Empty Mirror

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Recovering water-damaged books and paper – is it possible?

Tia Jordan

Water Damaged Books Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/shanegorski/2697590077/ Shane Gorski

Having a flood or water damage in your home can be a disaster. Not only can it ruin your floors and walls, it can also cause damage to anything that happens to be in its path. Unfortunately, this can … [Read more...]

Book Collecting: Illustrated glossary of terms, edition, & condition

Denise Enck

photo by Miss Libertine

Ever how to interpret the condition, edition, and other terms included in the description of a book for sale? Here we'll unravel the mystery. Book Condition Terms Very fine is a flawless copy, … [Read more...]

Are Books with Binding or Printing Errors Collectible?

Denise Enck

Have you ever brought a new book home, only to discover that the cover was on backwards, or there were printing errors (for instance, pages repeated, omitted, out of sequence, or upside down)? If so, … [Read more...]

Book Bindings: An Illustrated Guide for Collectors

Denise Enck

book bindings

If you collect books, you've probably encountered several types of bindings. Here's a description of the various types and some things that affect their condition. Primary Types of Book … [Read more...]

First Edition Condition

Denise Enck

Book Condition & Grading Book collectors generally want books that are in as close to their original condition as possible. Books that appear new & unread (or nearly so), are most desirable. … [Read more...]

Bookplates – Various Types, Desirability & How They Affect Book Values

Empty Mirror

A bookplate is a small printed label which is adhered to a book, most often inside the front cover. They are also sometimes known as "ex libris," meaning "from the library of.") They're most commonly … [Read more...]

How to Care for Your Collectible Books: 18 Tips

Denise Enck

I recently received an email from a reader who asked, "Is there a correct, careful way to handle a book so as not to damage it? That is--is it possible to be both a book collector and a reader of the … [Read more...]

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Empty Mirror

Established in 2000 and edited by Denise Enck, Empty Mirror is an online literary magazine that publishes new work each Friday.

Each week EM features several poems each by one or two poets; reviews; critical essays; visual art; and personal essays.

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Recent features

  • My Father’s Map
  • On Waiting
  • Seeing Las Meninas in Madrid, 1994
  • Visual poems from 23 Bodhisattvas by Chris Stephenson
  • Historical Punctum: Reading Natasha Trethewey’s Bellocq’s Ophelia and Native Guard Through the Lens of Roland Barthes’s Camera Lucida
  • Panic In The Rear-View Mirror: Exploring The Work of Richard Siken and Ann Gale
  • “Art has side effects,” I said.

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