Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
THE ANZAAB NEWSLETTER
W W W. A N Z A A B. CO M | J U N E 2017
Welcome to The Australian and New Zealand Association of Antiquarian Booksellers’ sixth Melbourne Rare Book Week and its 45th Australian Antiquarian Book Fair.
THE MELBOURNE BOOK FAIR ISSUE RARE BOOKS MELBOURNE
FOR INFORMATION ABOUT ANZAAB, CONTAC T [email protected]
The occasional newsletter of The Australian & New Zealand Association of Antiquarian Booksellers
Jonathan Burdon amPresident, ANZAAB
Over 60 book-related events will be held over the ten-day period from June 30th. They are being promoted in the 2017 Program available at many antiquarian and general bookshops, libraries and other locations. Go on-line (www.rarebookweek.com) to appreciate the wealth of interesting subjects that are covered within the program. Rare Book Week culminates with the Melbourne Rare Book Fair to be held at Wilson Hall, University of Melbourne, opening at 6pm on July 7th. Twenty-nine exhibitors will be presenting a broad range of antiquarian, rare, interesting and generally fascinating books, manuscripts and paper ephemera. This year we welcome Kate Treloar of Adelaide’s Pop-Up Bookshop to the Book Fair. Kate has recently joined ANZAAB. She is a second-generation bookseller—her father Michael has run Michael Treloar Antiquarian Booksellers on Adelaide’s North Terrace for many years.
We also welcome our regular overseas exhibitors – Adam Gorfin from Ursus Rare Books (New York, NY), long-time ANZAAB members David and Cathy Lilburne of Antipodean Books, Maps & Prints (Garrison, NY) and Peter Harrington from London. We are also delighted to welcome two newcomers to our book fairs—Jonathan Hill of Jonathan A. Hill, Bookseller Inc. (New York, NY) and our first ever exhibitor from Tokyo, Japan, Kagerou Bunko. Of course, all the stalwarts of the Australian antiquarian book trade, who support us on a regular basis, will be present.
It is an unfortunate fact that theft of rare and antiquarian books and manuscripts is becoming more prevalent in Europe and the USA. Over the years, we have been fortunate in Australia that this type of activity has been very uncommon. However, it seems that what starts on top of the world eventually slips down under. Australian booksellers are aware of the issue of theft and are always mindful of the origin and provenance of rare and fine books and materials offered to them for sale. In this issue of The ANZAAB Newsletter, we include two cautionary tales about book thefts which I think you will find of great interest.
To all book lovers, bibliophiles, book collectors and, especially to those who are beginning to take an interest, I welcome you to Rare Book Week and the Rare Book Fair. You will meet like-minded people and see fascinating and interesting items. So, For the Love of Books we look forward to your attendance during Rare Book Week and at the Rare Book Fair.
Melbourne Rare Book Week (MRBW) is now in its sixth year. The program continues to grow and our institutional libraries have adopted it as a regular event within their calendar. With this success comes extra demands, and it has become clear that the small team of organisers needs additional support on an ongoing basis. At the suggestion of ANZAAB, a new organisation has been formed, with a Committee whose members include representatives from ANZAAB, State Library Victoria, The University of Melbourne and others. Rare Books Melbourne (RBM) was incorporated as an Association in Victoria on 16 September 2016. Its purposes include running MRBW, promoting the value of books and the written word, educating the public on the value and place of books and other printed material in our society, and contributing to the preservation of the culture of the written and printed word.
In addition to having several of its members on the RBM Committee, ANZAAB will continue to be a partner of MRBW through its annual Rare Book Fair at Wilson Hall, The University of Melbourne.
EXHIBITORS AND HIGHLIGHTS
Venue:Wilson Hall The University of Melbourne
Open:Friday July 7 6–9pmSaturday July 8 10am–5pmSunday, July 9 10am–5pm
01—Books for Cooks (VIC)02—Antipodean Books, Maps & Prints (USA)03—Sainsburys Books (VIC)04—Cornstalk Bookshop (NSW)05—Books on Dean (NSW)06—Roz Greenwood Old and Rare Books (VIC)07—Astrolabe Booksellers (TAS)08—Louella Kerr Books (NSW)09—Hordern House Rare Books(NSW)10—Jonathan A. Hill, Bookseller Inc. (USA)11—Littera Scripta (VIC)12—Adelaide’s Pop-Up Bookshop (SA)13—Grant’s Bookshop (VIC)14—Kagerou Bunko (JAPAN)15—Antique Print Map Room (NSW)16—Michael Treloar Antiquarian Booksellers (SA) 17—Peter Harrington (UK)18—Douglas Stewart Fine Books (VIC)19—Andrew Isles (VIC)20—Ursus Rare Books (USA)21—Berkelouw Books (NSW)22—Mark’s Book Barn (NSW)23—Archives Fine Books (QLD)24—Ankh Antiquarian Books (VIC)25—Josef Lebovic Gallery (NSW)26—Kay Craddock – Antiquarian Bookseller (VIC)27—Asia Bookroom (ACT)28—Peter Arnold Pty Ltd (VIC)29—Sebra Prints (VIC)
VIEW EXHIBITORS’ HIGHLIGHTS ONwww.rarebookfair.com
Admission to Melbourne Rare Book Fair is free
Academic Books—24Antarctica—2; 7Antiquarian—4; 19; 21; 23; 24Antique Prints—15; 25; 29Archaeology—24Archery—5Architecture—3; 20Art: Australian—4; 18Art—3; 14; 20Artists’ Books—20Artworks on Paper—11Asia—2; 14; 27Australian Aborigines—4; 6; 21Australian Ephemera—25Australian History—5Australiana—2; 4; 6; 7; 8; 12; 13; 15; 16; 18; 21;.22; 23; 26; 28; 29 Avant-Garde Books—20Bindings—21Biographies—6Books about Books—10; 26Botanical Art & Prints—15; 29Botany—19
Children`s Books—13; 14; 26China—18; 27Classics—5; 24Colonial Paintings & Prints—9; 15; 28; 29Detective/Crime Fiction—4Early Printed Leaves—11Early Printing—10Economics—17Egyptology—24Ephemera—2; 16; 22; 23Fly Fishing—5Food & Cookery—1Gastronomy—1Guns & Hunting—5History—6; 7; 24Illuminated Manuscript Leaves—11Illustrated Books—8; 14; 16; 20Japan—10; 14; 27Literature—3; 8; 12; 13; 17; 23; 26Local History—6; 7; 22Manuscripts—16; 28Maps—2; 15; 28
Maritime—7Medicine—4; 10Military & Naval—5; 17; 22; 23; 26Natural History—19Norman Lindsay—18Ornithology—19Pacific—9Paintings—25Photographs/Photography—3; 14; 15; 16; 25; 28Poetry—23Posters—25Private Press Books—26Science—17South-East Asia—27Sporting Books—22Transport—22Travel—2; 6; 9; 10; 16; 17; 18; 21; 27Voyages & Exploration—2; 6; 9; 10; 16; 17; 21; 27Voyages to Australia—9; 18; 29Wine—1
INDEX OF SPECIALITIES [by Stand Number]
Stand 16—J.M. Coetzee/Stephen Conway BindingStand 18—E.H. ShackletonStand 10—Heinrich Steinhowel
Stand 11—Sir Robert Menzies by J.S. MacDonald
Stand 20—Albert Hasselwander Stand 27—Japanese Map of Antarctica
EXHIBITORS AND HIGHLIGHTS
STAND 12 Adelaide’s Pop-Up Bookshop Kate Treloar & Nick Patrick Eastern Roadway, Central Market(PO Box 12123), Adelaide SA 5000Telephone: 0402 344 690 Email: thepopupbookshop@gmail.comwww.adelaidespopupbookshop.com.auSpeciality: Literature
STAND 24 Ankh Antiquarian Books Jennifer A. Jaeger3 Westbrook Street, Chadstone VIC 3148 PO Box 133, Darling Vic 3145 Telephone: (03) 9888 1990 Email: jennifer@ankhantiquarianbooks.com.auwww.ankhantiquarianbooks.com.au Specialities: Academic Books, Antiquarian, Archaeology, Classics, Egyptology, History
STAND 2 Antipodean Books, Maps & Prints David & Cathy Lilburne29-31 Garrison’s Landing, Garrison, NY 10524 USATelephone: (+1)845 424 3867Email: [email protected] www.antipodean.comSpecialities: Antarctica, Australiana, Asia, Ephemera, Maps, Travel, Voyages & Exploration
STAND 15 Antique Print Map Room Louis & Susie KissajukianShops 7-11, L2, Queen Victoria Building Sydney NSW 2000Telephone: (02) 9267 4355Email: info@antiqueprintmaproom.comwww.antiqueprintmaproom.comSpecialities: Antique Prints, Australiana, Botanical Art & Prints, Colonial Paintings & Prints, Maps, Photographs
STAND 23 Archives Fine Books Dawn Albinger & Hamish Alcorn40 Charlotte Street, Brisbane QLD 4000 Telephone: (07) 3221 0491 Email: [email protected] www.archivesfinebooks.com.auSpecialities: Antiquarian, Australiana, Ephemera, Literature, Poetry, Military & Naval
Stand 20—Indiana & CreeleyStand 3—E. Richardson
Stand 16—E.E. Pescott Stand 8—Lorna Bingham
Stand 28—Alister Kershaw & David Strachan
Stand 5—Harper Lee
Stand 23—1828 Attorney’s Record
Stand 22—George Wirth
STAND 28 Peter Arnold Pty LtdPeter Arnold606 High Street, Prahran East Vic 3181 Telephone: (03) 9529 2933 Email: [email protected] www.peterarnold.com.auSpecialities: Australiana, Colonial Paintings & Prints, Fine & Rare Books, Manuscripts, Maps, Photographs
STAND 27 Asia BookroomSally BurdonUnit 2, 1-3 Lawry Place, Macquarie ACT 2614Telephone: (02) 62515191Email: [email protected]: Asia, China, Japan, South East Asia, Travel, Voyages & Exploration
STAND 7Astrolabe BooksMichael Sprod PO Box 3113, West Hobart Tas 7000Telephone: 0408 132 970Email: michael@astrolabebooks.com.auwww.astrolabebooks.com.auSpecialities: Antarctica, Australiana, Fine & Rare Books, History, Local History, Maritime
STAND 21Berkelouw BooksLeo & Paul Berkelouw 3020 Old Hume Highway, Berrima NSW 2577Telephone: (02) 4877 1370 Email: [email protected] Specialities: Antiquarian, Australian Aborigines, Australiana, Bindings, Travel, Voyages & Exploration
STAND 1Books for CooksTim White & Amanda Schulze129-131 Therry Street, Queen Victoria MarketMelbourne Vic 3000Telephone: (03) 8415 1415 Email: [email protected] Specialities: Food & Cookery, Wine, Gastronomy
Stand 16—V.M. Branson
Stand 22—H.C. Russell
Stand 8—Christie’s Elizabeth Taylor Collection
Stand 26—Enid Blyton
Stand 10—Joseph Boillot Stand 5—A.C. Kelly
Stand 25—William Dobell’s Bow-Ties
Stand 21—George Edwards
EXHIBITORS AND HIGHLIGHTS
STAND 5 Books on Dean Mary & Charles Stitz 3/444 Dean Street, Albury NSW 2640Telephone: (02) 6021 3230 Email: [email protected]: Australian History, The Classics,Military History, Flyfishing, Guns & Hunting, Archery
STAND 4 Cornstalk Bookshop Paul Feain33 Nelson Street, Annandale NSW 2038Telephone: 0452 228 982 Email: [email protected] Specialities: Antiquarian, Australian Art, Australian Aborigines, Australiana, Detective/Crime Fiction, Medicine
STAND 26 Kay Craddock - Antiquarian Bookseller Kay Craddock AM & Jonathan Burdon AM156 Collins Street, Melbourne Vic 3000Telephone: (03)9654 8506Email: [email protected] www.kaycraddock.comSpecialities: Australiana, Books about Books, Children’s Books, Literature, Militaria, Private Press Books
STAND 13Grant’s Bookshop Nick DawesUnit 4, 91 Tulip Street, Sandringham Vic 3191 PO Box 599, Black Rock Vic 3193Telephone: (03) 9585 4181Email: rarebooks@grantsbookshop.com.auwww.grantsbookshop.com.auSpecialities: Australiana, Children’s Books, Literature: Australian Modern First Editions
STAND 6 Roz Greenwood Old and Rare Books Roz Greenwood & Marg Phillips 107A Parker Street, (PO Box 95), Dunkeld Vic 3294 Telephone: 0417 360 362Email: [email protected]: Australian Aborigines, Australiana, Biographies, History, Local History, Travel, Voyages & Exploration
Stand 28—Hobart Town Plate
Stand 27—Nicholas Caire
Stand 15—Chinese Trading Junks
Stand 15—Thevenot’s Hollandia Nova Terre Australe
Stand 22—Chevallier Tayler 1905 Empire’s Cricketers
Stand 25—Frank Clune Family Albums
Stand 15—Federation Progam
Stand 3—Herbert Huncke
STAND 17 Peter Harrington Peter Harrington100 Fulham Road, London SW3 6HS UKTelephone: (+44) 20 7591 0220Email: [email protected] www.peterharrington.co.ukSpecialities: Economics, Fine & Rare Books, Literature, Military & Naval, Science, Travel,Voyages & Exploration
STAND 10 Jonathan A. Hill, Bookseller Inc.Jonathan A. Hill 325 West End Avenue, Apt. 10B New York, NY 10023 USATelephone: (+1) 917 294 2678 Email: [email protected] Specialities: Books about Books, Early Printing, Japan, Medicine, Travel, Voyages & Exploration
STAND 9Hordern House Rare BooksAnne McCormick OAM & Derek McDonnell Level 2, 255 Riley Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010 (PO Box 588, Darlinghurst NSW 1300)Telephone: (02) 9356 4411Email: [email protected] Specialities: Colonial Paintings & Prints, Pacific, Travel, Voyages & Exploration, Voyages to Australia
STAND 19 Andrew IslesAndrew & Belinda Isles Rear 115 Greville Street, Prahran Vic 3181 Telephone: (03) 9510 5750Email: [email protected]: Antiquarian, Botany, Fine & Rare Books, Natural History, Ornithology
STAND 14 Kagerou BunkoRyu Sato 3-26-3 Ogawamachi, Kanda, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Japan, Telephone: (+81) 3 3291 5001 Email: [email protected] Specialities: Art, Illustrated Books, Japan, Asia, Photography, Children`s Books
Stand 26—Jane Austen
Stand 27—China Pictorial
Stand 6—Wisden’s Cricketers’ Almanack 1937
Stand 25—Judy Davis by Carol Jerrems
Stand 3—Allen Ginsberg
Stand 23—George W. Martin
Stand 24—James Henry BreastedStand 28—’King Billy’ Playing Cards
EXHIBITORS AND HIGHLIGHTS
STAND 8 Louella Kerr Books Louella Kerr 17 Palace Street, Petersham NSW 2049Telephone: (02) 9569 0156Email: books@louellakerrbooks.com.auwww.louellakerrbooks.com.auSpecialities: Fine & Rare Books, Australiana, Literature, Illustrated Books
STAND 25Josef Lebovic GalleryJosef & Jeanne Lebovic 103A Anzac Parade (PO Box 93) Kensington NSW 2033Telephone: 0411 755 887 Email: josef@joseflebovicgallery.comwww.joseflebovicgallery.comSpecialities: Antique Prints, Photographs, Paintings; Posters; Books; Australian Ephemera
STAND 11 Littera ScriptaAndrew Leckie 18 Mitchell Street, Baringhup Vic 3463 Telephone: 0409 020 768Email: [email protected]: Early Printed Leaves, Illuminated Manuscript Leaves, Artworks on Paper
STAND 22 Mark’s Book BarnMark Burgess215 Homer Street, (PO Box 198)Earlwood NSW 2206 Telephone: 0417 065 089Email: [email protected]: Australiana, Ephemera, Local History, Militaria, Sporting Books, Transport
STAND 3 Sainsbury’s BooksJohn & Prue Sainsbury 534 Riversdale Road, Camberwell Vic 3124Telephone: (03) 9882 7705Email: john@sainsburysbooks.com.auwww.sainsburysbooks.com.auSpecialities: Architecture, Art, Literature, Photographs
Stand 8—Juli Haas
Stand 18—John William Lewin
Stand 18— Cristóbal Suárez de Figueroa
Stand 20—Comte de Lau-tréamont, Salvador Dalí
Stand 11—Dutch Book of Hours leaf, c.1460
Stand 11—13th century Justinian Civil Law manuscript leaf
Stand 5—Ion Idriess
Stand 10—Conrad Gesner
Stand 25—Buck Rogers in the25th Century
STAND 29Sebra PrintsDafydd Davies PO Box 7009, Doncaster East Vic 3109Telephone: 0410 520 100Email: [email protected]: Antique Prints, Art: Colonial, Australiana, Botanical Art & Prints, Colonial Paintings & Prints, Voyages to Australia
STAND 18Douglas Stewart Fine BooksDouglas Stewart720 High Street, Armadale Vic 3143Telephone: (03) 9066 0200Email: [email protected]: Art: Australian, Australiana, China, Norman Lindsay, Travel, Voyages to Australia
STAND 16 Michael Treloar Antiquarian BooksellersMichael & Susan Treloar196 North Terrace, Adelaide SA 5000 (GPO Box 2289, Adelaide SA 5001)Telephone: (08) 8223 1111Email: [email protected]: Australiana, Ephemera, Illustrated Books, Manuscripts, Photographs, Travel, Voyages & Exploration
STAND 20Ursus Rare BooksAdam Gorfin50 East 78th Street, Suite 1C, New York NY 10075 USATelephone: (+1) 212 772 8787Email: [email protected]: Architecture, Art, Artists’ Books, Avant-Garde Books, Illustrated Books
VIEW EXHIBITORS’ HIGHLIGHTS ONwww.rarebookfair.com
Stand 10—Galileo Galilei
Stand 27—19th century Diary (India)
Stand 15—Law Courts, Melbourne
Stand 21—Jane Austen
Stand 21—John Gould
Stand 23—Isaac Barrow
Stand 11—Rumpf, The Fall of Jericho
Stand 26—Karl Baedeker
TWO CAUTIONARY TALES
THE FIRST TALEA CANTERBURY TALE ABOUT CHARLES DARWIN
Gilleasbuig Ferguson, Gilleasbuig Ferguson Rare Books, Isle of Skye, Scotland
A picture paints a thousand words they say, but many sellersof important books on ABE clearly have little truck with thisnotion. So, when I spotted a 2nd Origin of Species (1860), sans images, that was described with a sprinkling of discouraging words (‘worn’, ‘rubbed’, ‘split’, ‘ex-library’, ‘shaky’) I thought it wouldn’t do any harm to get a look at the thing. It had been online for a while at a fairly cheerful price (£1,750) so it was certainly worth checking to see if it could be restored. It did sound like a dud though. I promptly received an email with photographs and I goggled, my eyebrows intertwined, at one of the finest copies of an early Origin that I’ve ever seen. OK then, let’s just…*click* (’Add to basket’), *click* (‘Proceed to Checkout’), *click* (‘Buy it Now’), *click* (that was the kettle), *rustle rustle* (Breaking out the Jaffa Cakes. Yeah, sod the oatcakes – time to celebrate).
As you can see it is surprisingly lovely. Damned with faint praise; damned with no praise at all. Even the ‘ex-library’ side of things turned out to be not so off-putting: no barcodes or pockets or Dewy Decimal graffiti to the spine. The only library indicator detailed was an old ink inscription to head of the title: ‘Canterbury Museum’. Probably some long-time-closed place in Kent I thought, as I shoved a third Jaffa Cake into my maw and pushed thoughts of institutional theft to the back of my mind.
The Edinburgh fair beckoned a few days later and I remember bragging about my purchase to a few colleagues there. The Origin appeared shortly after my return. It was just as lovely as I’d hoped it would be, but my heart sank as soon as I opened it. It was rather faint but unmistakeable - a
little lilac stamp there on the half-title: ‘Canterbury Museum, CHRISTCHURCH’. Damn. The title page held another surprisethat the dealer hadn’t mentioned – the ownership stamp of one ‘Walter Mantell’. Google, where our collective ignorance goes to die, burped out that the Canterbury Museum, earthquakes notwithstanding, was still a going concern and that Walter Mantell, as well as being Gideon Mantell’s son, was New Zealand’s answer to Richard Owen. Double damn. Why would any museum worth its salt intentionally get shot of this? I even speculated that Darwin may have sent Mantell this copy, since the two scientists corresponded on various subjects from geology to the Maori conception of beauty.
I emailed the seller via ABE to ask, already knowing the answer, whether they had been in touch with the Canterbury Museum to check if it Issue 398: May 2017 9 might still be their book. They hadn’t (I knew it!). Their ‘hunch’, however, was that it was fine. My hunch was that it was anything but fine and so it proved when I contacted the Museum. The Origin had never been sold or de-accessioned by them. Precisely how it had gained the opportunity to jet off on a holiday to Skye was a harder question to answer though.
It was nicked of course, I hear you all say. Well that’s what I thought. That’s what the kind staff at the museum assumed too, and quite fairly. Around the turn of the century there had been horrendous spate of thefts from libraries and institutions throughout New Zealand by a syndicate of criminals who were stealing books to order. The Canterbury Museum was amongst those targeted. By 2005 police, through operation Pakapuka (A Maori word of course – a beautiful catchall for books and works on paper), had recovered 1,640 stolen volumes with a value of around $500,000 and had charged six people in connection with thethefts. One can only conclude that many more items remain unaccounted for and that special vigilance is in order when dealing with important books from New Zealand. However, the police investigation sparked by my email would quickly lead not to a criminal working in the recent past, but to a researcher working at the Canterbury Museum before I was born. I received an email from Detective Sergeant Ross Tarawhiti who had headed up operation Pakapuka from Christchurch and, though he didn’t make his thoughts known, I am sure he too suspected that the trail would lead to some badass bookburglar. That couldn’t have been further from the truth. The Origin had been used for reference by a Marine Zoologist doing her masters research in the museum in the 60s and, when she left in 1969, the Origin was accidentally packed in boxes with her research materials and her books including, ironically, her own copy of the Origin of Species. The book remained in the box for nearly 50 years, until this spring when she released her large book collection to the trade, to free up space rather than make cash.
I know all this because the lovely individual wrote a very contrite and thoughtful letter of apology to the museum explaining how the accidental removal of the book took place. She also detailed how her long and useful career as a scientist, teacher and mother subsequently played out while the Origin lay hidden and forgotten in a cardboard box. So,
The inauspiciously described Origin turned out to be a thing of beauty
as well as being a reminder to be sure of having the title to books that one buys, this story is an example of how books can be dislodged from their rightful place by entirely innocent means and lost in the shuffle.
So, as I type these words, the Origin which was presented by Walter Mantell to the Canterbury Museum in August 1890, (accession number 1890.88.1) is tracing an 11,000-mile arc across the globe on its way home. I popped a postcard ofSkye in it to remind curators to be more careful in future. The local press were happy to take up the story so my shop and the ABA did get a little publicity out of the saga.
I would like to extend thanks to Professor Paul Scofield, senior curator at the Canterbury museum, for allowing me to photograph their book and to ABE for being very helpful and reassuring about a refund. Thanks too to Brian Lake for much appreciated useful advice and assistance: “…gladlywolde he lerne, and gladly teche.” The local press were much more enthusiastic about the story than Gill expected. [Published courtesy Gilleasbuig Ferguson and the Antiquarian Booksellers Association (ABA) Newsletter, Issue 398, May 2017]
THE SECOND TALETAKING OUR BOOK SLEUTHING TO A NEW LEVEL IN 2017... or, How we cracked the cold case of a book missing from the rare books department of a major institution
Dawn Albinger & Hamish Alcorn Archives Fine Books, Brisbane
The first few weeks of the year are traditionally a time when people seek to sell books. People are on the move, or they’ve decided to clean out the kids’ room, library, or the shed. In some cases people have to make decisions about what to do with the books belonging to their parents or grandparents as they move into assisted living. Sadly others are taking the advantage of the summer break to deal with the estate of a loved one who died – either recently or in the distant past – their books gathering dust in homes that now have to be sold. A death in our own family just before Christmas made fielding the post Christmas enquiries all the more poignant this year. The shop was quiet, as fewer people browse our shelves through January, but the phone
rang constantly with offers of everything from crime fiction through to the classics. This is a good time of year for us to replenish general stock, and if we are lucky, sometimes something truly interesting will come across the counter.
And so it came to pass. In the second week of January we were offered an old and rare book. Sydney Illustrated, by John Skinner Prout, published in 1843, is one of the earliest pictorial records made of Sydney. I was contacted late last year by a gentleman looking to sell and I anticipated examining the book with some excitement. However there is a saying in the antiquarian book profession: If it seems too good to be true it probably is, and I repeated this grounding mantra while I waited for the book to arrive. The day the gentleman brought it in we were experiencing an unusually (for January) busy moment and he was happy to leave it with us, together with a handful of other old books. I told him that on the face of it the book could have some value and repeated that I was looking forward to looking at it closely. Then I asked him about its provenance – could he tell me how he acquired it? Did it come down through the family, or was he an avid collector? He was unwilling to answer and when gently pressed he said evasively, ‘I got it from a guy’. With my ‘dodge-factor’ radar tuned high I put the book aside for a quieter moment.In our correspondence the gentleman had alerted me to the fact that there was a library stamp in the book. I dis-cussed this with a colleague prior to seeing it and planned to make sure the book had been de-accessioned from whichever institution had originally held it. It’s fair to say the book was not in the best condition. It was complete, but it had come into contact with water. The boards were very poor and there were damp stains throughout, though not on the plates themselves, from which the book derives a deal of its value. In fine condition it would be a five-fig-ure book (one sold at auction last year for $35,000), but serious collectors would not spend five figures on it in its present condition. I mentally dialled my potential of-fer down, considering whether it may still have appeal to someone. I started weighing up the re-casing versus orig-inal binding arguments in my head and got on with my re-search, focussing on the library stamp. The stamp at the front was small and discreet and had been applied to each plate in the book. Unequivocally the book had, at some point, been the property of the Sydney Free Public Library.
A more experienced bookseller would have known immedi-ately that the Sydney Free Public Library was the anteced-ent of The State Library of New South Wales, but I had to look more closely to find this out. While the stamp at the front read Sydney Free Public Library the stamps on each plate read Public Library of N.S.W. Once I established this I checked the SLNSW online catalogue and found other cop-ies of Prout in their holdings, but none that exactly matched the one in my hands, and none listed online as ‘missing’. Nevertheless the historical significance of the book, its relative scarcity, and the potential seller’s apparent reluc-tance to reveal his source, led me to keep asking questions. I emailed the library, let them know what I was handling, and said I wanted to check whether it had belonged to them previously and if so did they have a record of letting it go.
TWO CAUTIONARY TALES
The librarians were quick to respond, and it transpired after an exchange of emails, sending of photographs and speaking on the phone, that the book did in fact still belong to the State Library of New South Wales. They had a clear record of it going missing from their rare book collection in May 1990. They sent us a letter of claim asking us to hold the book on their behalf and to put the potential seller in touch with them. All of which we did and there the story may have ended, except the potential seller was not happy to let it end in this way. He turned up to our shop with a letter demanding the books be returned to him and threatening police action if we refused. We refused, and the conversation got a little loud and a little heated and eventually Hamish showed the gentleman the door, encouraging him to make good on his threat to involve the police. For those of you who don’t know our shop, we are situated right next door to the Charlotte Street police station.
And so it came to pass. Thirty minutes later the police came and took the books into their possession. They contacted the State Library of New South Wales, and the matter was resolved in the library’s favour. A day later we received the loveliest phone call of thanks from the head rare books librarian, for going ‘over and above’ the call of duty. We just did what we thought was right. Since then things have quietened down again, but we’ve been aglow with the good feeling of a job well done, and from cracking book-sleuthing jokes (I’m the sleuth, Hamish is the strong-arm).
Post-scriptThose of you reading closely at the beginning might be wondering about the ‘handful of other old books’ the gentleman left with the Prout. Four of them were also ex-Sydney Free Public Library and were first editions of Cook’s second and third voyages. Unfortunately these were all incomplete and the second voyage volumes in particular were broken and had been ‘farmed’ for the prints. And yes, these were also missing from the library’s collection. We have not heard from the potential seller since. He no doubt acquired the books through some legitimate salvage operation, but his early caginess and later bluster did not serve him well. We bear him no ill will and can only hope he learned something valuable for his future dealings.
[Published courtesy Archives Fine Books, 2017]
ANZAABThe Australian & New Zealand Association
of Antiquarian Booksellers Ltd
www.anzaab.com
For further information about ANZAABcontact
Rachel Robarts, ANZAAB [email protected]
ANZAAB is affiliated with theInternational League of Antiquarian Booksellers
www.ilab.org
The ANZAAB NewsletterMelbourne Book Fair IssueEdited by Kay Craddock AM
Designed by Bootleg Designs
Melbourne Rare Book Week 2017
Flipbook version of program
Pdf version of program
![Atm Thefts[1]](https://img.dokumen.tips/doc/110x75/5583f3c6d8b42a66288b4ee9/atm-thefts1.jpg)