Rare Books Uncovered
by Rebecca Rego Barry
(Minneapolis: Voyageur, 2015)
Rarity or significance does not as a rule come from the rag content of the material object … or by the cut and number of carats gleaming on its face, but by value that is determined subjectively through context and scarcity.
Page 7.
If ever there was an impulse to collect that appeals directly to the intellect, it is the urge to acquire and possess books and their various cousins, manuscripts, printed ephemera, prints, and the like.
Page 7.
One of the many beauties of book collecting is that it is an activity that can be enjoyed, and mastered, at any level.
Page 8.
Such is the way with book scouts. They go about their jobs discreetly, and the only way to get ahold of them is to know someone who knows them.
Page 17.
“I look … . That is the great pleasure.”
Page 20.
Incunabula is Latin for “in the cradle,” and it generally refers to books printed before 1501. Any book from this era would be considered an incredible find.
Page 23.
Private press also sometimes called fine press, refers to a type of publisher that prints only books of her or his own choosing, often with an eye toward artistic rather than financial goals. The books typically have high production values, are limited to a certain number of editions, and are sometimes sold by subscription.
Page 43.
Ever since he was a child, Bishop felt a zeal for collecting. At the time it was rocks, fossils, insects, and coins. “I think it instills in you the sense of trying to find things and focusing and what it means to have things adhere to one another by virtue of the fact they they’ve got their own shelf.”
Page 48.
For some people, the desire to collect seems to be innate from a very early age, they procure, organize, and fetishize objects, form fossils to fine art. Others, however, are simply yapped at just the right moment or by the right person.
Page 49.
People who care about books serve as stewards for these things.
Page 69.
If they’re of value to somebody, they deserve to be preserved.
Page 70.
It’s a pleasure to find things by surprise and stumble upon books I didn’t even know existed.
Page 80.
Knowledge - whether wisdom gained through years of reading or the intelligence to check the right reference sources - is a necessity in the successful buying and selling of rare books.
Page 86.
“The single most interesting part about selling is learning what is collectible, and how little relationship there is between value and, say, prestige.”
Page 113.
For better or for worse, serendipity plays a significant role in antiquarian book collecting and bookselling.
Page 115.
The best book-collecting advice is to collect what you love and become the expert in that sphere.
Page 119.
In terms of financial value, family bibles are the bane of antiquarian booksellers everywhere.
Page 126.
As a book dealer, you’re often buying things which people have seen before.
Page 130.
Scholars tell us that Shakespeare and his contemporaries would have used secretary hand, a loopy style accomplished with strong up and down strokes of the pen, although there is so little evidence where Shakespeare is concerned that’s it (sic) tough to pin down what his penmanship was like.
Page 139.
People fail to realize how many old books have survived and how many discoveries are still possible.
Page 141.
By definition, a miniature book should be no larger than three inches in height, width, or thickness.
Page 167.
He likened the best booksellers to “foster parents.”
Page 170.
Antiquarian bookselling was - and still is - based on the notion of apprenticeship.
Page 171.
Like many people with collecting mania, he said, he has books he would never sell, books he’s trying to sell, and then a gray area where items might be traded or sold for the right price.
Page 175.
A blurred boundary exists between books and art. … Those who are drawn to drawing, photography, and prints typically have a crossover interest in books, and vice versa.
Page 179.
Money comes and goes, it is just a means to something else and is temporary …. But books last forever.
Page 187.
Throughout history, the most vicious destroyers of great libraries have been fire and warfare, or a combination thereof.
Page 188.
Books can be portable, they can be personal objects.
Page 204.
One of the unspoken doctrines of the rare book business is that once a copy of a certain scarce or truly rare item materialized, it often prompts a second or third such find.
Page 209.
A successful book scout accumulates many small wins over years and decades but probably only a few major triumphs.
Page 228.
In the book world migration is healthy: old pages await new eyes.
Page 235.
In real estate they say, “Location, location, location.” In book collecting the mantra is “Condition, condition, condition.” Which is to say, no matter what you find, the condition of the binding, the paper, and the dust jacket (when issued with one) are of supreme importance if financial gain is the goal.
Page 238.
It’s important to note that not all readers are collectors, and not all collectors are readers (blasphemy!)
Page 239.
Those who love to read are apt to desire a closer relationship to the author or to the text, which often drives a need for a copy of the book in its original form.
Page 239.
Most anyone in the business will tell you to collect what appeals to you personally: a specific subject, author, illustrator, publisher, binder - you name it.
Page 239.
The most obvious way to join the ranks is to visit secondhand (sic) bookshops and tell the proprietor what you’re collecting.
Page 240.