A Conversation with NYIABF Ambassador Meredith Graves

Meredith Graves is a multidisciplinary artist, musician and public scholar based in Brooklyn, NY. Her professional resume includes time spent as the host of MTV News and later, Outreach Director at Kickstarter, where she founded multi-million-dollar fundraising programs specifically designed for occultural artists, including those in the publishing space. She is currently preparing for her third year presenting at the Salem Witchcraft and Folklore Festival, focusing on the importance of fiber art and handicraft in fairy tale, folklore, and magical traditions around the world.

Meredith is returning as an Ambassador for the 66th Annual ABAA New York International Antiquarian Book Fair, joining a dynamic group of passionate collectors, influencers, and industry leaders who are shaping the conversation around collecting, preservation, and the cultural importance of historical materials. Ahead of the fair, we had the opportunity to ask her a few questions.

Collection & Inspiration

What do you collect? What is the most remarkable or unusual item in your collection, and how did it come into your hands?

As someone who lives a relatively ascetic life, I'm not much of a collector, but as a fiber artist, I do tend to 'collect' yarn and fleece from my travels around the world—what most knitters refer to as their 'stash' (though 'collection' is a much kinder word!).

The most unusual item in that collection is some wool left over from a scavenging mission I undertook while on a residency hosted on a remote island off the coast of England; I spun a skein of yarn by hand from wool I picked out of bushes and bracken, shed naturally by the many sheep that lived on the island. There's a short video of my process up on my Instagram!

If you could own any antiquarian book, manuscript or artifact in the world, what would it be, and why?

Just like last year, I'm still looking for an early-20th-century printing of the Comte de Gabalis, preferably the edition put out by the New York Masonic Society, to replace a long-lost and dearly beloved copy.

Which past or present figure in the literary world do you most admire?

This is a very hard, if not impossible question for me to answer, so I'll say that right now my most-admired literary figure is the poet and philosopher Jean Gebser, whose masterwork The Ever-Present Origin has become the center of my own philosophical inclinations over the past few years. In terms of living writers, I most admire great women thinkers, pioneers in their field, such as Silvia Federici, Donna Haraway and Rosi Braidotti; they're the closest thing I have to a picture of 'what I want to be when I grow up.'

Lifestyle

What first sparked your love for rare books and literary history?

I've been an enthusiastic reader since single-digit age, and that love comes directly and exclusively from my Dad, who made sure nothing was ever off-limits, and always helped me reach the higher shelves until I was tall enough to do it myself. His encouragement regarding both reading and writing absolutely made me who I am today.

Which books or manuscripts are you currently researching or working with?

I'm currently preparing for my third year presenting at the Salem Witchcraft and Folklore festival, on the topic of fiber arts in magic and fairy tales, so I'm returning to Anne McDonald's No Idle Hands: The Social History of American Knitting, as well as Fashion In The Fairy Tale Tradition: What Cinderella Wore by Rebecca-Anne C. Do Rozario. I'll be on the lookout this year for textile art books, especially knitting instruction manuals from the 19th and early 20th centuries!

What non-book object, artwork, or place currently fuels your curiosity?

I've recently started listening to the long-running (and sadly over) horror fiction podcast The Magnus Archives; fictional podcasts are really not my usual thing, but the delicate blend of short fiction, occult and Lovecraftian vibes, and library setting (including crooked, or perhaps possessed, rare books dealers!) gripped me and hasn't let go. It's a nice break from my research, especially because the episodes are quite short.

Advice

What’s the first step you’d recommend to someone starting an antiquarian collection?

Allow your collecting to be fueled by what you sincerely love, and when you're exploring what that is, don't be afraid to drill down to as narrow a window as possible—I love knitting magazines from the early 20th century, but specifically from about 1934-1944. From there, I know a couple of specific magazines I like best. This makes it easier to narrow things down when faced with a broad set of options (necessary in the era of online resale!).

What is the most valuable lesson you’ve learned about collecting?

That people are overwhelmingly kind, enthusiastic, and have the time. Especially in the years I've been attending the book fair, I've found there's really no one who isn't up for having a prolonged conversation with you about whatever rare, fascinating or out-of-the-ordinary wares they may have in stock. It isn't like The Ninth Gate, especially not at the individual level—professional rare books dealers, please pull me aside and correct me if you're actually secretly part of a demonological cult behind the scenes, but that really hasn't been my experience. We all have our special interests, and we all love to talk about them.

What’s your best tip for spotting something truly special among the ordinary?

Know who you are and what you like, and don't be too shy to approach experts in the field. After a handful of years attending the fair, I have pleasant relationships with some folks who specialize in Victoriana, folk and handmade objects, and textiles—I always look forward to seeing them, and they're always up for showing me hairwork, knitting scrapbooks, handwritten magical journals, and more.

Plugs

Do you have any projects coming down the pipeline that you can share with? We'd love to share what you're working on with our followers!

Signups will open soon for my first class with the Acid Horizon Research Commons, called Philosophy and Magic: History, Theory and Praxis. This will be a 4-5 week exploratory workshop and reading group designed to reinforce both disciplines, by reading each as the other. We'll be covering everything from Jean Gebser to John Dee with a ton of pit stops in between—we'll even be doing some magic ourselves as a means of embodying knowledge—so if that's an idea that appeals, follow the AHRC and listen to Acid Horizon wherever you get your podcasts.