The Pursuit of the Collectible Book
I remember the first old book that I ever bought.
I was about 14 years old and was rummaging around a thrift shop in Owego, NY. This would have been sometime in 1975. At the time I was becoming active in Revolutionary War reenactments and would often scrounge around such places to find items to fill out my kit. Hidden amongst the piles of recent second-hand books was a thin little volume, entitled “The North American Arithmetic. First Part for Young Learners.” Printed in 1838, the book fascinated me because it was old.
It was also cheap, a quality to which my fascinations were limited. (That is not a comment on my high school dating years.)
The book cost me a buck, was full of delightful engravings and was printed on funny thick paper. I remember it so clearly because, well, I am holding it in my hand now.
I have bought and sold thousands of books over the years, but this is part of my personal book collection. It has special meaning to me, I commence to wax nostalgic when considering the circumstances of its purchase; I LIKE it. It isn’t all that valuable today. The condition isn’t that great – I might get 20 bucks for it on a good day. But I LIKE it.
So marks the beginning of your own pursuit of the collectible book. What do you like? You need not justify your book collecting interests to anyone but yourself. Do you appreciate rare books because of their rarity? Do leather bindings fascinate you? Are you interested in history, travel, the arts, music, &c.? Is modern fiction more to your liking? Collect books along the lines of your own interests, to satisfy yourself. Make your collection your own.
Since choosing to be a bookman, finding books for resale has become a constant passion. I love finding books, and finding LOTS of books.
I don’t keep many of them for myself anymore. My personal collection consists mainly of bibliographic material that helps me to do research. And Solzhenitsyn titles, books by G. K. Chesterton, the Greek and Latin church fathers, A. Edward Newton, bookseller biographies, accounts of Mt. Athos in Greece…ok, more than bibliographic material.
But I love the actual hunt. I like to discover hidden archives and bring them into view. It is a thrill to wander through the unwanted donations of a large library and purchase the lot for resale to my customers. We have been privileged to be the exclusive buyer for such 5 times so far in our career. And there are other places. I was bowled over in 1998 after receiving an invitation to go through the collection of someone who had saved books for over 50 years in hopes of one day opening a bookstore. That collection was housed in the upper story of a clean and dry barn, and the barn was full!
Where can you find them? eBay is an excellent resource. I am able to purchase books on eBay for resale, and I do it constantly. This tells you that in many cases you can buy what you are after at a wholesale price. Try searching for specific books at addall.com. Use them for comparative pricing. If you know what you are after, amazon or alibris are great places to search. Go to your local library sales. When out to yard sales, ask if there are any old books in the house. You will be surprised at what turns up. Buy what interests you, just because it interests you.
Join in the pursuit of the collectible book!
