Book Fair Offers Literary Treasures

A variety of rare books, antiquarian volumes, signed first editions, collectible children’s books, vintage travel books, and ephemera are for sale on September 26 and 27 at the Weston Public Library.

The Connecticut Gold Coast Book Fair is a new event from the Friends of the Weston Library. Admission is free. On Saturday the 26^th, the hours are 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. On Sunday the 27^th, the fair is open from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm.

Edward Crafts, a Friends member and key organizer of the event (and the popular Sunday Soundscapes music series) said the fair’s items are curated offerings from a number of prominent New England booksellers, all specialists in particular categories.

“This is an antiquarian, all-vintage fair,” said Mr. Crafts, himself a rare bookseller for 25 years. “It’s a book sale that happens to be in a library, but it’s not a library book sale.”

Among the various items, Mr. Crafts said you can expect to see antique children’s books like miniature volumes of Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tales, a rare 17^th century leather-bound book in Latin, a first edition of Mark Twain, a number of signed volumes, and ephemera such as century-old paper toy soldiers.