Where to buy puppet books in Australia?

Finding theatre and puppetry books can be one of the most frustrating and rewarding things to do. If you are at all involved in theatre, whether it is as an amateur, a student, or a professional, you will have come across the severe lack of places to buy books. So here’s some good tips to finding puppetry books. Though my experience is mainly limited to the Victoria area, bookstores across Australia are pretty much the same, so you can find some useful tips here even if you are from another part of the country.

The following is split up into sections: physical bookstores with new books; physical bookstores with secondhand books; online bookstores; and where to buy books by Hansjurgen Fettig.

Do check the rest of the site for book reviews. Please note: I do not sell puppetry books (I wish! I have a hard time just finding books for myself )

Physical bookstores

Generally speaking, the online stores of the following list will have a bigger range of books than in their physical stores. However, this may mean that you would need to pay for more on shipping and handling, especially if the book is a special order. In most cases, I find it easier to order books from the specialty online stores listed below. Most of the Australian brick-and-mortar stores are crap for finding puppetry books, outside of secondhand shops and selected kids books.

• Angus & Robertson
  One can find a fairly ‘decent’ selection of kids/beginners puppetry books, along with good texts like David Leech’s official book on Pelham Puppets, books by David Currell (see book reviews on this site), and so on. While you might not find these books in store, you can order them from their website; however, Dymocks, listed below, has a larger selection.
• Dymocks
  One can find a fairly ‘decent’ selection of kids/beginners puppetry books, along with good texts like David Leech’s official book on Pelham Puppets, books by David Currell (see book reviews on this site), and so on. While you might not find these books in store, you can order them from their website.
• Kinokuniya (Sydney)
  If you happen to be in Sydney, then check out this store. I ‘discovered’ (hey, I’m from Melbourne) this store years ago and it had a wide range of theatre books, the widest I’ve ever seen - although nothing for puppetry. I went there at the start of 2007, and to my dismay, discovered that they had severely cut their theatre section. The two bookstores listed above have a larger selection than this one, even online.
• Readings
  While Readings often has a better selection of theatre books in stock than most Australian bookstores, you will find that they rarely have any puppetry books available. One might happen across The Space Between by Peter Wilson (Puppeteers of America have a better description of the book), but not much else.

Is that it? Really? No more physical bookstores…. Well, this is where the fun part is. The best places for puppetry books are not going to be mainstream brick-and-mortar stores. In fact, puppetry is such a niche market that the mainstream stores wouldn’t find stocking these books to their benefit. But people chuck out old books all the time. So everytime you go past a secondhand bookstore, go in. Look around. I’ve found most of my books this way. And yes, many of them will have been written in the 60s or 70s, but there are some excellent tutorials and guides out there. Two tips for hunting in secondhand bookstores: look in the craft section as well as the theatre/performing arts sections; and always ask the seller if they have any puppetry books. Once I asked the seller, and she found me three books when I had found none. Quite often asking them saves time too, because many don’t or won’t stock puppetry books. So here’s a small list of secondhand bookstores that I frequent; I may not have found puppetry books in some, but they all offer a very good selection of theatre books on a range of topics. Of course, there are hundreds around, so be sure to check any out if you come across them. You never know what you may find! (I will update this list as I come across new stores, or if I remember any more)

• Book Affair, Carlton, Melbourne
  I used to link to their site, but it no longer works. They were huge and in Carlton but a year or so ago they moved stores; from a large two-storey building to a tiny one across the road. As such, their stock shrunk by about 70% and the time I went there they had no craft or theatre section to speak of. Whereas they used to have a room full of books for theatre, it seems as though they will no longer cater to this section anymore. However, I’m keeping them in the list because they also had a few marionettes on the wall, and a very unusual selection of books. Maybe they’ll rebuild their collections, I don’t know.
• Federation Square Book Market, Flinders St, Melbourne
  Every Saturday from 11am-5pm you can find secondhand and specialist books at Fed Square. One of my favourite sellers there has closed up shop, but you may still be able to find something useful. Quite often many of the sellers will have a good selection of plays and other theatre books.
• Old Books/Roycroft Antiquarian Booksellers, 680 High St, Kew (near the Harp junction), Melbourne
  This store has an eclectic range of performing arts books and ephemera. I have only been there once, and haven’t discovered any puppetry books, but one never knows!
• Syber’s Books, 38 Chapel St, Windsor (opposite Windsor train station), Melbourne
  This is my favourite store for puppetry books. They generally have a few books here and there, and I’ve popped in numerous times over the years. You will have pot luck of course, but it’s definitely worth a trip. Check the craft section and theatre section; the owner is always happy to help you find books.
• Word, 1st Floor, Port Philip Arcade, 232 Flinders St, Melbourne
  Opposite the Flinders St station (just a few stores from the pub on the corner), this shop has a good selection of theatre books. I have yet to find any puppetry books there, but it’s worth a look, especially as their more-up-to-date website with items of interest to anyone involved in puppetry ministry.
  

Online sellers

As with all online sales, you should go with people or dealers that you trust. Here’s some places that I have bought puppetry books from with confidence. Additionally, one should check out local puppeteers; many of them sell their own self-published books, scripts and CDs.

• Abebooks
  This website is specifically for secondhand and rare books. This is where I found my copy of Hansjurgen Fettig’s Glove and Rod puppets; more on where to find copies is discussed below.
• As We Grow Learning Toys, Adelaide, Australia
  Sue Dossett provides a small selection via her online store.
  Disclaimer: Sue is a regular advertiser on School of Puppetry.
• Amazon
  Disclaimer: I receive referral fees from Amazon due to book reviews on this site. Amazon is a great source for books, particularly as these days it’s a virtual secondhand bookstore - many people now sell their own books on there when they no longer have a need for them.
• eBay
  Quite often puppetry books will be sold on eBay that will be quite unique. I’ve found a book on making marionettes that came with a set of scale plans; another that had some excellent photos of bunraku; yet another covered shadow puppetry around the world. This is a good place for secondhand or rare puppetry books.
• Mask and Puppet Books, UK
  This is a UK-based company, but has the best selection of puppetry books around outside of Amazon. They include a wide range of guidebooks, magazines, scripts, and other how-to’s. Their prices are very competitive (what you would pay via Amazon), the dealers are courteous and reply quickly to inquiries.
• Puppeteers of America
  The American organisation runs a fantastically well-stocked store, with a wide range of puppetry books. I haven’t bought anything via their online shop, but have bought stuff from them whilst in the US. They also have other items which are hard to find, like reels of marionette string, DVDs, etc.
• Ray and Joan DaSilva’s Puppet Books, UK
  This UK seller is the antique/secondhand counterpart to Mask and Puppet Books. While I haven’t bought from them, they are highly recommended from other people and have an excellent range of secondhand and rare puppetry books.
• Stage Plays
  This UK/US site has a very wide range of theatre books, including a section for puppetry. I have not purchased anything from this store, but it does come highly recommended from other people.

That’s it… if you know of any other good book sellers out there, particularly in other parts of Australia, leave a comment and I’ll add it to the list.

Hansjurgen Fettig

Who is he? A German puppeteer, well known for his book published in the 1970s. The book detailed some of the best diagrams, concepts and methods for building puppets, and Glove and Rod Puppets is considered one of the best books on the craft of puppetry. It has excellent notes on placement of eyes, proportions of faces and bodies, making characters and caricatures. As well as discussing a range of glove puppet and rod puppet building techniques,
with diagrams and instructions for both. From what I’ve skimmed, it’s clear and concise. Which is what makes the book so useful; it’s ideal for both novice builders and more experienced people. However, it’s a rare and out-of-print book, and as such lots of people ask how to get their hands on a copy.

Puppets and Stuff had some good info on the book:

Glove and Rod Puppets is the older of Fettig’s two books which have been translated into English, having been published in the original German in 1973, and English in 1974. Rod and Tabletop Puppets, (I think that’s the title), was published in the original German in the mid-Nineties, (1995?), and translated into English the following year. Both books are out of print, and therefore no longer available from their original publishers. I don’t know if Fettig wrote other books on puppetry which are available only in German, or languages besides English. …The books were originally published in German, but I’m not sure what other translations are available besides English. To tell you the truth, Fettig’s illustrations say as much as his words, so even if you can only find a copy in a language you don’t read, it might still be worth it to you. Buying the books can be very expensive. According to the publisher, Ray DaSilva, the English-language version of the second book was issued in a limited edition of only 1,000 copies, and then permission was withdrawn by the author to go back to the presses to print additional copies. The older book is much slimmer, (something like 110 pages), and used copies go for around US$100, the last I heard. The second book is around 350 pages in size, and reprises much of the information and illustrations from the first book, but adds a lot more autobigraphical material from Fettig, as well as sections by and about other puppet makers. The person I talked to said that used copies of the second book, Rod and Tabletop Puppets, is selling for £75 (British Pounds Sterling), or around US$150. These prices aren’t fixed. When it comes to rare books, sellers usually charge what the market can bear.

One smart woman did some sleuthing and got in contact with the original publishers; she discovered that the German translation is still available for 40 euros (this was learned in July ‘08, so it might not be true anymore), but it’s unlikely that an English reprint will be offered. There are some copyright issues to be worked out in order to have it reprinted.

The best thing to do is to set up a Google Alert, which will email you when the title of the book or the author name appears in search results. This way you can find new product listings on a range of websites without having to do much work. Mostly, it’s about patience: I set up such an alert and waited about 6 months until a copy appeared on Abebooks (listed above). Ray Dasilva, also listed above, may have copies from time to time. Some other suggestions are given at Puppets and Stuff at the thread listed above, but by far the best thing to do is some regular checks on secondhand book websites or with rare book dealers. As soon as the book is listed it will get snatched up quickly! Some libraries may also have copies, so that may be worth checking out as well, but try larger catalogues first as it’s a niche item.