Fun, if slightly bizarre, reading...

If you have ever wanted to read a great deal of Holmes *and* gather WAY more information than you knew existed about Holmes, have I got the book for you. I am currently reading, "The Annotated Sherlock Holmes," which consists of the four novels and all fifty-six short stories in the Sherlockian cannon. In case the sheer volume of that is not enought to sate your passion, it is completely annotated (as the name implies). The amount and density of the information is...almost painful. Joking aside, it is an amazing way to (re)read Holmes...great fun.

Interesting find....

I examined a wonderful bit of history today. It was the journal of a Maine lawyer in the late 1800s. The first part embodies his law school notes, approximately half the journal. Then, starting several pages after the end of those notes, is a ledger titled, “Expense Fitting up Law Office.” There he notes every expense from the $0.04 for sand paper to $3.00 for an office table to the $20.00 for “Admission fee to practice law (father paid).” He then used it as his accounts ledger where he records all his billable time from $0.25 for “Pension Services” on up (his highest single bill was $13.00).

In an entry dated Sept. 19, 1889, he writes, “My first year as an attorney at law closes today, Sept. 19, and during that period my income amounts to $120.25 as legitimate law practice, not including salary as solicitor of the City of Rockland now due but not drawn of $75.00 up to date.”

It was a great read and, with luck, will be living at the U. of M. Law Library in the not too distant future.

A few more thoughts on the chain of knowledge...

Just a quick note on the transfer of book knowledge. I have had a conversation or two in the last few days about this and the more I think about it, the more I think one of the most significant, negative effects of the web on the profession of book dealing is the very real loss of “chair time”…the time one dealer would/will spend in the shop of another. This is especially important for the young dealer, as this is where a great deal of knowledge and background and skills are learned and honed.

I mentioned Priscilla Juvelis yesterday…spending time with her is a great example of the knowledge chain I am speaking of. She spent a year at the beginning of her professional career working with and for John Fleming and published her first major catalog in partnership with him. John, in turn, began working for ASW Rosenbach when he was 15 years old and never looked back. There is a remarkable depth of knowledge that flows through that chain.

It is not that such information and connections are not still available, it is just that the nature of connection and connectivity has changed a great deal and the infrastructure for passing on such information and/or developing those relationships has not really changed in keeping. It will be interesting to see if/when the state/regional book associations (MABA, MARIAB, etc.) and the nationals (ABAA, IOBA, etc.) begin stepping up and into this role. It seems to me that they would be well served to do so…both in terms of the credibility and value for the profession and in terms of “bringing up” the next generation of professional dealers. More on this, with luck more clearly stated, to follow.

Updated book blog list....

So I am trying to update the book blog list...any missing members would be greatly appreciated.

Bookfinder's Blog (I am partial as they mentioned this blog a while ago)

Book Ninja (funny, sharp and not recently updated)

Cat's Cradle blog (no recent posts, but some nice content...perhaps they shall return)

Used Book blog (also not recently updated...a trend, perchance)

Beggars of Azure (runs a brick and mortar shop, writes well, posts with some frequency *and* is a fan of A.E. Newton...what more could one ask for)

There are others...I will try to track some down...with luck, some that actually post with some degree of regularity.

Addendum:
Rasputina's Rare Books (appears to be a collector's site, lovely images of some of her times)

Novel Gazing (In 1999, she won the Isaac Asimov Award for Undergraduate Excellence in Science Fiction and Fantasy Writing and gave up physics for writing...engaging)

A Bookseller's Journal (interesting and updated frequently)

The Bookologist (online resource newsletter in blog form for online sellers...good info generally as well.)

Rare Book News (A really nice spot to keep a finger on bits of signficant news in the rare book world)

Using Books (a great blog on books and bookselling (and he rants less than I, a big plus))

Great night at the Baxter...

We just attended an wonderful presentation at the Baxter Society. The speaker was Thomas Lange, the retired Curator of Rare Books at the the Huntington Library and an avid collector. He told great stories and, best of all, brought some really wonderful show and tell items (e.g. a first, second and third edition of Lear’s, Nonsense Stories). Prior to the Huntington, he did stints in Princeton’s Special Collections and at the Morgan Library.

Also in attendance this evening was Roger Stoddard (retired Head of Rare Books at Harvard’s Houghton Library), Priscilla Juvelis (ex head of the ABAA and noted dealer of rare books and book art) and usual crew of Maine book and book arts lovers. It is a really great group of people. It is so great to spend time with so many people who just love everything about the book…and to have something that is such fun to look forward to each month.

Fine Books' new advertiser...

Well, our first foray into the world of advertising is in print. This month’s September/October issue of Fine Books & Collections magazine includes our ad in a wonderful location. We secured, by luck, good will and kismet, a location on second page of Nicholas Basbane’s regular article. We could not ask for better placement and I think the ad looks great. Given our focus on collection and library development, is is also great that we could “debut” in an issue that focuses on the First Annual Collegiate Book-Collecting Championship.

We have already received some really positive feedback and are very pleased with the response and reaction the ad seems to be drawing. Fine Books, if you are not familiar with it, is arguably one of the best journals on the book and collecting currently published (that it is one of the very few is immaterial). If you do not subscribe, I strongly encourage it. We need to support them, just as they support the community.

ABAA Fellow???

I have every intention of becoming an member. I believe, strongly, that it is important for the profession having a stated code of ethics as is actually holding members to that code. I do believe that being able to say you are an ABAA member really does “mean” something and I look forward to being able to join when I am eligible.
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For very good reasons, among the eligibility requirements is the need to be in business for at least 4 years (in addition to a reasonable number of other, relatively strenuous, requirements). I do not object to this at all, as I understand the purpose. However, I think some interim status could be truly beneficial…both to the ABAA itself and to emerging dealers.

I propose that there be some interim status, for here, we can call it “ABAA Fellows.” To be eligible you might need to be in business for 2 years, be sponsored by at least two ABAA members in good standing and be willing to take on mentor member. Perhaps there could be programs and/or materials made available for such Fellows.

My thought, in this, is that one of the real “loses” in the evolution of the web as one of the primary vending points of used/rare/fine books is the loss of “learning at the knee” of an older, established, dealer. It seems to me that no one is better placed, or has a more vested interest, in seeing that the next generation of dealers *knows* stuff than the ABAA. Part of their mission, if it is not already so, should really be focused on cultivating, training and supporting the next generation of dealers.

As it is now, it seems that the ABAA’s position is, “if you can last four years and not be a complete fraud, we will consider you for admission.” I suggest it should look at the middle ground and find some way support emerging dealers who are striving to provide a level of service and professionalism second to none. I will happily wait the next two or so years before I am eligible to join. I just wish I could be doing something in the interim that would make me feel like I was moving toward it…not chronologically, but professionally.

Upcoming fairs...

We will be showing at two fairs in the near future:
October 15, North Hampton, MA is the Pioneer Valley Antiquarian Book and Ephemera Fair. This event is one of the two annual MARIAB events and should be well attended with a great collection of dealers.
October 29, Boston MA is the Boston Book, Print and Ephemera Fair. This show coincides with the ABAA's Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair (Oct. 28-30), which is to say that it will be a great weekend to be a booklover in Boston.

If you have not attended a book fair or two, I really recommend doing your best to attend one (or several). There is almost nowhere else where you can get a great roomful of a few dozen book dealers together, such a wide variety of books and so many interested book lovers in one place. There are things you can only learn with a book in hand and someone to share the info and you have to spend a long time haunting shops to find the variety (on all fronts) that you'll find at better fairs...and they're strangely fun, too.

I have some coupons to both, so if you think you'll attend, let me know and I'll drop one or two in the post.

An apology...

I am sorry for the long, inexcusable delay in posting. Thank you to the handful of apparently wildly bored readers who emailed to complain. Things have been extremely busy on many fronts...most of them good. One example can be found in the pages of Fine Books Magazine. I will do my very best to fill in the void I have created in the very near future. I have outlines of a fair number of posts I *meant* to put up...with luck, most will life in the next few days or so.

One quick note, is there anything better than getting notes or emails expressing pleasure in a new purchase? I just recieved, in part:

"I do not believe I've ever had a bookseller do as fine a job of packing a book purchase as the one you did. Also, the books are in incredible condition! I am extremely pleased with them."

This from a man who has been collecting for many years and through many dealers...it really just makes your day.