Reddit reviews Used And Rare P

OMG. Dude. You have to read this as well as their other books (but start with that one). It's a couple who accidentally stumble into the high-end rare book World. They're great.

i was reading a book entitled "Used and Rare" last night. It's a little fluff piece by a husband and wife who are (were) just starting collecting (book written late '90s), and although it reads now a little cute for my tastes, it is an excellent illustration of the very common experience many of us have as we grow from someone interested in books, intrigued by older books, aware of something called 'rare' books, and then eventually sucked in. ...their collecting is willy-nilly, random, but the story is pretty typical.

one of the things it mentions is a comment by a dealer that there's no "depth" in collecting any more. I wouldn't say that's entirely true, but it's probably tending that way.

what i mean is, collections now, especially under the influence of eBay and online auctioins, seem to grow WIDE rather than deep. people collecting one of this, one of that, with either no focus, or a focus which is scattered.

but those collections, although interesting, are not advancing anything. that's ok, sure. but historically there were collectors who were experts, not merely buyers.

as an example, i collect a single binder. his work only. that's very narrow. i haven't purchased a book in over a year (though i have traded for a couple). but i also collect articles about him (from the period he was operating), photos, references, etc.

when i shuffle off the mortal coil, that information, having been gathered over thirty or forty years, will add a chunk of scholarship (or at least a resource for scholars) concerning american bookbinding.

now, sure, that's of little interest to a lot of people. but if i don't do it, who will? and my collecting overlaps other collectors, who collect american bindings (by others including and in addition to my binder), or bindings in general, or even the titles of the books themselves (fine bindings are usually found on rare titles, which are themselves valuable).

many people find a reward in sticking to a theme and developing that depth, and it can be done at a relative bargain. not everyone has to collect high-point first editions, or complete sets, or modern first editions in spotless dust jackets.

your collection of a title in as many imprints as possible is actually fairly classic. you could dive deep, and begin collecting the first appearance in print (many authors published their work serially in magazines before it came out as a complete edition, for example). those who collect "Ulysses" even search out the counterfeit edition which was printed in an attempt to smuggle the "obscene" book into the US.

whatever you choose, EDUCATE YOURSELF.

you (i hope) will find it a pretty rewarding pursuit.

EDIT: added link above, and a suggestion for a better book regarding book collecting and collectors in general: "A Gentle Madness"