Month: October 2009

Most Interesting Book in stock lately…

pictoplasma

UPDATE: SOLD!

PICTOPLASMA: The Character Encyclopaedia

by: Pictoplasma Publishing, Berlin

date: November 2006
editor: Peter Thaler, Lars Denicke

pages: 396
size: 18.4 x 22.3 cm / 7.24 x 8.78 in
features: full colour, special hardcover

ISBN: 3-9810458-3-1

Avalon.ph Price: Php3,500.00

Sold out from the publisher! Probably your only chance to get a copy locally, exclusive on Avalon.ph.

Condition: Some light scratches on cover (visible on image), very good condition, unread copy. Only opened (carefully) for images.

From Pictoplasma Publishing website:

“With this long awaited follow-up publication Pictoplasma delivers an in-depth exploration of the latest tendencies in current character design and art, spanning from drawing, design and painting to its use in installations and sculpture.

Pictoplasma not only creates the world’s first Encyclopaedia of figurative design – by cataloguing the characters as independent life-forms of their own right, the compilation enables to examine similarities and permutations of globally recurring motifs and styles.

Building on the graphical roots of today’s character culture, the selection examines the essential qualities that enable these reduced character depictions to hit home with the universal power of anthropomorphic appeal.

By sorting, clustering, cross-referencing and inter-linking the creations of a disparate scene of artists, the encyclopaedia creates a unique cartography of the latest generations populating the character universe.

The 396-page volume features fresh and surprising work by over 250 artists, designers and newcomers, including Ana Bagayan, Friends With You, Fons Schiedon, eBoy, Akinori Oishi, Koralie, Doma, Gary Baseman, Tim Biskup, Klaus Haapaniemi, Eun-Ha Paek, Nicholas Deakin, Shoboshobo, Gary Taxali and many, many more…”

New Titles Posted, Oct 2009 (2nd)

Che Guevara
Choke by Chuck Palahniuk
The Solitudes (The Aegypt Cycle) by John Crowley
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
A Calculated Risk by Katherine Neville (Hardbound)
Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer (RARE Advance Reading Copy)
Hers 3: Brilliant New Fiction by Lesbian Writers
Herotica 5: A New Collection of Women’s Erotic Fiction
Adrienne Rich: Poems – Selected and New, 1950-1974
Pablo Neruda: Antologia esencial (All Spanish)
The Paris Review: Fortieth Anniversary Issue
I Want Candy by Kim Wong Keltner
Second Chance by Jane Green
She Went All The Way by Meg Cabot
Big Boned by Meg Cabot

Men of Tomorrow

The 10 Best of Everything: An Ultimate Guide for Travelers
Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes (Hardbound)
Men of Tomorrow: Geeks, Gangsters, and the Birth of the Comic Book
International Dictionary of Gastronomy by Guido Gomez de Silva
The Art of Loving by Erich Fromm
The Mammoth Book of Secret Codes and Cryptograms
The Top 100 Immunity Boosters by Charlotte Haigh
Che Guevara: Revolutionary & Icon by Trisha Ziff
Mental Floss: What’s the Difference?
Pornology by Ayn Carrillo-Gailey (Relationships)
Useless Sexual Trivia by Shane Mooney
Remaking the World: Adventures in Engineering by Henry Petroski
Perplexing Puzzles and Tantalizing Teasers by Martin Gardner
The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook: Weddings
The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook: Work
The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook: College
Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction Literature by Brian Stableford (HB Rare)

Science Fiction Literature
Back in Stock:

Shaking A Leg: Collected Writings by Angela Carter
The Passion by Jeanette Winterson
Written On The Body by Jeanette Winterson
Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson
Anything Considered by Peter Mayle
A Good Year by Peter Mayle
Ulysses by James Joyce (Leatherbound, Facsimile of 1922 ed.)
The Best American Erotica 2005 (Edited by Susie Bright)
The New Kings of Nonfiction (Gladwell, Orlean & more)
Wicked by Gregory Maguire (Play Cover)
Playback: From Victrola to MP3… by Mark Coleman (HB)
Worlds Enough & Time: Five Tales of Speculative Fiction by Dan Simmons
More Wandering Stars: Anthology of Jewish Fantasy & SF
The Mammoth Book of New Historical Whodunits
The Ultimate Alien (Clarke, Silverberg, McCaffrey..)
The Encyclopedia of Celtic Mythology and Folklore

Farewell Melinda, Farewell The Last Unicorn… Rare Books Sold

Books depart from me all the time, sometimes they make it somewhat depressing. Last week, two of my personal favorites left my bookshelves.

Melinda by Neil Gaiman (Signed and Limited to 1,000 copies)

Melinda Cover

and

The Last Unicorn: The Lost Version by Peter Beagle (Signed and Limited to 1,000 copies)

Last Unicorn cover

I did get a significant monetary rate in return, but these are titles I do not expect to have again in my lifetime. Both are currently out-of-print, and very expensive in the collectible books market. Both titles appreciated in value immediately as they were released, and they were probably the only copies actually available for sale in the Philippines.

At the same time, buyer also bought these titles:

Coraline by Neil Gaiman & Dave McKean (Signed & Limited 1/1000)

Coraline Limited

and

Interworld by Neil Gaiman & Michael Reaves (Signed & Limited 1/500)

Interworld Limited

To the person who bought them (you will remain anonymous from others), love them, boldly display them, treasure them and most of all amidst the price, make sure your kids will read them. It is sad I never even read them, because of my intent of putting them up for sale I like to think even the first pass of actually reading the books should belong to you.

Below are additional images of Melinda and The Last Unicorn: The Lost Version. So if I have to reminisce, I just have to take a look here. (more…)