Collecting Whims Revisited

Bill Klimon wrote and I snipped: Jerry, I'm especially interested in
your Sentimental Airman collection. As much as you love your
Shakespeare, Dr. Johnson, and books-on-books, I think aviator
associations is an intriguingly original "taste" in collecting: it's got
aviation--and thus history of science and engineering, military history,
and travel--but it's otherwise wide open to whatever interesting books
you can find with aviation associations. I think if you really apply
some "technique," you will find some amazing things. And of course the
more single amazing things you find, the more interesting the collection
as a whole becomes.


Bill,

Aviation Associations is one area that interests me, but not to the
extent that my three primary collections interest me. Down the road, I
will acquire a book formerly owned by the Wright Brothers, a book from
the library of one of the astronauts, and whatever else strikes my
fancy. I actually have an aviation book with a books about books
association: My copy of Tom Crouch's The Eagle Aloft, Two Centuries of
the Balloon in America, was formerly from the Stock and Reference
Library of H.P. Kraus.

Happy Holidays,
Jerry Morris


Welcome to Moi's Books About Books: http://www.tinyurl.com/hib7
My Sentimental Library http://www.picturetrail.com/mylibrary and
moislibrary.com http://www.tinyurl.com/hisn

"Jon Meyers" wrote in message
...

Somebody has to ask: Any converts among well-known divers?



Uh, you got me. The closest I'm aware of is Steve Arrington, who was chief
diver for the Cousteau Society, who became an evangelical Christian after a
prison conversion experience (recounted in his memoir, *Journey into
Darkness* [1992]).


William M. Klimon
http://www.catholicbookcollector.com

Any converts among well-known divers?

Conversion = intellectually lacking

"Steve Gray" wrote in message
...

Any converts among well-known divers?

Conversion = intellectually lacking



Tell it to, oh, just off the top of my head, these philosophers and
scientists:

Niels Stensen
Alexis Carrel
John von Neumann
Edmund Husserl
Edith Stein
Gabriel Marcel
Jacques Maritain
Friedrich von Schlegel
Mortimer Adler
G.E.M. Anscombe


William M. Klimon
http://www.catholicbookcollector.com

William M. Klimon wrote:
"Bud Webster" wrote in message
...

Huh. A LOT better than any old "convertiana" or stuff like that.
At
least I got monsters and spacemen on the covers of MY books....



There is something to that--books with interesting publishers'
bindings or
covers or dust jackets, or illustrations or plates or engravings or
prints
or illuminations, are seemingly much more collectible than books
without.

[...]

There is no question about that. In fact, recently
I posted about an early 20th century edition of a
dated novel which has become a prized collector's
item simply because the renowned illustrator Coles
Phillips designed the entire book from cover to
cover. (THIS IMMORTAL MOMENT by May Sinclair,
Doubleday, Page & Co.)

To cite another example,
during the late 19th century reprints of books which
were already classics was very common. In fact, a
number of the largest newspaper publishers, such
as Hearst, got into selling cheap versions, which of
course they could advertise in their newspapers.
Generally, the books they offered were of the cheapest
sort and often even had newsprint pages. Most of
these books aren't worth much, even today -- which
is why people who think their 1890 edition of Oliver
Twist is worth more than a few dollars at most, are
often disappointed. On the other hand, these
popular classics were -- during the same general
period -- also reprinted in deluxe, often illustrated,
editions, many of which can today fetch princely sums.

Of course, the same thing is true regarding dust
jackets for later books. What I am finding is that
now almost any book, even the most mediocre sort,
with dust jacket, in excellent condition, published
in the Fifties and earlier, has some value, regardless
of printing sequence or whether or not it is a book
club edition, etc. The mere fact that it is an old
book with a dust jacket now gives it a certain worth.
I am not talking about first editions of ON THE ROAD,
but instead the often highly-forgettable literary
efforts which would not bring more than a dollar
or two without the d.j.

Illustrations are important to many collectors also.
You can see that in paperbacks, for instance, where
some collectors are not satisfied merely to have, say,
a p.b. edition of a Heinlein classic, but want to
collect all the various p.b. editions with different
covers (at least up to a certain date). Cover
illustrations can be numerous with books such as
Heinlein's which stayed in print for a long time.
Paperback publishers obviously have long believed
that giving a paperback bestseller a different cover
every few years increases sales.

Mr. Palmer
Room 314


Mr. Palmer
Room 314
(One field I admire but certainly don't collect--the history of
magic,
circuses, and show business--clearly illustrates this phenomenon, in
which
even the most meager ephemeron is often supremely and interestingly
illustrated.)

William M. Klimon wrote:
wrote:

I've started collecting in a very casual way-- early books on Scuba
and
related technology. Cutoff date is about 1960 but I'm not wedded
to
that. Some very fun and unusual covers in this-- personal favorite
so
far is an issue of MECHANICS ILLUSTRATED with a 'BUILD YOUR OWN
DIVING
APPARATUS' cover.


Casual, eh? Yeah, that's how it always starts. Unless you nip it in
the bud, you'll eye-high in Cousteau & Co.


Seriously, that's a very interesting area. It's got history of
science, history of exploration, and natural history angles going for
it. Additionally, the kind of people who might have read or used
such
books or periodicals typically lived in places with climates
inhospitable to paper--thus the material will be rarer.

I've been finding a lot of early Cousteau stuff recently--nothing
valuable, but interesting. I thought I heard something on the radio
the other day about a mini-Cousteau revival, what with the new Bill
Murray movie and all. Sounds like you're riding a timely wave.

[...]

Again, for many collectors it is impossible
not to consider the overall design of the book,
regarding why they view the book as collectible.

For instance, while many National Geographic
Editions are are shunned by dealers as being
too common for anthing but the library's
"donation store," some Geographic books have
strong collector appeal. For instance, a 1961
Fifth Printing of Geographic's INDIANS OF THE
AMERICAS features a handsomely decorated cloth
cover and a great many original illustrations
by W. Langdon Kihn and H. M. Herget. It
also contains quite a few photographs of
1950's vintage. In my view, it is the
original illustrations which can give
such a book its strong appeal. Many older
books by Geographic and others focusing on
history and culture, merely contain
reproductions of famous paintings and
illustrations apparently borrowed from
museums or older books. For the most
part, such efforts are not nearly as
attractive as those books for which the
publishers have commissioned artists and
illustrators to do original work.


Mr. Palmer
Room 314
William M. Klimon
http://www.catholicbookcollector.com

William M. Klimon wrote:
wrote:

I've started collecting in a very casual way-- early books on Scuba
and
related technology. Cutoff date is about 1960 but I'm not wedded
to
that. Some very fun and unusual covers in this-- personal favorite
so
far is an issue of MECHANICS ILLUSTRATED with a 'BUILD YOUR OWN
DIVING
APPARATUS' cover.


Casual, eh? Yeah, that's how it always starts. Unless you nip it in
the bud, you'll eye-high in Cousteau & Co.


Seriously, that's a very interesting area. It's got history of
science, history of exploration, and natural history angles going for
it. Additionally, the kind of people who might have read or used
such
books or periodicals typically lived in places with climates
inhospitable to paper--thus the material will be rarer.

I've been finding a lot of early Cousteau stuff recently--nothing
valuable, but interesting. I thought I heard something on the radio
the other day about a mini-Cousteau revival, what with the new Bill
Murray movie and all. Sounds like you're riding a timely wave.

[...]

Again, for many collectors it is impossible
not to consider the overall design of the book,
regarding why they view the book as collectible.

For instance, while many National Geographic
Editions are are shunned by dealers as being
too common for anthing but the library's
"donation store," some Geographic books have
strong collector appeal. For instance, a 1961
Fifth Printing of Geographic's INDIANS OF THE
AMERICAS features a handsomely decorated cloth
cover and a great many original illustrations
by W. Langdon Kihn and H. M. Herget. It
also contains quite a few photographs of
1950's vintage. In my view, it is the
original illustrations which can give
such a book its strong appeal. Many older
books by Geographic and others focusing on
history and culture, merely contain
reproductions of famous paintings and
illustrations apparently borrowed from
museums or older books. For the most
part, such efforts are not nearly as
attractive as those books for which the
publishers have commissioned artists and
illustrators to do original work.


Mr. Palmer
Room 314
William M. Klimon
http://www.catholicbookcollector.com

Jerry Morris wrote:
It's been awhile since we last revisited a thread on Collecting
Whims,
and almost three years since I first posted it:
http://www.tinyurl.com/5mr62

Collecting Whims, as defined in one of the previous posts, are
out-of-the-ordinary collecting interests, odd fancies, off-track
booking, or, simply, collecting something other than Modern First
Editions.

In the previous Collecting Whims threads, I learned that many RCBers
had
unique collections. Some RCBers even discovered that they had
similar
interests. This current thread offers the oldtimers the opportunity
to
review their old posts and provide updates to their Collecting Whims.
It also provides the opportunity for new RCBers to let everyone else
know what they collect.

I, for one, was surprised that I did not identify collecting
association
books as one of my collecting whim in any of the previous collecting
whims threads. I first mentioned my interest in collecting books
from
the libraries of my favorite authors in an RCB thread on Oct. 28,
2000: http://www.tinyurl.com/3qsjz

Although I already had some association books in my library, it
wasn't
until sometime in 2003 that I started to actively seek them. I even
gave a name to this collecting whim: My Sentimental Library. At
first,
the collection included only books formerly owned by my favorite
authors; however, the span of this collection soon exploded to
include
books formerly owned by aviators, authors, entertainers, book
collectors, booksellers, bookbinders, book publishers, one Chief
Justice
of the United States Supreme Court, and other famous people. I even
began to write articles for AB Bookman Magazine about this
collecting
whim: http://www.tinyurl.com/5y7o5

Today, My Sentimental Library contains more than just association
books.
Itincludes library catalogues, biographies, bibliographies, collected
letters, and autographed letters signed.

Recent autographed letters include one from the historian, Henry
Hallam,
and another from the Johnsonian, George Birkbeck HIll. Tonight, I
just
paid for two welcome additions to My Sentimental Library. For
$15.50, I
will acquire a book formerly owned by the actor, Sammy Davis Jr.,
with
an ALS from the authors. For $100.00, I will acquire Harry B.
Smith's
catalogue of the collection of books that he sold to A.S.W.
Rosenbach.
Smith called this collection "The Sentimental Library. "

Pray tell, what are your collecting whims ?

Jerry Morris


Welcome to Moi's Books About Books: http://www.tinyurl.com/hib7
My Sentimental Library http://www.picturetrail.com/mylibrary and
moislibrary.com http://www.tinyurl.com/hisn

Jerry Morris wrote:
It's been awhile since we last revisited a thread on Collecting
Whims,
and almost three years since I first posted it:
http://www.tinyurl.com/5mr62

Collecting Whims, as defined in one of the previous posts, are
out-of-the-ordinary collecting interests, odd fancies, off-track
booking, or, simply, collecting something other than Modern First
Editions.

In the previous Collecting Whims threads, I learned that many RCBers
had
unique collections. Some RCBers even discovered that they had
similar
interests. This current thread offers the oldtimers the opportunity
to
review their old posts and provide updates to their Collecting Whims.
It also provides the opportunity for new RCBers to let everyone else
know what they collect.

I, for one, was surprised that I did not identify collecting
association
books as one of my collecting whim in any of the previous collecting
whims threads. I first mentioned my interest in collecting books
from
the libraries of my favorite authors in an RCB thread on Oct. 28,
2000: http://www.tinyurl.com/3qsjz

Although I already had some association books in my library, it
wasn't
until sometime in 2003 that I started to actively seek them. I even
gave a name to this collecting whim: My Sentimental Library. At
first,
the collection included only books formerly owned by my favorite
authors; however, the span of this collection soon exploded to
include
books formerly owned by aviators, authors, entertainers, book
collectors, booksellers, bookbinders, book publishers, one Chief
Justice
of the United States Supreme Court, and other famous people. I even
began to write articles for AB Bookman Magazine about this
collecting
whim: http://www.tinyurl.com/5y7o5

Today, My Sentimental Library contains more than just association
books.
Itincludes library catalogues, biographies, bibliographies, collected
letters, and autographed letters signed.

Recent autographed letters include one from the historian, Henry
Hallam,
and another from the Johnsonian, George Birkbeck HIll. Tonight, I
just
paid for two welcome additions to My Sentimental Library. For
$15.50, I
will acquire a book formerly owned by the actor, Sammy Davis Jr.,
with
an ALS from the authors. For $100.00, I will acquire Harry B.
Smith's
catalogue of the collection of books that he sold to A.S.W.
Rosenbach.
Smith called this collection "The Sentimental Library. "

Pray tell, what are your collecting whims ?

Jerry Morris

I am a newcomer to this Board and to book collecting. I am collecting
firsts of all the books that won the Pulitzer prize for fiction-anyone
else interested in this?


Welcome to Moi's Books About Books: http://www.tinyurl.com/hib7
My Sentimental Library http://www.picturetrail.com/mylibrary and
moislibrary.com http://www.tinyurl.com/hisn

wrote:

I am a newcomer to this Board and to book collecting. I am collecting
firsts of all the books that won the Pulitzer prize for fiction-anyone
else interested in this?