Digital media for analog tasks

No, it’s not the New York Public Library.

It’s Searles Castle, situated amidst the beautiful rolling hills of Great Barrington Mass,

setting of the 18th annual Book Fair at Searles Castle, promoted by Bernice Bornstein of Bornstein Shows. It’s Friday afternoon, setup time for the forty or so dealers who are exhibiting here. As usual, Bernice has overbooked the show by two or three slots.

She’s running around in a panic while the rest of us load in, trying to stay out of the way of the two or three very pissed off dealers who have arrived to find that their booths have been moved to a basement hallway.

And, as usual, stalwarts Gary and Hutch – dealers Garry Austin and Bill Hutchison - take over for frazzled Bernice and figure out a win-win solution for the challenging Rubik Cube bookfair floor layout problem. Bernice is lucky to have them as a resource at her shows. Garry is a veteran promoter and Hutch is one of those guys who does the NY Times crossword puzzle in pen in 10 minutes. By the end of the day everyone’s happy.

Everyone, that is, except me. After five hours of scouting the floor, I’ve found exactly two things to buy, and they were items that had been offered to me two weeks before, which I was unable to pick up because of my shoulder surgery.

This reminds me once again what an important factor luck is in our business. You can be prepared, diligent and hard working, but without a bit of luck, all the diligence in the world won’t help.

In general, the material on offer at this show seems high quality and well chosen. Dealers who do this show – set at the highpoint of Berkshire/Tanglewood vacation season - know they are dealing with a sophisticated crowd with disposable income, and they try to bring their most attractive offerings. It just so happened, this year, that none of these offerings pertained to maritime history. There was nothing to do but take my lumps and hope for better luck next week, scouting the Vermont Antiquarian Book Fair up in Brattleborough.

While I was moping around the floor trying not to be too surly to my colleagues, I remembered that I had purchased a wonderful piece of folk art here last year. And this recollection inspired a rather surprising realization.

I’d done a blog entry about that piece of folk art last year on August 4th. (HAND PAINTED POLITICAL CARTOON CONDEMNING JAMES MADISON AND HIS TAX POLICY DURING THE WAR OF 1812.)

That meant I’d been doing this blog for more than a year – fifty three posts, to be exact - which meant my blog was starting to get traction as a historical record of the antiquarian book trade.

Now I’m reporting on events that I covered a year ago and, along with noting the particulars of each year’s events, I can compare all sorts of factors that might affect our trade. The digital blogging format is so clean, so simple to use and access – much easier, actually, than pencil and paper. Unless the Internet blows up, the information in my blog will be more efficiently preserved and more universally accessible than any hard copy journal (with pictures pasted in?) that I might otherwise have used to keep a record of my adventures in the trade.

In effect, I’m using a digital medium (my web based blog) for an analog task (keeping a bookselling journal.) There’s a certain postmodern irony to this that tickles me.

Anyway, for the record, the crowd (left to right - Peter Stern, Natalie Bauman, and Bernice)

was well heeled, in a buying mood, and steady all day. Also, for the record, here’s what I bought.

(Print) US SLOOP OF WAR JAMESTOWN. CAPTAIN R.B. FORBES (with) AN INTERESTING MEMOIR OF THE JAMESTOWN VOYAGE TO IRELAND OF THE LATE R.B. FORBES. (Bos.) 1890. 15 pp. b/w frontis. Robert Bennett Forbes is one of the great characters in American maritime history. He made his first trip to China at age 13; at 20 he received command of his own ship for a 3 year voyage around the world; by age 30 he had made a fortune; by age 34 lost nearly all of it, and then by age 36 regained it. In later years he became a ship owner and builder and was responsible for improvements in lifesaving devices and ships’ rigs. He also wrote his autobiography, which is a rich source of information on the China Trade, and a terrific read. In 1847, on the heels of the Irish famine, Congress authorized two warships, the Jamestown and the Macedonian, to carry supplies to Ireland to help relieve the distress of the Irish people. Forbes volunteered to captain the Jamestown. This lot consists of a rare colored lithograph by Atkinson and Scruggs dated 1847 of the Jamestown arriving at the port of Cobh in Ireland. Image size is 20 x 16 inches. Matted and framed, under glass. The pamphlet is also scarce. It was published by, James B. Cullen as the first in a series of pamphlets devoted to historical oddities, and in honor of Forbes who had died in 1889. It is bound in half morocco over marbled boards, with wraps bound in. $1250

and…

(Print) THE GROSVENOR, EAST INDIAMAN. This print commemorates a famous shipwreck which took place off the African coast in 1782. 132 passengers made it ashore, but only 18 survived starvation, thirst, exposure and harassment by natives. This 1784 aquatint by Pollard and Wilson measures approximately 21 x 17 inches. It is in brilliant condition. Matted and framed, under glass. $750

Next week… The Vermont Antiquarian Book Fair or, What Am I Doing Here?

Never Too Late

Burgues, "Installation des Vaisseaux". (1798) More info below

Closing in on the final stages of getting ready to pull the permits and secure the variances that will allow us to prepare to start building our new gallery and shop. Sounds torturous doesn’t it? Because we’re building a commercial structure there have been many, many unexpected regulatory hoops to jump through, involving plumbing, access, structural engineering, fire safety, and drainage. Seems like every agency in the city needs to issue us a permit of some kind or other, and those things ain’t cheap, folks!

We’ve also been soliciting bids from the different contractors who will be involved in the project – landscapers, demolition people, excavators, concrete guys, carpenters, plumbers, electricians, and HVAC specialists. The process has been enlightening.

Every contractor wants to get the job, of course, and each of them has his own way of playing the game. Some just bang the estimate out by the square foot, producing a low number that will inevitably rise; some drive you nuts by seeking to micro-manage every detail, resulting in a mostly incomprehensible list of specifications that make it impossible to compare their bid with anyone else’s; some game the process by saying, “tell me the lowest bid and I’ll beat it;” some throw their hands up and try to convince you that the best deal would be for you to hire them by the hour, on a cost plus basis. A few - a very few - look you in the eye, explain what they can and cannot do, give you some idea of what you’re paying for labor, and break down expected material costs and overruns.

On the whole it’s been an interesting study in human psychology. But because of the feeling of being continually gamed, it’s not one I’d care to repeat.

My experience with the building trade has gotten me thinking about my own trade. I’ve been struck by the way this slightly uncomfortable process resembles the ordeal the novice endures when selling a library or buying an expensive book or manuscript.

Suppose you’re charged with acquiring a rare book as a retirement gift for the head of your department at work. Or suppose your aunt dies, leaving you with the task of selling her lifetime collection of Victorian children’s books. You fire up the computer, get on the phone, and suddenly you’re surrounded by any number of dealers, each of whom is trying to gain the advantage. You, meanwhile, know nothing about whatever it is you’re trying to buy or sell, and feel overwhelmed by a dizzying array of numbers, terms and possibilities. You move quickly from overwhelmed to slightly suspicious to slightly more annoyed to wishing you could just get the damned business done.

As the years go by we tend to take the details of our trade for granted. But to someone who is not familiar with our world the book business is a swamp of esoteric terminology, arcane bits of knowledge and bizarre financial contortions. Despite energetic PR campaigns by auction houses and the fondest hopes of the database jockeys over at Americana Exchange, the market is anything but transparent.

Over the course of my career I’ve been involved, as a dealer, in hundreds of transactions with inexperienced civilians. Now that I know how it feels to be on the other side, I’m going to put a little more work into emulating that “look you in the eye” contractor. It’s never too late for good karma.

Meanwhile, in the hard-knock life of the antiquarian book world… My arm is still in a sling, so I can’t drive. But I found a perfect excuse to pass another week without having to endure the drudgery of trying to learn to buy books on the Internet.

On Thursday and Friday, July 21st and 22nd, Eldred’s Auctions held a huge two day auction of marine and export art, books, manuscripts, and antiques.

Accordingly, I devoted Monday and Tuesday to studying the catalog – hard copy, of course - all marked up with my scribbled comments and coded price estimates. Then on Wednesday I got my dear long-suffering wife to drive me out to East Dennis on Cape Cod to preview the goods.








I loathe auctions, especially these summertime sales that are as much social affairs as business deals. White pants and straw hats. So I left my bids, sixteen of them. Then after an excellent lunch with fellow maritime book dealer Dick Hawkins at Columbia Trading Company, schlepped back home with Anne Marie.

I must say, I was a little glum on the ride to Gloucester. After the exhilarating experience of handling those lovely books and manuscripts it was a downer to realize I probably wouldn’t be able to buy much of what I wanted. Bob Eldred has been running these summer maritime auctions since the 1960s, and by now has accumulated a world class clientele. I knew there’d be a lot of money bidding against me. Prices would be at retail and above. I didn’t stand much of a chance.

But something funny happened. As expected the art and antiques went for top dollar. But nobody seemed particularly interested in the books. I won eleven of my sixteen left bids, almost all of them going for less than my limit.

I’ve been saying for years that people are losing interest in books (in favor of visual items such as maps and broadsides). But it’s a little frightening to see my dire prediction played out in the marketplace.

Maybe I should’ve gotten into the construction business.

Here's one of the nicest books I bought at Eldred's:

Burgues de Missiessy. INSTALLATION DES VAISSEUX. Paris An VI (1798). 4to, xii, 403, (1) pp. Design and construction of a 74 gun frigate, showing full hull construction, bow and stern views, deck arrangement and interiors. A scarce book. Polak 1322. Scott 456. Light water stain on lower edges of pages, but still a very nice copy, with eight folding engraved plates. Bound in original full calf with gilt spine decorations. $2750

Next week… How to continue avoiding learning to buy books on the Internet. And our special feature – Things you are surprised to learn you cannot do with only one hand.

Something to Feel Good About

“Journal of a Whale Voyage to the Pacific Ocean on Board the Ship Samuel Wright, John Pitman Master. Kept by Wm. E. Percival Second. June 14, 1833 – Sept. 8, 1837.” (more below)

Shoulder surgery July 8, to be followed by a month in a sling. No driving, hence no book scouting. The plan was to spend this interval learning how to scout books on the Internet, and to report on my progress in this blog each week.

What was I thinking?

My first five minutes on eBay were excruciatingly boring. Then over to Americana Exchange, which I’d vowed to master. Three minutes was about all I could take. I’ll just have to face the fact that it really IS hard to teach an old dog new tricks.

But there was enough going on in the analog world to make me forget the Internet for a while.

Seems an anonymous donor had given a whaling log to the Friends of the Library Sale in Newtown, CT. John Renjilian of Pages of Yesteryear (he volunteers at the sale) sent me an email about the log. He told me the book was priced at $3500 and would be put out Saturday morning along with the rest of the book sale merchandise. First come, first served. If I wanted to be sure to get it, I’d better show up early. He then politely refused my bribe offer,

Of course I was going to be in the hospital getting my new shoulder. So I called my pal Orv Haberman of Connecticut River Books and he kindly offered to get in line at the sale and try to snag the log. A little later I had a similar conversation with Brian Bilby of Appledore Books who graciously offered to be Orv’s backup.

Long story short, as they say, my cellphone went off at 9 AM last Saturday morning as I lay in my hospital bed picking away post-op cobwebs. Orv had gotten the whaling log.

When he delivered the book a few days ago he told me about the library sale. What an eye opener!

The Friends of the C.H. Booth Library sale was established 36 years ago. After a year or two they realized they’d better start getting serious if they wanted to make any money for the library. Now they have more than 30 volunteers including a publicist. Over 100 people help out on the day of the sale. They work all year gathering books and generating publicity, and they take almost everything they are offered, often driving considerable distances to make pickups. None of the books are creamed off before the sale (hence the rejection of my $1000 bribe), and none of the volunteers, not even Renjilian, are allowed to take books before the sale opens. They’re very strict about this, and over the years the sale has gotten the reputation of being one of the few in which the stock is fresh and unpicked.

This year, according to John, there were about 140,000 books on offer. More than 1200 people paid the first day $5 admission. All the books were priced and the price decreased each day until the fifth day when the remaining books were offered for free. Incredibly, almost every one of those 140,000 volumes found a home. At the end of the five days, a mere 14 tables of merchandise remained.

My whaling log, I learned, was essentially a publicity hook. Articles about it appeared in local papers, the Newtown Bee, and even Americana Exchange. Indeed, it seemed as if everyone in the western world had heard about the whaling log on sale at the Newtown Library book sale. Renjilian said it was the best advertising the sale could have gotten.

It’s nice to know that smart, dedicated and energetic volunteers can raise enough money to keep a library afloat. It’s even more gratifying to know that there were buyers for all those books.

Sure, many of the customers were collectors or casual readers, but by John Renjilian’s estimate, about 60% of the attendees were dealers. A few of them, he said, were people we’d know from the trade. But the majority were from a new generation of dealers. Not younger necessarily, but newer to the business. Take a look at the Member Directory for a group like IOBA (Independent Online Booksellers Association). Suddenly it seems there are an awful lot of people out there making livings, or even parts of livings, at this difficult job.

I’ve been whining for years about the demise of the trade. Examples like the Newtown sale suggest that the book business may be healthier than I’d imagined – not dying at all, but morphing into new forms, finding new venues, developing new customers.

Just think about it – 100,000 volumes, give or take, absorbed by dealers and retail customers at one sale over a single long weekend. Sounds pretty healthy to me.

Or maybe it’s just the percocets kicking in.


"The Samuel Wright was a 372 ton ship from Salem, Mass. She fished a little over three years in the Pacific and returned 2000 bbl. sperm oil. Following her departure June 14, she made the Azores July, and killed her first whale July 20. She rounded the Horn at the end of September and spent her entire cruise on the line and the coast of Peru. Saturday, October 5, 1833 “at 7 AM lost overboard James B Drew brought the ship to the wind and lowered a boat but could not save him he was a very interesting youth aged about 14.” The log skips Apr. 1834 – May 1835, and resumes west of the Galapagos with 1300 sperm. On October 15, 1835, Percival records, “28 months out 1650 barrels.” December 23, 1835, “30 months out and only 1,800 barrels of oil, well never mind shall get more in someday.” They wintered each season at Tumbes. “Sunday, Dec 20, 1835. shall probably get in tomorrow and then what; why all hands will go ashore and have a high time and when they get through with it they will feel worse than before well never mind we shall get home in the course of 12 months.” And so they did, heading home at the end of July, “squall on one side and cook playing the fiddle on other.” Pages at the end include an interesting recipe for the 'Cure of Cancer.' $6000"

Bone on Bone

Fate has pitched me a curveball, folks.

For years I’ve had a bad right shoulder, probably the result of a mis-spent youth painting houses instead of studying library science or apprenticing with A.S.W. Rosenbach. Suddenly it got really bad – pain and no range of motion - and I went to see the doc. “Bone on bone arthritis,” he told me, “With bone spurs, arthritic damage and deposits, and a frayed rotator cuff. We’d better get you a new one.”

So in I go, this Friday, for a new shoulder. They tell me I’ll be laid up for 4 to 6 weeks. No driving. So how am I going to conduct my business, buy and sell my books, make my living? Feed my family?

Easy! I’m going to contact all my Internet-savvy friends and find out how they buy books online. ABE, eBay, Craig’s list, iGavel, and every grungy bookseller listserv, auction and marketplace known to man. I’m going to wheedle advice from my more knowledgeable compatriots, and try everything they tell me.

Each week, as part of this blog, I’ll tell you what I’ve learned, if I was able to apply it, and how well it worked. Typing with one hand, I should be plenty busy during my recovery, though the blog might be a little short on pictures.

So if you’ve got any tips for navigating Americana Exchange, searching eBay, or, gaming ABE, take pity on a poor wounded vet and send me your secret tips for Turning Spare Time Into Intenet Gold.

Meanwhile, back in the cynical, hardnosed world of rare maritime books and manuscripts, here’s a wonderful manuscript item that just came in. It was scouted up by a colleague who saw a small ad for an auction in a good neighborhood, got in his car at 4 AM and drove hard, arriving just as the auction began. His gamble was rewarded with:Manuscript. PRIZE BOOK FOR THE PRIVATEER AMERICA ON HER THIRD CRUISE, JANUARY 17 - MARCH 12, 1814. WITH SUMMARIES OF HER FIRST TWO CRUISES. 12mo. 11 pages manuscript entries. The ship America, owned by the Crowninshield family of Salem, was one of the most successful and famous privateers in the War of 1812. A merchantman built in 1804, she was razeed and reinforced at the outbreak of hostilities, raising her tonnage from 473 to nearly 600 tons. She carried twenty guns and 150 men. Her first cruise, a successful one, began on September 7, 1812. The second cruise, March 29, 1813, was also successful, but shortened by lack of supplies. The third cruise, whose results are detailed in this book, began December 3, 1813, under Captain James Cheever, Jr. After two near mishaps - pouncing on strangers who turned out to be British warships - Cheever and the America lucked into a convoy of 140 sail and fed like a hungry wolf. This was followed by good hunting in February and March, before the America returned to Salem on April 8, 1815. Over her three cruises she landed twenty-five prizes returning $1,100,000 to her shareholders. Ten of them are recorded here, in considerable detail. The author of this book records type of vessel, master, cargo, location of capture and the names of the prize crew put on the captured vessel. The final three pages of the book summarize the results of the first and second cruise. The only similar documents I’ve seen are folio ledger sheets tallying prizes. This is a more immediate kind of record, probably made at the end of the final cruise. Pages clean and legible. In beautiful condition, absolutely contemporary, on paper watermarked 1808. $3000

Next week: Things you can do with one hand.