In the final week of August last year, when Catherine Riordan was in the middle of setting up the expansive annual book fair she has co-chaired for the Mark Twain Library for the last decade, she got a call she could not refuse.
“The person on the other end of the phone was the daughter of Mary Travers and she wanted to donate all the books from her mother’s estate to our book fair,” said Riordan.
Travers, of the famed American folksingers Peter, Paul and Mary, was once one of Redding’s most famous residents. When her daughter called, it was too late to include them in the 2024 book fair, since Riordan and her team of more than 200 volunteers were already in the midst of putting the books on display and had already organized and priced the books for sale that year. Unable to turn down such a historic gift, Riordan made an arrangement to take the Travers books and sell them the following year – this year.
The Mary Travers collection includes a wide array of books that filled roughly three dozen boxes and belonged to both Travers and her mother, Virginia Coigney. They will be on display and for sale at the 64th Annual Mark Twain Library Book Fair, held at the Redding Community Center in Redding over Labor Day Weekend, lasting from Friday morning, August 29 through Monday afternoon, September 1.
“Mary and her mother were both self-educated and read widely, so their book categories run the gamut,” said Riordan. “They probably gave us every single book by Upton Sinclair.”
One of the oldest and largest book fairs in all of New England, The Mark Twain Library Book Fair is also recognized as one of the most organized events of its kind. The Travers collection is part of more than 60,000 selections separated into 75 easy to find categories which are geared toward all ages – from children to adult.
Midge Loery, who co-chairs the event with Riordan, has been volunteering at the book fair since she moved to Redding more than 20 years ago. “I keep coming back because I never know what treasures–like the Mary Travers collection this year–will turn up,” she said. “It’s the people I work with who keep me laughing and telling me about the next great book to read.”
In addition to the special collection from the Travers estate, this year’s highlights include: an extensive amount of vinyl records, including Beatles albums a wide range of Civil War history books from a private collection numerous selections of cookbooks and quilting books sizeable offerings in photography and art, including coffee table books many of The Great Courses on both CDs and DVDs a substantial amount of Harlequin series romances from 2020-2025 a large assortment of games and puzzles
The Book Fair runs through the entire four days of the holiday weekend. All proceeds go directly toward the operating costs of the library, which as an association library relies on fundraising to support 40% of its operating budget. Entrance to the event is free of charge except for one initial hour on the first day saved for those wanting an early start.
Famed humorist Mark Twain started his library in Redding more than 100 years ago as a place for the community to gather as well as a place to build on his literary legacy. Today, the Book Fair symbolizes and adds to that legacy by offering tens of thousands of items for sale at bargain prices in a place that brings the community together each year.
Book Fair hours are: Friday, August 29 from 9 a.m. to 4p.m., Saturday, August 30 from 10 a.m. to 4p.m., Sunday, August 31 from 10a.m. to 4 p.m. (Half-Price Day), Monday, September 1 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. ($10 per box, we will provide box)
During the first hour on Friday, from 9 to 10 a.m.) there is a $20 admission charge for those who want first dibs. Tickets for that hour will be available starting at 8 a.m. on site.
