Building a library...

Bud Webster wrote:
Okay, it seems to me that what you're looking for are nice copies of
inexpensive reprint editions, right? Nothing fancy, just good,
solidly-bound readable sets of what are considered the Best Books,
plus whatever other books you know you already like.

Look into the Harvard Classics, which are nicely bound and shouldn't
be terribly expensive.

I HOPE you are not advising anyone
to get one of those skiver editions of
Harvard Classics which are always
kicking around. For reading copies,
fine, but they look terrible on any real
book collector's shelf.

Look for Modern Library reprints,of which
there are probably LOADS out there.

Your suggestion is not really very helpful
in a book collecting groiup. Sure, if you
are talking about simply reading copies,
and nothing, else, just about any Modern
Library will do as far as trying to help
edify the mind of a largely unread party.
But regarding building a collection, the
only Modern Libraries which count are
those from the Sixties back, WITH DUST
JACKETS. Sure, they are getting harder
to find, but there enough of them still out
there to give a serious collector a
reasonable chance of getting quite a
few of them, one here, one there, at a
reasonably modest price. It is a
matter of caring. It is a matter of
passing up 10 or 15 old Modern
Libraries whithout d.j.'s to find the
one with a d. j.

Individual authors, like Proust,
and Shakespeare, and Faulkner and so on, frequently were reissued in
matched sets.

Check with local used book dealers around you, they're generally more
than happy to sell off their sets in a chunk, and may very well be
willing to look for other sets if they know you're willing to pay.

It'll be time-consuming, and you'll have to make yourself reasonably
aware of basic used-book lore (condition, value, that kind of thing),
but what you're doing isn't insurmountable.

It sounds like you are just throwing out
suggestions for the OP's intellectual
benefit. Again, this is a book collector's
group, and someone reading your advice
could wind up with a sorry accumulation
of SKIVER (SPIT) Harvard Classics and
Modern Libraries with no d. j.'s or with
newer dull d. j.'s which don't stack up at
all with those from the Forties and Fifties.

Again, your advice would be laudable in
a books group where the focus is on
obtaining reading copies. But in a
book collector's group, a newbie taking
you seriously could end with a pretty
shabby conglomeration of books.

[From the upstairs office]

On 14 Apr 2006 19:17:16 -0700, wrote:

[a lot of crap snipped]

Palmer - and I mean this from the very bottom of my heart - get
knotted.

On Sat, 15 Apr 2006 06:16:53 GMT, Bud Webster
wrote:

On 14 Apr 2006 19:17:16 -0700, wrote:

[a lot of crap snipped]

Palmer - and I mean this from the very bottom of my heart - get
knotted.

Actually, I should be careful. Palmer might call me a "poltroon"
again, and then whatever would I DO?

wrote:


However, I was also raised to believe that Mont Blanc was the
end-all-be-all in writing instruments, and I've since come to know
that, at least for my tastes, I can get twice the writing instrument
in, say, a Pelikan, at half the price. I'd like to correct, if and as
necessary, my knowledge of the book world, along those same lines.

I'd like to start building a personal library. I'd love to find books
that are attractive to shelve and high quality, but still readable. I seek Quality, but Quality to use and enjoy, actively yet
respectfully.
Or are there other, "Pelikan"-esque publishers out there that I would be better off investigating?

Many, many thanks!

I hope this posts.

The more I think about it, the more I think the "Folio Society" may be
your Pelikan. My suggestion, go to e-bay; search "folio society"; find a
book you like and buy it. Usually the cost will be quite modest. The
problem will be shipping. Most of the books are in Great Britain and the
postage will be high. I usually use surface mail if it's not a December
holiday period. The usual surface mail estimates are long for "The Royal
Mail". However, I have had HRH's mail beat UPS on orders placed the same
day. Nice thing about e-bay is you can get a look at the book. Get a
slipcased volume.


The book shop in Corina is "The Book Shop" in Corina.

http://www.the-book-shop.com/


I think I may have found a solution to your conundrum. Bicycle to the
L.A. Times Festival of Books at the end of the month. April 29 and 30.

http://www.latimes.com/extras/festivalofbooks/


They will be exhibiting there. Also "Antiquarian Booksellers Association
of America" (herewith and forever known as "ABAA") has an exhibit. They
hold themselves to be highly ethical, they also attempt to extract the
most possible for a book. They will have a members list and I am sure
there are members in your neighborhood. But beware, leave the "straw
hat" and "wheat stalk" at home. They are carnivorous. When I have
visited exhibits at shows, they usually troll with their best books. The
brick and mortar stores often have a nice selection of reasonably priced
volumes.

When I was at "The Book Shop" physical store, they had a number of good
sets at a reasonable price. The nice thing is you could get a look at
sets that may interest you. The owner is a tad cranky, but what
bookseller isn't. If you go to the Fair and he has time, you could ask him.

You might call Dawson's. Their area of interest is not yours, but I have
found them helpful. they may be able to put you on to a local bookstore.
I regret my knowledge of L.A. bookstores is incomplete, my girlfriend
and I gather cards from antiquarian book shows and visit them. They
often have a decent and affordable store.

"Barnaby Rudge" in Laguna Beach may be worth a call. I have found them
friendly and they well may be of help. Their stock is eclectic.
they go from Modern Library to fine bindings. They also sell books by
the yard (usually nicely bound volumes of no literary interest,
whatsoever and probably written in Old High German.

Covina is just a convenient stopping place on the way to Redlands. A
couple of exits later, you could jump out, shout the "Och Tamale" and be
on your way.

Whittier
Thomas Jefferson

Fortunately the antique pen folk don't troll this newsgroup. There are
many who diss Quink. You may find a trip to the L.A. Pen Show in
February rewarding.

Bud Webster wrote:
On 14 Apr 2006 19:17:16 -0700, wrote:

[a lot of crap snipped]

In other words, it is easier to arrogantly
mischaracterize snip than to trouble
yourself trying to mount a defense of
your previously posted bale of horsefeathers.
Bud, I expected better of you.

Basically, my point stands. This was
an instance of someone coming into a
*book collecting group* asking for ideas,
and you were tossing out suggestions
which would have been far more
appropriate for someone in a book
newsgroup where the focus was on
content rather than on book collecting.
What the heck is wrong with trying to
encourage newbies to take a little time
and build a library which speaks well
of them as a collector -- instead of
inspiring them to rush out and get
a shabby conglomeration of Harvard
Classic skivers and old Modern Libraries
without d.j.'s or with new, boring covers?

Your comments remind me something
I have often taken issue with in newsgroups.
A continuing problem with newsgroups
is that they tend to breed a cllique of
self-syled "newsgroup owners" whose
ideas, continually reinforced by think-
alike pals, tend to become cast in
concrete. Needless to say, rhoaw
I refer to become furious when
challenged. Sad.

[from the upstairs office]

Palmer - and I mean this from the very bottom of my heart - get
knotted.

wrote:
rennick wrote:
just go get those cardboard cutouts

They're really hard to read. Functionality first, looks second. This
will be a working collection.


Bud Webster wrote:
Okay, it seems to me that what you're looking for are nice copies of
inexpensive reprint editions, right? Nothing fancy, just good,
solidly-bound readable sets of what are considered the Best Books,
plus whatever other books you know you already like.

Bingo.
Actually, that was both one of the attractive aspects, and the "amber
flags," of Easton -- with a book arriving monthly, I could read them as
they arrive, and offload the location and acquisition of the books.
But, I'm somewhat concerned about the "book club" feel I get with the
Easton subscription model; I can't put my finger on it, but it feels
like (using snobbish examples from elsewhere), say, collecting all 18
pieces of a Waterford crystal set, instead of using the less expensive
but better for their intended purpose (drinking wine) Riedel
stemware... (Does that make sense?)

Not really. Yes, the mentality you are
talking about does exists, but that would
only characterize a certain percentage
of people who buy Eastons. Those are
the sort of people who are attracted to
them only because of their very high quality
of manufacture, but never reads the books.
Usually such people are noveau riche or
at least "nouveau well-heeled" cretins who
read "Town and Country" searching for
"the best of everything" but are far too
ignorant ever to understand what such
a phrase means with respect to book
appreciation. But since you are aware
of that, what is to stop you from being
the sort of collector who actually reads
the books and absorbs the content as
well as appreciating the manufacture?

John Grisham

No.

Unlike others here, I do not recommend the "classics". Simply,
someone might ask a question or two, and you look damn stupid
if you have to say you never read the thing.

Ah, but, that's part of the plan. Not looking stupid. Reading those I
haven't gotten to yet.

I have more respect for someone
who can say, quite frankly, of certain
"classics" when such a comment is
merited, "I tried to read it and found
it utterly tedious."

[from the upstairs office]


Thanks all for the feedback and suggestions so far! (Except for the
cardboard mock-up guy.)

Bud Webster wrote:
On 10 Apr 2006 23:26:54 -0700, wrote:


Bud Webster wrote:
Okay, it seems to me that what you're looking for are nice copies of

It'll be time-consuming, and you'll have to make yourself reasonably
aware of basic used-book lore (condition, value, that kind of thing),
but what you're doing isn't insurmountable.

Time to scout book stores is time I really don't have. (I could
theoretically make time, but then I wouldn't have time to *read* said
books...) I'm logging (hopefully!) partnership-track associate's
hours, if that tells you anything. Oh, and, commuting by bicycle,
lacking time to go to the gym. L.A. is a bit too spread out for what
would otherwise surely be an enjoyable hunt.

Well, there are options. You're in LA, there are plenty of used/rare
book dealers who've been around for a long time and, therefore, are
presumeably trustworthy.

A few of them are. And a lot of them
will fleece you down to your underwear
in very short order. Furthermore, there
aren't nearly as many used/rare book
dealers in LA as there used to be. Many
of them have gone out of business and
very few new ones have opened.

Spend some time on the phone - there's really no other way to do it -
with a couple, tell them what you're looking for. Let them know that
your time to search is limited, but that you have time to READ.
Believe it or not, to many of us old-style bookmen, this will make a
difference.

You should be able to find at least one, if not several, dealers who
will supply you not only with the books you want, but whom you can
trust not to fob bad-condition or otherwise undesireable copies on
you.

Yes, there are some admirable types
who will never let you walk out of their
shop with a skiver unless they know that
you know what you are buying.
What I mean is this: There
is nothing wrong with a dealer selling
one of those new Harvard Classic reprints
with the cheapie leather, in great
condition for $4 or $5, and then telling
the customer he is getting a nice
reading copy or words to that
effect. On the other hand, when
the customer has made it clear that he
wants to start collecting books, and
the seller encourages him to buy
something like that in order to make
the sale, that is reprehensible. Of
course, it is even more reprehensible
'if the dealer has jacked up the price
of a skiver he should be selling for
$4 or $5 up to thirty dollars. You
can find that in LA too.

[from the upstairs office]

Other than that, there are thousands of potential sellers on-line, but
it's almost always a crap-shoot. I personally think that under your
circumstances, you're better off finding someone in the area with whom
you can build an on-going working relationship.

That is true. For instance, Angel City
Books over in Venice is a good bet.
They are a bit pricey for some people,
but of course Venice is now very high
rent. Anyway, they know their books
and are honest with the customers.

I understand your time constraints - fast-tracking at a law firm eats
up 26 hours in the day - but a few hours spent here and there at the
beginning will save you days, weeks down the line. Think of it as
finding a "book broker."

wrote:
Bud Webster wrote:
On 14 Apr 2006 19:17:16 -0700, wrote:


Needless to say, rhoaw

Sorry folks. It always helps to have
your fingers on the right keys when
typing.

[embarrassed in the upstairs office]

wrote:
Bud Webster wrote:
On 14 Apr 2006 19:17:16 -0700, wrote:


Needless to say, rhoaw

Sorry folks. It always helps to have
your fingers on the right keys when
typing.

[embarrassed in the upstairs office]

what is to stop you from being the sort of collector who actually
reads the books and absorbs the content as well as appreciating the
manufacture?

For one of the categories the OP mentioned, you don't get much choice
if content matters. The Oxford UP edition of Shakespeare a few years
ago is a long way ahead of all the earlier ones in its standard of
scholarship, and there aren't many alternative physical realizations
of it. For literary value, there's bugger-all point in owning any
earlier one.

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