Book Sale News

So the last book sale from our friend Keith F. Davis and the Nelson-Atkins Museum in Kansas City has gone absolutely swimmingly.

(And that book, An American Century of Photography for only $32.50, is still available, by the way—here's the link, then enter 19333 in the "Promotion Code" box at checkout to get 50% off. For all international orders, please see this post. TOP readers have bought 900+ copies so far and there should still be 250 or so left).

News!
And I've just spoken to Keith and gotten some of the details of the next sale.

That one will take place probably in early April (possibly late March), and will feature four books in one package, again for a very (very) low price. As with the American Century book, they're looking to both reduce stock in their warehouse but, equally, to put the books in the hands of people who will truly appreciate them. All four books had successful runs at full price, so the Museum's pricing is designed so that they simply don't lose money getting the books to you.

Of course there are somewhat varying amounts of each title available. Therefore, two of the books earmarked for the next sale are softbound, one is hardcover, but the fourth will transition from hardcover to softcover as the sale proceeds—earlier buyers will receive the hardcover, until the supply runs out, and then the Museum Store will start filling orders with the softcover edition of the same book. The earliest buyers will receive an extra book, too—a different title—as a free premium. The reason is that there are not as many copies of that book available, so it can't be part of the package with the rest.

As with this sale, there are enough copies that you won't miss out if you miss the day of the announcement.

Staff and helpers packing and labeling copies of An American Century
of Photography to ship to TOP readers

I'm happy to say that everyone involved in the previous sale has been delighted at the fabulous response. This has truly been a win-all-around proposition, and, if you bought a copy of An American Century of Photography, as you'll soon see, you've won too.

And there might well be a third sale after the next one, too, although more negotiations have to be completed before we'll know for sure.

Naturally, I'll keep you well apprised about all of this as we go along.

Mike
(Thanks again to Keith for the opportunity to be a part of this)

Original contents copyright 2016 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site.

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(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
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Comments

[Hugh Smith]

Be still my beating heart!

Mi dos pesos

[Stephen Scharf]

Just placed my order for An American Century of Photography; thanks for the update.

[Benjamin Marks]

Isn't it nice to know you can deliver a paying audience for this sort of thing? Hat's off to you Mike. You can add "book-enabler" to your long list of titles. Thanks for putting this together.

[Wayne]

The package I received appeared to be hastily packaged up. I was lucky, there was no damage to the book. I now see from the picture that all the packages were the same. Little or no interior stuffing to keep it from sliding around and the corners of the box are open. The only thing that saved the book was the shrink wrap although the corners had been worn off. Water will damage these very easily. Great book though.

[Ivan Strahan]

Should the title not be: A Century of American Photography? I am not aware that Americans have a separate system of Centuries from the rest of us.

[Glenn Allenspach]

Just got home this afternoon and my copy of "An American Century of Photography" was peacefully napping on my front stoop. Nicely packaged, it arrived safe and sound. Sadly, I must prepare dinner, so can't spend much time now. Later, though....

[Jason]

I received mine today and I'm very happy with my purchase.

[Lenya Ryzhik]

Mike, please keep as many book sales coming as you can. In between the book sales we will cheerfully settle for book recommendations.
Many thanks, Lenya (on behalf of uneducated masses)

[Daniel Scroggins]

Hi Mike, this may be more of a question then a comment, but since I live in KC, is there any way to buy the book at the discount price and just pick it up? Thanks.

[Yes, just go to the Museum Store, and mention The Online Photographer and the promotion code "19333." Ask for Brian Day if there are any problems. --Mike]

[NancyP]

Again, thanks. Looking forward to the arrival of the 8 pound brick. ;) Also looking forward to the next round of books needing loving homes.

[J. Perry]

I fear there's not enough packing material to protect the corners of the book in transit.

[Simon Grosset]

Any chance you can come to the UK (or even the whole of Europe) and do a tour of museums and galleries and hunt out all their excess stock? It'd be much cheaper for those of us on this side of the pond! (As a matter of interest, what proportion of your readers are from outside the US?)

[scott kirkpatrick]

My copy of American Century is lurking heavily in a PO Box in Houston TX, waiting for me to find the opportunity to pick it up. This is so much more humane than the remaindering which is the fate of many good photo books. Have you considered having TOP very selectively become a remaindering agent? At least, it would be interesting to hear what you have been learning about the photobook business. I gather it is a completely different world than photo magazines...

scott

[Steve D]

Thanks for this. I eagerly await delivery and I expect it will help me to "see" better. Every book I buy is ultimately with that goal in mind.

[Kevin Purcell]

For those worried about the corners of the book in shipping ...

I bought the book from another source. It arrived in Jiffy envelope (and no other packing) with one corner poking though the envelope.

The book is in excellent shape with no corners bumped despite a USPS journey from the mid-West to the West Coast. I suspect it may have beat up adjacent mail in transit.

The boards are really tough (as are the hinges). They're sufficient for the 8lb textblock weight even when bumped around in the mail.

[Steve G, Mendocino]

Congratulations to all on the success of the sale! As I read this post, I kept hearing Tom Lehrer singing "Doing well by doing good..." in the song 'The Old Dope Peddler' in my head.

Not that the people who run top-notch museum stores are catering to my habits these days or anything...

Steve

[Michael Shaw]

I received my book yesterday and I absolutely love it! But I agree with others here questioning the very minimal packaging. Upper right corner of my book got a compression injury...

[Michael Mejia]

A fine piece of work, thoughtfully assembled, nicely printed, and beautifully bound; a real keeper.

[Bill Pearce]

Just received my book today. Man it's heavy! I don't remember i t being this big when I visited the exhibit, but maybe that was the earlier version. The photo reproduction is quite good, the text is set in a font size perfect for twenty- somethings, and the text is so comprehensive as to be a bit intimidating, but as I take it in bite sized bits it is valuable.

Well worth the $$.

[Malcolm Leader]

I just got mine. Packing well protected the book which was in perfect condition. Trying to absorb this book is really going to tax what little free time I have.

[mike plews]

Got it, love it.

[Harry Lew]

I received mine today, and Mike was right: it's a stunning book. Unfortunately, the museum store's packing is woefully deficient. Mine came in a flimsy corrugated package with no -- nada -- internal cushioning, this for a heavy book going through the USPS. In my mind, I was pretty much ready to buy the rest of the books coming down the chute (assuming they were of interest). But now, I'm not so sure. Mike, if you haven't already done so, please advise your friends at the museum to up their shipping game. Because seeing the damage their shoddy work caused to my book (five crunched corners) makes my heart twinge. Yes, I love photo books that much, and it hurts me to see one arrive in less than pristine condition. Thank you for listening.

[John Doty]

I just received my book in the mail. It arrived in excellent shape. I managed to skim through a few pages before work called me back. Thanks for this opportunity and I look forward to the next book sale!

[Steve D]

Mine arrived today. Didn't know exactly what to expect. I had a big smile as I opened it an perused a few chapters. This will be along and delicious meal. I expect it will have a lot of influence for the better on how I think of photography. Thank you for that.

[Greg Neidballa]

My copy arrived today. Fantastic, wonderful book. Arrived in Chicago in great shape and beautifully packed for shipping. Thank you for setting this up!

[Ernest Zarate]

My book was waiting on my porch when I got home today. As soon as I saw the package, I knew what it was. My heart sort of got caught in my throat - as several have described, the packaging was less than impressive. Fortunately, the book survived the trip, and had no damage. I spent an hour ignoring all family obligations just to zip through (and that took an entire hour!) the book, stopping to read bits and pieces of the text and 97% of the time flipping from one page to the next of gorgeously reproduced compelling photographs. My eyes got so full, I had to stop. But full like one would be after eating a sumptuous, satisfying and beautifully presented gourmet dinner (with an equally delicious dessert!). Thank you, Mike, for making this possible.

[Steven Ralser]

just got my copy today. Looks great; hopefully I'll get a chance to spend longer looking through it.