I think you might have been ahead of your time with this format. Why not pick up where you left off, record some more bookseller video presentations, and let your members watch them? Who knows, some of us might learn something.
/Bob

Posted on:11/8/2009 3:19:18 PM by petrilla  

I found the interviews with booksellers very interesting (and revealing!) and think that this kind of information contributes to the well-being of book collecting. AE continues to provide a valuable and interesting service. Perhaps the most interesting comment -- made serveral times by different booksellers -- was that individual collectors are now niche collectors. Though it was mentioned that this might be result of personal interest, I think it more likely that it is a matter of limited personal wealth. I collect in the area of optics, and though I had very broad notions when I first started collecting, it eventually became apparent that to "collect in science" as Honeyman or Norman once did, requires resources that most of us simply don't have -- certainly that I will never have. The natural and happy result is a more limited, but deeper kind of collecting; a kind of collecting that gives the "second and third tier" kind of book an importance not far from that of the high points. It seems that another consequence of this is greater knowledge of the topic on the part of the collector. I don't think this is unique to science collecting. I suspect that most of the folks I rubbed sholders with at the recent California BookFair were not Silicon Valley millionaires, but folks more like myself.

Should it be possible, I would very much like to see interviews with collectors!


D.L. DiLaura

Posted on:3/3/2007 8:32:28 AM by daviddilaura  

I enjoyed the candid remarks by these booksellers, and that they were equally convinced there is a bright future ahead in collecting. I am new to rare books and manuscripts, learning the trade as it were. I worried that there was a comment that the new collector is "a young guy"; I am aware that this is a bit of a boys' club, but I want in boys. Thanks for the video clips, they were terrific!

Posted on:3/1/2007 6:28:51 AM by Guest  

Totally awesome, but I am not sure about John Windle matching anyone martini for martini.

Posted on:2/28/2007 5:11:12 PM by Guest  

Really great stuff; keep it up; and do not despair of finding the new generation of collectors. We are out there, just busy working and with our lives--but thinking all the time of what our interests are and what we collect and want to collect.

Posted on:2/19/2007 7:43:14 PM by Guest  

What a delightful surprise finding the videos in this month's edition of Americana Exchange. I especially enjoyed the experiences related by each the bookmen describing their entry into the business. I've patronized John Crichton and Jeffrey Thomas' shops in past travels to San Francisco. Hearing and seeing them again brought back fond memories. Please keep surprising us with more of this wonderful material.

Sincerely,
Ken Chinn
Anaheim, CA

Posted on:2/9/2007 10:11:33 PM by Guest  

Bravo John! That's where it's at. Further, that generation is expanding.
Ralph 20 Years Bibliosource.com

Posted on:2/1/2007 6:49:07 PM by Guest  

I have been a scholar/collector
a book dealer, a scout, and a record dealer/collector for over 30 years.
I presently sell on Amazon. I have tried other listing services such as Abe and Biblio. I sell a broad range of obscure stuff. Amazon brings me the market.

I think what has disappeared is the catalog. There are fewer mailed catalogs, partially since they are so expensive to produce. The high spots still exist in that format, but even there it is disappearing, the internet has transformed access to the average customer as some of your commentors have noted. I do miss the open shops, Many things I want for myself I have gotten by browsing, and some things I want have not been worth the time in listing.

Posted on:2/1/2007 12:31:44 PM by Guest  

Click here to see videos. The videos are accessed on page 3 of this article on "where is the new book collector." Most computers have Windows Media Player, needed to view the videos, already installed, but if yours does not, a link is provided on page 2 to download the required software (simple and free).

Posted on:2/1/2007 10:34:48 AM by Guest