They Made Me a Book Collector

[Image courtesy of The Helfond Gallery in San Anselmo, CA]

Hello Biblio-friends.  Well, I'm back on the blog trail and thought I would begin this entry by addressing the title of the image to the left.  I love this imaginative play on the old pulp thrillers with a bibliophile connection. And nothing could be closer to the truth when it comes to book collectors and collecting.

Book collectors are not born...they are made, plain and simple.  While no one (at least that I am aware of) has forced an unwilling citizen into building a book collection by means of an injection, those of us in the collectible book trade do go out of our way to lure like-minded people toward book acquisition.  But unless the citizen is in some way inclined to purchase books...books that they have no desire to part with and build a collection...there is very little we can do force the issue. So there must be some proclivity on the part of the citizen for ownership before members of the book trade and the bibliophile can engage.  Therefore, our mutual relationship with regard to the arena of 'book collecting" is consensual not imposed. 

The function of booksellers in the book collecting game is to purchase and inventory material of interest to collectors.  The collector seeks out copies of material of interest to them and their collection that meets their criteria regarding edition, condition and subject matter.

I have never "made" a book collector...let me correct that by saying that I have never forced anyone to collect books.  The collectors I have had dealings with over the last 27 years have all been infected with the collecting virus that may have lain dormant for any number of years before we came into contact.  In some ways, I think of booksellers who serve the needs of collectors as something of a doctor but only in the broadest sense of the word.  If we're on our game, we look for symptoms of the collector's virus:  the request for specific titles, authors or subject matter, the close inspection of a book's condition, the proper removal of a book from a shelf then we do our best to alleviate the problems related to their condition:  The problems that are caused by books.

There is a difference between book ownership and book collecting.  The former is about acquisition and the latter concerns acquisition with discrimination.  At Gregor Rare Books we aim to fulfill the needs of discriminating bibliophiles, and in my next posting I will discuss the habits and criteria of a discriminating collector.

An interesting conversation developed today around the the topic of High School yearbooks being delivered today as the current school year winds down.  Traditional school annuals have been and today still are printed volumes issued in hardcover bindings.  They are filled with student photos--the traditional studio pose and those related to the student's various out-of-class activities: sports, glee club, photography club, gamers unlimited and so on.  The conversation turned to possible future delivery systems for class yearbooks given the rapid shifts in the ways other forms of entertainment have evolved in the last twenty years.  We've seen music go from vinyl, to 8-tracks, to cassettes, to CDs and currently digital downloads.  Movies have gone from theaters, to video cassettes, to DVDs, to Blue-Ray, and now digital downloads.  Photography has seen the same major shifts from tangible film to digital.  With the change in each format, there has been a concomitant change in the necessary delivery system to accommodate the new medium.  You couldn't play an 8-track tape on a cassette player or a record player or watch your Video version of Gone with the Wind on your DVD-player.  With each shift in delivery mode you needed to change your delivery system; if you wanted to keep images or data on a previous format you had to have it transferred to the newer technology to save it.

So what does the future hold for school yearbooks?  Will they go digital and made available as a DVD?  What if in twenty years, DVD players are as antiquated (and unavailable) as 8-track players are today?  How will you be able to go back and view your 2012 school yearbook?  You will have to hold onto your current player, box it up and keep it in the garage for potential future use.  Or you will have to have the content transferred from DVD format to, let's say, the new Interactive Holographic format so you can revisit your high school chums.  But will the two mediums be compatible i.e. transferable in the future?  Will any of the "new" techies, who are not even born today, even know what a DVD is or was?

All of this brings me back to the yearbook's original format i.e. a bound book.  A book is a self-contained content and delivery system.  No matter what changes come in the future, the book will still be effective in delivering the content in a usable format that does not have to be updated or reformated in order to use it.  You will not need a new piece of technology to view it; you will not need a techie to transfer it for you into the latest delivery system that will change again in ten years.  The bottom line is: THE BOUND BOOK STILL RULES.  Yes it is antiquated and old school, but it is self-contained and needs no other technology to use it.  In an era of shifting technologies, it is comforting to know that some technologies that don't change are often the most enduring technologies. 

David Gregor

Collecting Charles Bukowski--A Primer

I wrote this article on collecting the works of poet & novelist Charles Bukowski for Firsts Magazine. It appeared in the January 1995 issue. While the values ascribed to his collectible books, chapbooks and ephemera have changed over the years, the facts of his life and the unfolding of his writing career do not suffer from the winds of change. Enjoy.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/45812489/Bukowski-Collecting-Article

You can view my current inventory of Bukowski material, much of it signed by Buk, at the following link to my secure website. We gladly ship anywhere.
http://www.gregorbooks.com/cgi-bin/gregor/results.html?searchfield=keywords%2ccat1%2ccat2%2ccat3%2ccat4&searchspec1=Charles%20Bukowski

Black Expatriates in Paris in the 1920s Part III

Here is the third and final installment of my series of articles on the expatriate experience in Paris in the 1920s. This piece focuses on the black expatriates who migrated to Paris between the wars and were forever changed by the experience. Enjoy.

Paris in the 1920s Part II

This the second installment of my article in Firsts Magazine on the expatriate experience in Paris in the 1920s. Enjoy.

Collecting Paris in the 1920s part I

Here is a link to the first part of an article I wrote some time ago for Firsts Magazine on collecting material related to the expatriate experience in Paris in the 1920s. I will post part II shortly. Your comments are welcome. Enjoy.

Comment from John:
Thanks for the comments David. I just refused a set of three miniature books today, partially on the basis of your comment "how particular you are in the quality of your inventory." Need to work on keeping the quality UP!

My reply:

John, that is a good aspect to pay attention to. I pass on about 95% of the material offered me, because it is either just "stuff" or it is in such poor condition that I don't want potential customers to associate me with what is basically junk. It is interesting how many sellers crowd out their good stock with a ton of dreck out of the notion that they need stock even if it's inferior stock that most discriminating buyers will not even consider paying good money for.

Trade Posting #3.

I should add that Portland, OR for many years had a small but successful fair that ran in opposite years from Seattle's fair. The original producers sold the show to a lone bookseller who worked very hard by himself for three years but with the slow demise of open shops and the lack of support from Powell's it gradually lost momentum and ended with the producer's untimely death. Book fairs are part sales venue, part advertising mechanism and part educational opportunity whereby new buyer/collectors learn about, physically handle and discover the world of books. Far too many exhibitors put too much emphasis on just one leg of this three-legged stool, especially those without an open shop. The Portland show is sorely missed but I'm afraid it would be a steep uphill struggle to re-institute it given the lack of open shops and the existence of the 800 lb gorilla that has no desire to have 50-75 booksellers come to town and threaten their bottom line.

Response from John:
"If I understand you correctly, David, you are suggesting that dealers who get discouraged after one or a few fairs and drop out, are missing out on 2/3 of the benefit of doing fairs, because they only f...ocus on the first aspect of the three you mention. If your fair costs are charged to advertising and marketing in your expense account, you will not be doing any advertising or marketing if you are not present. The educational aspect I guess is where the charisma (or lack thereof) of the dealer comes into play. I have always thought that dealers who are successful at selling high-end material are those who can impart their enthusiasm for any given piece to their buyers. I reckon this is what you mean by the "educational opportunity?"

My reply:

John. The advertising aspect of a book fair is all encompassing. First you get to put 'a face' to your book operation; very important today given how many 'faceless' book operations exist on the net. Your personality, your enthusiasm, your knowledge, your scholarship all get a chance to separate you from the herd of faceless entities. Visitors get a chance to see your material, how particular you are in the quality of your inventory, how broad or diverse your holdings. Your have the opportunity to 'sell' potential customers on why they shop with you over anyone else. None of these aspects are possible in a static display ad, phone book listing or database listing. The other 'educational' aspect goes to the point that there are fewer and fewer open shops where customers of old used to drift into, chat up the owner, learn about editions, condition, points of issue, the importance of a particular tome, the difference between an original print and a copy, an important writer in the vein of other writers the customer enjoys and on and on. So when I say that book fairs are the new open shops, this is what I am referring to. Book fairs are where neophytes can learn about the importance of our printed material and hopefully get exposed to the book virus that will keep them coming back for more.

My followup to my original response.

Don, great topic. As a Seattle Fair producer myself I have a few thoughts from experience. Book fairs are the new open shop. Exhibitors are the single biggest draw and an important source of attendees. They need to contact their customer list regarding the show. Show producer(s) need to build a show mailing list. We have an hourly drawing worth a $20 Gift Cert winners can use with any dealer at the show. Drawing slips require customer contact info; our single best customer acquisition method. Also solicit a variety of exhibitors so offerings are not top or bottom heavy, but a mix for a range of buyers.

Hello all. On another trade site, I have posted several pieces regarding book fairs and how important they are to what we do. I will copy them here for your consideration. Here is the original question posed:

"OK so here's a topic... What can be done, if anything, to save the smaller, regional book fairs?"

My response:
I wish there were a single thing that would make a regional show successful. Another consideration. The successful fairs seem to be located in areas that follow the criteria laid out in the Most Literate Cities Survey i.e. most book shops, highest number of libraries & usage, highest magazine & newspaper circulation, highest number of books purchased online & papers read online and highest education levels. For 2009, the top 10 cities were in ranking: Seattle, Wash. DC, Minneapolis, Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Portland, OR, St. Paul, Boston, Cincinnati, & Denver. Of the ten, seven have well attended book fairs.

Book Collecting Part III

The first rule in book collecting is "collect what you like." Building a book collection is all about what interests you, not your friends, your neighbors, your workmates, your spouse or any other collector. Collecting is a singular activity that is based on your favorite subjects, authors or aesthetic preference i.e. fine bindings, fore-edge paintings or illuminated manuscripts. If you collect what you like, fluctuations in value are less likely to affect your passion. And it should be said that book collecting is a passion and, like any other passionate pursuit, it is very difficult to explain to anyone who does not share your attraction to and enthusiasm for a particular subject or author. And you should not have to explain or justify your collecting activities. They are yours and yours alone.

Your desire to build a first-class personal library may be related to your profession (architecture, dentistry, costumer), your love of 20th C. literature (The Grapes of Wrath), children's literature , western Americana or any one of a hundred other possible areas of interest. There are no uncollectible subjects or authors as long as you have an interest in them.

My next post will address the difference between a Collector and an Accumulator. Stay tuned.