Paper Chase

So you've made your regular circuit of all the used bookstores in and around town, but still no luck. Do you dare swallow the bitter pill of Internet commerce, or do you vow to continue the quest in the real world, however long it takes? Don't get dramatic, son — there's a third option, you know. The Mercantile Library's Fine Print, Rare Book and Paper Arts Fair returns this weekend, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, and from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday (May 16 and 17) in the JC Penney Conference Center on the University of Missouri-St. Louis campus (1 University Drive at Natural Bridge Road; 314-516-7240 or www.umsl.edu/mercantile). Booksellers and fine-print dealers from across the country exhibit and sell photographs, maps, historical and contemporary prints — and rare and scholarly books. That's right, friend. This could be the weekend you find a first edition hardbound copy of Two Slatterns and A King. Maybe. No guarantees. But when the dealers come to you, your chances of success are multiplied exponentially. Admission is $1.50 to $5 per day.
Sat., May 16; Sun., May 17, 2009