Some people moving or just thinning out, others dealing with estates. Rather sadly, it's often the way we as booksellers find out that our customers have popped their clogs, when we are asked to go and look at their books. Something that happened this week, when I noticed that the photographs around the house were of a long standing customer.
The range has been huge. I took several boxes to charity shops, but also bought a couple of very nice A. A. Milne Winnie the Pooh first editions, a nice Essex House Press volume, and a run of Herbert Jenkins published P. G. Wodehouse that have already sold.
Probably my favourite thing this week has been the the nigh on 1,000 Everyman's Library books that I bought in north London. Not because Everyman's Library are especially valuable, they're not (most can be bought for just a few pounds). Or even because they offered 'real serviceableness with a pleasing, dignified appearance', as my old Descriptive List states. Or even because, when they were relaunched a few years ago, they still managed to produce reasonable priced, well made volumes.
No, the real reason I got so excited, was far more shallow than that. It was a lovely day, with the sun shining through the french windows. Rather unexpectedly, sitting in the corner of the room, was a rainbow of books.
The previous owner had gathered all of the volumes without dustjackets, and arranged them as above! Simple things.... it just pleased me there was such a simple, personal effective display.
What was also nice to discover, was that the previous owner had gathered his collection together over 50 years, reading a new tome every 2 or 3 weeks.
Sadly, I will probably have to split the run up. It wasn't complete, and there is too much variation in the overall condition. There is also the sad reality, that sets of series rarely sell well as a set. Collectors like to collect, and they want the pleasure of acquiring a volume here, and a volume there.
There is an Everyman story, about the actor Richard Burton who was a fan of the series, and would pick copies up to accompany him when he was off on location filming. Elizabeth Taylor, who was his wife at the time, went out and bought him a complete set, knowing he liked them. It apparently completely destroyed his fun - he'd loved the thrill of discovery, and perhaps letting serendipity decide what he would read next.
This is true of so many complete runs, especially when they are numbered, as any bookseller will tell you. I've yet to sell a complete set of the King Penguin series, but buy a set, and price them individually, and KP collectors will add new ones to their own collection, or upgrade on the condition. It's the ultimate in recycling!
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