AE Monthly

<b>Bonhams:</b> MANDELSHTAM, OSIP. 1891-1938. Autograph Manuscript, 2 pp, [Petersburg,] January 1913, entitled

Article Archives Search

AE Articles


Where is the new book collector? - By Bruce McKinney Bruce McKinney speaking with John Crichton [r] By Bruce McKinney The book collector, who has ever been a solitary creature, is seemingly less visible and hence more difficult to find today. Who's looking? Every dealer on the planet is interested to know who they are. So too are the listing sites and various publications and services that cater to them. These collectors are elusive. You can almost believe they are a vanishing breed, drawn in a thousand directions, all of them away from the collecting of books, manuscripts and ephemera. Almost. Recently I asked four gray-haired dealers for their perspective on this question. In this case the gray hair is a useful indicator of experience. They are John Windle, Jeffrey Thomas, John Crichton and Michael Good, San Francisco Bay Area book dealers with more than a hundred years of experience between them. Younger folks may not remember the pre-internet world clearly. These men remember it too well, the way we all recall touchdowns scored in high school and the soliloquy delivered in the college play, wistfully and perhaps a bit sanitized. The question I asked "Where is the new book collector" is a seemingly easy question but its one that in the answering tells us as much about the respondent as it does about the collector. The new collector is after all, almost mythical, sightings hardly more common than Loch Ness monsters. But it of course is not the new collector that is hard to find. It's new mintings of the old-style collector that are. Collectors are in fact everywhere and more plentiful than ever. Listing sites such as Abe, Zvab, Biblio, ILAB-ABAA and AE provide a steady flow of orders to sellers. And eBay gavels thousands of books everyday. Traditional auctions sell 200,000 documented lots annually and an untold number of undocumented ones as well. There are plenty of buyers. But these rank and file collectors buy carefully and curb their enthusiasm at the sight of three digits. They are omnipresent and of course very different from the old style collector. They are also the growing backbone of the rare book business. Think of them as Mr. Seventy-five dollars, Madame Cinq-Cent Francs, and [English] fifty-quid. These dealers clearly miss the old-style collectors who had money, ambition to collect and trust in the dealer to act on their behalf. Such collectors, rare in any era, are increasingly collecting independently, buying more at auction and more often from a range of sellers rather than through a single dealer whose objectif primaire is to represent them. Finding such collectors much less building relationships with them, though never easy, has become very difficult. Even when face to face with such collectors, because encroaching may be poaching and book dealers live inside a world of rigidly protected relationships, they may not feel it appropriate to offer material though it's potentially beneficial to collectors. A collector thinks they are just buying a book while a dealer may see it differently. So when I ask serious, long respected dealers "where is the new collector" it means something different to them than it does to me, a collector, since I first held an old [if not rare] book fifty years ago. To obtain these interviews I travel with Joe Belk [Cinematographer], an experienced cameraman who will capture the hours of tape we record. This is to be a first attempt on AE to integrate video with the printed word in an article in AE Monthly. Ashley E. Rodholm [film editor] , a senior at Berkeley is to handle the editing.
Where is the new book collector? - By Bruce McKinney Jeffrey Thomas: man about books. It's apparent that the world of the book dealer is far removed from the world of the online buyer. This video presentation and others to follow are an attempt to shorten the distance between the in-the-flesh dealer and the collector who can find material on line but less often the advice, intelligence and perspective that serious dealers provide. In time we'll see if the huge gap separating the dealer from the emerging online collector can be shortened to the mutual advantage of both parties. That is the goal. To begin I ask each man for their background. John Windle hails from England, getting his start at Quaritch. He moved to the states in 1971 going straight to California where he worked for John Howell in San Francisco before opening his first business in 1974 and shortly thereafter partnering with Ron Randall. Since 1979 he's been on his own. John Crichton earned his spurs at Serendipity in Berkeley, purchased the Brick Row Book Shop, a firm with roots in the halcyon bookselling days of New York in the 1920s. Jeffrey Thomas has as many years in the trade and traces his beginnings to a professor's chance request while a student at Berkeley. Jeffrey closed his city shop a few years ago and now shares his home with his wife and inventory. He hasn't been well recently. Finally there is Michael Good who has also closed his shop and now embraces the internet in earnest. Today he more sells books than builds relationships although collectors who seek him out [in Marin County] will find in him a useful unvarnished perspective with an interesting, affordable inventory. John Windle is a relationship specialist, a sophisticated man who can earn your trust while matching you martini for martini. He tells a graceful anecdote and is someone who is mentioned for positive effect. John Crichton is serious, even when he is not. He began his career as an accountant in a book shop, knows the numbers, can take you through every note on the keyboard even if he doesn't write music himself. He is systematic and book collectors who share this trait will find an echo to their perspective here. It's authentic. Jeffrey Thomas is a man of means who probably has not needed to sell his books but now knows he should. Illness becomes him and I've asked him to narrate some future AEM video presentations in the belief that part of health and survival is being useful and needed and we all gain by Jeffrey's participation. Finally there is Michael Good who is self-deprecating in a field where the characteristic is endangered but probably has never been common. He stands back to let the other man step forward. He was at first an inside man at Cody's, writing descriptions rather than dealing with customers. He is also, of the four, the one who has most embraced the internet, is comfortable with it and sees a steady business out ten years. To view the filmed interviews you'll need Windows Media Player. Versions for both Windows and Macs are available free of charge. http://download.microsoft.com/download/0/f/3/0f347443-f1ff-4830-9b20-65da2c6bf111/WindowsMediaInstaller.bin.
Where is the new book collector? - By Bruce McKinney John Windle: expertise and an accent. The question then is "Where is the new collector?" This is what they have to say. The links in blue are their views. The links in green are their backgrounds. I now let them speak for themselves. John Crichton: Where is the new collector? for high speed, or Where is the new collector? for dial-ups. - Background - hi for high speed or - Background - for dial-ups. Michael Good- Where is the new collector? for high speed, or Where is the new collector? for dial-ups. - Background - for high speed, or - Background - for dial-ups. Jeffrey Thomas: Where is the new collector? for high speed, or Where is the new collector? for dial-ups. - Background - for high speed, or - Background - for dial-ups. John Windle: Where is the new collector? for high speed, or Where is the new collector? for dial-ups. - Background - for high speed, or - Background - for dial-ups. Finally here is a link to comment if you would like to share your thoughts about this form. Click here to post your comments on the message boards. The goal is to shorten the gap between dealer and collector. Your views are appreciated. My thanks to these gentlemen who have trusted us to do this accurately.

Where is the new book collector?

- By Bruce McKinney

Bruce McKinney speaking with John Crichton [r]

By Bruce McKinney

The book collector, who has ever been a solitary creature, is seemingly less visible and hence more difficult to find today. Who's looking? Every dealer on the planet is interested to know who they are. So too are the listing sites and various publications and services that cater to them. These collectors are elusive. You can almost believe they are a vanishing breed, drawn in a thousand directions, all of them away from the collecting of books, manuscripts and ephemera. Almost.

Recently I asked four gray-haired dealers for their perspective on this question. In this case the gray hair is a useful indicator of experience. They are John Windle, Jeffrey Thomas, John Crichton and Michael Good, San Francisco Bay Area book dealers with more than a hundred years of experience between them. Younger folks may not remember the pre-internet world clearly. These men remember it too well, the way we all recall touchdowns scored in high school and the soliloquy delivered in the college play, wistfully and perhaps a bit sanitized. The question I asked "Where is the new book collector" is a seemingly easy question but its one that in the answering tells us as much about the respondent as it does about the collector. The new collector is after all, almost mythical, sightings hardly more common than Loch Ness monsters. But it of course is not the new collector that is hard to find. It's new mintings of the old-style collector that are. Collectors are in fact everywhere and more plentiful than ever. Listing sites such as Abe, Zvab, Biblio, ILAB-ABAA and AE provide a steady flow of orders to sellers. And eBay gavels thousands of books everyday. Traditional auctions sell 200,000 documented lots annually and an untold number of undocumented ones as well. There are plenty of buyers. But these rank and file collectors buy carefully and curb their enthusiasm at the sight of three digits. They are omnipresent and of course very different from the old style collector. They are also the growing backbone of the rare book business. Think of them as Mr. Seventy-five dollars, Madame Cinq-Cent Francs, and [English] fifty-quid.

These dealers clearly miss the old-style collectors who had money, ambition to collect and trust in the dealer to act on their behalf. Such collectors, rare in any era, are increasingly collecting independently, buying more at auction and more often from a range of sellers rather than through a single dealer whose objectif primaire is to represent them. Finding such collectors much less building relationships with them, though never easy, has become very difficult. Even when face to face with such collectors, because encroaching may be poaching and book dealers live inside a world of rigidly protected relationships, they may not feel it appropriate to offer material though it's potentially beneficial to collectors. A collector thinks they are just buying a book while a dealer may see it differently.

So when I ask serious, long respected dealers "where is the new collector" it means something different to them than it does to me, a collector, since I first held an old [if not rare] book fifty years ago. To obtain these interviews I travel with Joe Belk [Cinematographer], an experienced cameraman who will capture the hours of tape we record. This is to be a first attempt on AE to integrate video with the printed word in an article in AE Monthly. Ashley E. Rodholm [film editor] , a senior at Berkeley is to handle the editing.

Where is the new book collector?

- By Bruce McKinney

Jeffrey Thomas: man about books.

It's apparent that the world of the book dealer is far removed from the world of the online buyer. This video presentation and others to follow are an attempt to shorten the distance between the in-the-flesh dealer and the collector who can find material on line but less often the advice, intelligence and perspective that serious dealers provide. In time we'll see if the huge gap separating the dealer from the emerging online collector can be shortened to the mutual advantage of both parties. That is the goal.

To begin I ask each man for their background. John Windle hails from England, getting his start at Quaritch. He moved to the states in 1971 going straight to California where he worked for John Howell in San Francisco before opening his first business in 1974 and shortly thereafter partnering with Ron Randall. Since 1979 he's been on his own. John Crichton earned his spurs at Serendipity in Berkeley, purchased the Brick Row Book Shop, a firm with roots in the halcyon bookselling days of New York in the 1920s. Jeffrey Thomas has as many years in the trade and traces his beginnings to a professor's chance request while a student at Berkeley. Jeffrey closed his city shop a few years ago and now shares his home with his wife and inventory. He hasn't been well recently. Finally there is Michael Good who has also closed his shop and now embraces the internet in earnest. Today he more sells books than builds relationships although collectors who seek him out [in Marin County] will find in him a useful unvarnished perspective with an interesting, affordable inventory.

John Windle is a relationship specialist, a sophisticated man who can earn your trust while matching you martini for martini. He tells a graceful anecdote and is someone who is mentioned for positive effect. John Crichton is serious, even when he is not. He began his career as an accountant in a book shop, knows the numbers, can take you through every note on the keyboard even if he doesn't write music himself. He is systematic and book collectors who share this trait will find an echo to their perspective here. It's authentic.

Jeffrey Thomas is a man of means who probably has not needed to sell his books but now knows he should. Illness becomes him and I've asked him to narrate some future AEM video presentations in the belief that part of health and survival is being useful and needed and we all gain by Jeffrey's participation.

Finally there is Michael Good who is self-deprecating in a field where the characteristic is endangered but probably has never been common. He stands back to let the other man step forward. He was at first an inside man at Cody's, writing descriptions rather than dealing with customers. He is also, of the four, the one who has most embraced the internet, is comfortable with it and sees a steady business out ten years.

To view the filmed interviews you'll need Windows Media Player. Versions for both Windows and Macs are available free of charge. http://download.microsoft.com/download/0/f/3/0f347443-f1ff-4830-9b20-65da2c6bf111/WindowsMediaInstaller.bin.

Where is the new book collector?

- By Bruce McKinney

John Windle: expertise and an accent.

The question then is "Where is the new collector?" This is what they have to say. The links in blue are their views. The links in green are their backgrounds. I now let them speak for themselves.

John Crichton:
Where is the new collector? for high speed, or Where is the new collector? for dial-ups.
- Background - hi for high speed or - Background - for dial-ups.

Michael Good-
Where is the new collector? for high speed, or Where is the new collector? for dial-ups.
- Background - for high speed, or - Background - for dial-ups.

Jeffrey Thomas:
Where is the new collector? for high speed, or Where is the new collector? for dial-ups.
- Background - for high speed, or - Background - for dial-ups.

John Windle:
Where is the new collector? for high speed, or Where is the new collector? for dial-ups.
- Background - for high speed, or - Background - for dial-ups.

Finally here is a link to comment if you would like to share your thoughts about this form. Click here to post your comments on the message boards. The goal is to shorten the gap between dealer and collector. Your views are appreciated. My thanks to these gentlemen who have trusted us to do this accurately.