In my quest to become a more rounded collector, I recently purchased a copy of William Rees-Mogg's "How To Buy Rare Books: A Practical Guide To The Antiquarian Book Market." (Second Impression: 1988.)
I am always looking for materials than can expand my knowledge; although I know a good little bit about book collecting, I know far less than the average professional antiquarian bookseller, which places me firmly within the amateur category when it comes to my chosen pastime. As time goes by, I hope to change that.
Although the book is somewhat out-of-date (it's pre-internet, after all) it is still proving to be quite enjoyable. I will post more about the content of this book after I have finished reading it. In the meantime, here is a picture of it:
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| Photo: © Magdalena Altnau |
However, the focus of this blog remains upon books which are antiquarian in nature, therefore, I would be remiss if I were to end this post without sharing the following items...
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| Photo: © Magdalena Altnau |
These are five more items from my collection, the Dryden volume being a recent (within the last week) acquisition. Here is the cover art for the Dryden:
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| Photo: © Magdalena Altnau |
And here is its title page. As you can see, it was published in 1880:
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| Photo: © Magdalena Altnau |
The next piece on display is "The Writings of Jonathan Swift," published in 1889:
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| Photo: © Magdalena Altnau |
The following volume is a small, compiled version of Swift's works; it is actually two separate volumes, combined into one book, probably for use as a "handy reference" edition:
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| Photo: © Magdalena Altnau |
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| Photo: © Magdalena Altnau |
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| Photo: © Magdalena Altnau |
As you can see from the pictures, Volume 1 has no publication date, while Volume 2 has a publication date of 1822. Thus, the first volume is likely to have been published either at the same time, or perhaps one or two years prior. Since I prefer to err on the side of caution, I am assuming a publication date of 1822 for the first volume as well.
The next piece is my Crowell edition of Pope's Poems, which has no publication date, as you can tell from its title page. However, since T.Y. Crowell died in 1909, the publication date must be prior to that year; volumes published by his company after his death bear the name of his son, T.I. Crowell, who succeeded him as president of the company.
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| Photo: © Magdalena Altnau |
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| Photo: © Magdalena Altnau |
Last, but certainly not least, is another one of the "jewels" of my collection: a 1787 edition of Pope's poems, with two wonderful inscriptions from 1800 and 1809, respectively:
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| Photo: © Magdalena Altnau |
What I really love about this book is its small size; it looks like it would fit in the average coat pocket, thus making it extremely portable. And of course, you have to love the inscriptions, which indicate that the book was passed down at least twice within the same family; first, to Sarah Gibbes by her mother, then to Adelaide(?) Gibbes Elliott by her grandmother (Sarah.) I have always wondered about the lives of people in inscriptions like this; from the tone of the inscription, this book was a special gift, probably to someone who was either a fan of Pope's poetry, or of English poetry in general. I can picture Adelaide, sitting on her front porch on a pleasantly sunny day, reading from this little book, perhaps while her children play in the yard, or while her husband sits opposite her, with a book of his own, pausing occasionally to comment on some matter. Some collectors do not value inscriptions, but I think that inscriptions make a book not only unique, but alive. When you find an inscription like this, you know that this book was someone's treasured keepsake, and it gives you a sense of connectedness, in that you are carrying on their legacy by ensuring the book's continued preservation.
Well, that's all for now. I shall endeavor to write my next post sooner than 9 days, but alas, I cannot promise it, because of how busy I've been lately.
Until the next post, I wish you all the best in your collecting endeavors!
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