Thanks, Ann! Darrel actually rents a storage space as well. Clearly, the digital age has taken a toll on the new and used book business, no doubt about it, but there are other factors that weakened the used book business and the collectable market.
Firstly, the generation of younger dealers and collectors following my husband’s generation changed. Many, of course not all, of the younger collectors really just wanted “hot books” that sold. They didn’t have an interest in a comprehensive collection of a single author—many because they weren’t interested in authors—they were mainly interested in collectable editions that could be turned over for investment. The book dealers of my husband’s generation (Darrel’s 70), really loved books, many were classic bibliophiles— and spent much of their time scouting for, collecting, then ultimately selling single author collections—and by this I mean letters, 1st editions, notebooks, various ephemera et al. Moreover, book dealers often started these collections because they loved the author they were collecting. Yes, they knew eventually they could turn the collection over for money, they were book dealers after all, but these great collections started with sincere affection for the author. Secondly, during the 60, 70, 80s university libraries had tons of money, and were buying up 1st editions and comprehensive collections like crazy. Well, we all know what happened to those budgets. Obviously, many universities still have budgets and add to their collections with very grand editions and collections, but in the U.S. university library acquisitions is on a much tighter rein than it used to be—and they don’t have the money for the off-center titles or 2nd tier authors. Thirdly, used books stores in Chicago often lost their leases because they couldn’t afford the high rent increases for their commercial space—though virtually all small businesses have suffered because of this. In the 80s, I had a ritual: I’d browse the stacks at 5 great used bookstores on just one block, then when finished and I made my purchases, I’d head to a nearby pub. All these used bookstores are gone because of rent increases. And what replaced them? Yep, you guessed it—you’ve seen it in your areas too—the big corporate chains. I understand business is business and things change and that’s the cycle of business. This isn’t really a complaint, though I confess, I am a little sad about the way the book business changed, and, of course, it eventually affected my husband’s income and his passion and his ability to earn an income from his passion—which is something I think we all strive for when we’re thinking about work and careers and a way to support ourselves. There’s a great book by the famous book collector, Bob Wilson, who owned Phoenix Bookshop in New York. The book is called Modern Book Collecting. Darrel new Bob a little and used to buy books from him when in New York. Cheers, Christine > On Apr 23, 2016, at 8:54 AM, ann sanfedele <[email protected]> wrote: > > Love the shot and it makes me feel like my place is ready for Home and > Garden... a friend in the Boston area (collector and seller , editor, writer) > has two rented storage areas in addition to the bookcases and boxes in his > apartment (aside to Mark, yeah - he who you met) he might give you a run for > your money in the quantity category. > > I used to take books to the Strand and a couple of other book sellers in NY > have come here over the years but they don't pay much.I'm sure you guys > willprune wisely. When I first was thinning out the herd of the books that > were mainly RIchard's , taking them to the Strand would get me $10 or $15 and > sometimes more for what amounted to about 25 lbs of books ...not anymore. > It's really sad. > > ann > > On 4/23/2016 9:04 AM, Christine Aguila wrote: >>> On Apr 22, 2016, at 11:47 PM, Paul Stenquist <[email protected]> wrote: >>> >>> I had more books than I could manage. Tried to give some away to libraries >>> and schools. No one wants them. It's a function of the digital age. I'm >>> sending them to the landfill. At least we can be thankful that they're >>> biodegradable. >> If you have used book stores in the area, you should try to sell them. The >> store might do a house call—come to your house, look over your books, buy >> some or all, and take them away. >> >> Though used books stores aren’t as common as they used to be as well. >> >> >> Cheers, Christine > > > -- > PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List > [email protected] > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net > to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow > the directions. > -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
