Rare Jack London manuscripts pop up at SF’s Antiquarian Book Fair

After wildfires canceled its 2025 event in Pasadena, the California International Antiquarian Book Fair is back this year in San Francisco.

One of the world’s largest exhibitions of olden literature is gathering more than a hundred booksellers from across the globe to share their choicest wares — rare tomes, illustrations, maps, historical documents and random ephemera guaranteed to level-up your bookshelf and walls.

The fair features several manuscripts from local star Jack London, including the original signed draft of his 1905 novel “The Game” and a proof copy of “The People of the Abyss,” his first-hand reporting on London’s impoverished.

There will also be memorabilia from the Black Panther Party, the Oakland-born revolutionary group. Expect items like a 1971 newspaper announcing the dismissal of murder and criminal-conspiracy charges against party members Bobby Seale and Ericka Huggins — the latter who is actually planning on attending the fair.

Organizers say revolution will be a theme. “On the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence,” they write, “the 2026 fair will explore the theme ‘Revolutionary Moments in America,’ examining not only the American Revolution of 1776, but the many scientific, artistic, industrial, political and cultural revolutions that have shaped the nation.”

Details: Fair runs 4 p.m.-8 p.m. Feb. 27, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Feb. 28 and 11 a.m.-4 p.m. March 1 at
Pier 27, The Embarcadero, San Francisco; tickets $10-$25 depending on day, abaa.org/events

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