Tag Archives: booksellers

Meditations and Maunderings

Taking Out The Trash

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I recycle my un-saleable books at our local recycling center, still affectionately known to locals as The Dump. One time I was there throwing out boxes of old, ratty, mass market paperbacks, heaving them into the paper recycling bin. An older lady waited until I had finished my chore, then proceeded to climb right into the bin and start to heave most of them back out. I asked her what she thought she was doing. She said she was getting them for one of the local non-profits who had a free book-exchange shelf. I knew darn well that I would end up rejecting those books all over again from hopeful sellers. At one point I even started tearing them up to discourage the dump-picking. Looking back, I don’t know who was crazier, her for picking books out of a dumpster, or me for being so anal about keeping those books from coming back to my store.

Another time I got a call from a guy who swore he had a van full of nothing but ‘primo’ books in great condition – very valuable. He said he needed money to pay his bills.

After an hour’s drive, this guy wheeled into the parking lot in a van so loaded the bumper scraped the road when he made the turn. He had over forty cartons of books, which he proceeded to unload onto the front porch. It took me over four hours to sort through the stuff, hoping in vain to find something decent, but most of the boxes were full of damp, mildewed books, mouse droppings, mold and dirt. I bought about thirty books and that only because I felt sorry for him. He was trying to sell stuff out of those boxes to my customers for several hours before I made him load up and leave. Another lesson learned.

As an aside to this story, I have found through much experience that people who bring books in using big old trash bags are usually bringing just that – trash. I have found that the time and labor involved in going through the bags is usually not worth it. However, neatly packed and stacked books in shopping bagss are usually much better. But the best thing I love to see coming into my store are nice clean books in clean, neatly packed boxes.

Buying & Collecting Books

Let’s Go To The Book Fair!

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Why attend an Antiquarian book fair? What is a book fair?

A book fair is a place where various booksellers gather in one location and display some of their very best and most interesting materials. Why do booksellers bring their best? Because book fairs usually last for only a day or two, and booksellers have to pack and move books to the book fair, unpack and shelve the books, then pack up and move the books back to their shop where they are unpacked and shelved yet again. So, in order to get the most “bang” for their efforts, booksellers tend to bring books that are of a better quality or may be a little more scarce, and usually carry a higher price tag than more common books.

You will find a wide variety of books in a relatively small space at a book fair. Even a small fair will have thirty or more booksellers exhibiting their treasures. A collector can connect with dozens of booksellers from all over, looking over the merchandise and inquiring about any titles they might be looking for. The books range from very old to almost new, in a wide range of conditions and prices. People even collect books for their bindings, some of which are a work of art in themselves.

Even if you are not a collector (yet), go to a book fair if you can. There is usually a small admission charge, but it is well worth the minimal expense. Look for books by a favorite author, or books you read as a child or youth. How about dust jacket cover artwork? Look at the various types of book bindings to be found, particularly on some of the old leather-bound books you will see. Talk to the booksellers and other customers. Most booksellers have a favorite author, famous person, subject or genre. I know of one bookseller whose favorite author is Jane Austen, and another who loves anything about the history of the Roosevelt family, particularly Teddy Roosevelt. Some booksellers specialize in rare books, others in fine bindings. You will see booths full of poetry, science fiction or vintage children’s books. At some book fairs, such as those sponsored by the Vermont Antiquarian Booksellers Association, you will see dealers of art, postcards, maps, pamphlets and other ephemera such as vintage advertising art, magazines and comic books.