Stratemeyer.org page with some examples.
Basically, it was common to advertise the next title at the end of the story, a bit like the screen that stated "James Bond will return in _____." Collectors call these "next title announcements" though the authors and others in the book trade called them "throwahead titles."
Sometimes the series comes to an end before the promised title is issued. How far along the title is at the time of the cancellation can vary. The story might be just a title or a full unpublished manuscript or somewhere between (outline, first draft, second draft).
In one example, Andy the Acrobat (Chatterton-Peck, 1907) was to be the first volume in the Great Show series. The story mentions that the next volume would be "Luke the Lion Tamer". The book was not published. However, the manuscript was written. Disagreements with the publisher prevented it from being issued by them or one of the reprint publishers. Since the manuscript exists, there's a chance of it being issued via print-on-demand though it is not in high demand so few would be sold.
In most cases only the title was planned.
In the middle of a series, a next title announcement might promise one title but it was changed. This is most common during a war when they might offer a non-war or war title and then issue something under another title instead when circumstances changed.
The 10-volume Mark Tidd series had stories serialized in The American Boy magazine. There were 13 novel-length stories. The remaining ones were published in book form by fans decades later. There are other examples similar to this.
The last Jerry Todd title promised "Troubles in Doubles." The absence of this volume was frustrating enough to fans that at least one wrote a version of the story in the style of the others. A second serial appeared in a magazine for fans of the author.
Yet another fan found some magazine stories that had not been compiled into a book but they fit the theme with some character name changes. So a limited edition book (30 copies) filled that space on the shelf for a few collectors.
The "phantom series" is a stranger example. Publishers might advertise a series that never made it to print. Or fans might make up series for an April Fool's prank.
I don't know if there will be a catalog of this collection like many Grolier exhibits have but if I do see one, I'll bet none of these will be included.
James
42wonderY
A few of us have been collecting sightings of imaginary books, in film and in other books:
https://www.librarything.com/topic/102103
https://www.librarything.com/topic/102103
5lilithcat
>3 Keeline:
I don't know if there will be a catalog of this collection like many Grolier exhibits
Catalog now available from Oak Knoll: https://www.oakknoll.com/pages/books/141071
I don't know if there will be a catalog of this collection like many Grolier exhibits
Catalog now available from Oak Knoll: https://www.oakknoll.com/pages/books/141071
6Keeline
>5 lilithcat: , thank you. In following this link, I discovered another page which doesn't like my VPN issued IP address. But I would possibly not discover this with their short-sighted network management practices. :) I think it is more an issue with the Bibliopolis system than their own work since they have delegated the technical side of the business to them (for a sizable fee).
I've known of and purchased from Oak Knoll books as a bookseller and publisher before. They specialize in vintage books on books as well as publishing new ones like this one.
James
I've known of and purchased from Oak Knoll books as a bookseller and publisher before. They specialize in vintage books on books as well as publishing new ones like this one.
James
