the bookdealers calling

8/14/2019 the bookdealers calling

1/11

Tay l r r721+6 :Texas 77248 iIi:.

b*j ' .h*-

TT{EBOOKDT.AIM,S ATI NGBeokshelves l lncd the unl ls up and clswn rem thc f our teen-f rst cei l ln

wl th a traok la, ldor pr .vld. lng the only access to the tsp hnl f or lof t . Ottre elder encl mrrc tarc books ocoupled thc uppcr space of the book r@tm,thesc fcw but oholcc lncunabuLa. hng tabl -es sct at rendom throughout thshoppe d. lsplnyect the used.-book @r qulck-sale l tcms, old conlo beoks Jut teoutwercl f ron e btg pl lc. A Long scct lon to thc r lght-hended. back slctc efthe shoppe had an area edvert is lng the top- ten best scl l -ars dur ing the wprst year cr sc - - of fercd the books even fs r cn t : ten ccn ts en hour gri lo l ler e i l ey f co l f taken f rom thc prcn lscs , e c i roulet ing renteL l lbrnryb tb l , l o thcoa. Thc f ron t pr r t o f the stse d lsp l ,eyed newspepers , per lod leeln gener r l end pu lp negaz ines , s l l cks , l l kc a typ lce l neyg&ana, n11, in ethrec- r lng-o l rcus- typc d isp ley . Revo lv lng mcta l racks he ld the cur ren tln-pr lnt 1npcr-broks. The wtrslc brck str re hei l e pcrvaslvc sppcerencc thlooked l l ke a g ian t psss lonnte brok Jaeket , comple te wl th f re ighed edgesd lsco furcd to losk o lder then i t s ac tun l l y wern ycars : nLL t lneLess fca tuyct oh so t imcl-y. The sign abeve the ovel gless i loor slnrply reei l : TheNEigssTAND.BO0KI)T',ALERSNITL{TlmD - end thc winclewn slgn bonoeth slmplystetcd. ?f0?tr\TFC'RBUSINBSS.FTEASECol,f l$NSIDnn hung ln a slentcd englc l lke hal f -epencd or hel f - rer i t fo l i@ ptge bchlnd the wlcle lren covercd sQlGCguard d.rorwny (n eurslvc stylc poster-sign essertcd t ln sheppc slrgen: nsvlces r f fcrcd twcnty- four hoursn) . Tr ' reonger was the eld sheppe Gvor lcoup or cven clcsci l , the oel teglnte-denend. lng cnvlr lns belng wlret they wcrc

- lt - ;.";'* ."


2/11

rAYI-oR

th ls I l t t l c tenn. Tho ane lcn t beoks ts rc wts l rcete i l l n en r ld - fash lcnedunlvergl ty trwn net fnr f rom Blg D, ole DeIIes town. The nel96tena l tsel fwas el twtei l @n the neln strect er mnin drag net fer f rom the old DccWhcet ley JcweLry St r re nnd on ly e fow d@ors i lown the long s t rec t , s . of tecn l l cd the lengest s t ree t ln Amcr lca, f ron the famed Aner i cen T .eg lon {e lLNunber L the e ld red br ick bu i ld lng oompla te wi th i ts h ls tor lcaL pLrquto Armis tence Dey or n@w nsvm es Vctorens Tny ( tnc hls tor lcr l snrkerreoorded: n ln tov lng nem@ry o Rrucc Wl l l lens, the f l rs t Unl ted States i

bey so ld tc r to d le ln r t ro r ld ' r /n r I , r the-wer - te -end-aL l -wers f d led e t RresFrenccr r ) . The cor reded mete l le t tcr lng d ld not re ln te the oomplc tc h ls torstory; the cavaL lc r townspeop le o f Connerce , Texes hed h 'onered he l r l eoenob la doughboyr c lea th .n a net lone l levc l by t rgen lz lng thc f l rs t Amer ic1eg lsn HelL Numbar L nnd thcn lnt t le l l y ce lebrn tcd ln 1918 the very f l rs tArmistanoc Dey in the Unl ted Statcs before the7Fast of the TT,g. tnd thc wo)f o l l owe i t su l t 1n lgrg the memor le l -cnnkcred p laque to ld n tcrse storytn4r mclder ing, cor rode i l rnd i l us ty , h ld lng t ts pr l v lnch l e l f t t o the whowor l i l . And the whole dswntown cl ty squsrc hed n nrold.er ing, f . rsakcn eni lc lusty lrok l lke n Long forget ten sleepy vl } Inge. The slcepy Southern towhe6 e cesuel .ppesrrncc as though nothlng lnportant the wcr ld lvcr hecl evheppenedhere - - n ny ncwoomcrshrd f l rs t been feoled by the convent lenrLLtzy cavcr of t l t tLc Commercc ,e ned lcvr l 1 -ookby sonc (suoh et t l tudnr l - flnprcsgl- rns being voonLly exprcsscd onec by twr pnkee salesmen t idraesk nelder ly connargonlen ln thel r shr i l l 141chlg8n ccent , *This htok tewn suri lend. : but ctrewlod the locnl old. t lner , tyeu twe arc the f l rst buzzrrds cvcsecn ol rc l lng th is tswn squl rcrn) . The e ld t swn-square br lek s t rec ts d id


3/11

' ' r,o

l ndeed leok td le , desor ted , l tke a wsrn-Gut noveL, book, le l i l f ace-dotnr ben est range i l rendcr I rena lssence ntn , f r r surc e f t c r be lng lnter rupf ron e dcep pcrus lng or cagua l renewal s f an engr rss lng tomc.

Ir{r . Tsme Beekout as a strangar to sbscurc Comoercc had f l rst thoughtthc te l rn hc ld no proepeots , bu t tha t wns befue o ld TomoBoekout h lnse l fassuned qul te l l terel ly the menagementef thc l rcel bookstcre knshln es fTI{E'IUISSTAND.lr. Torrc Bookout supervlsed thc letc shlft stqe hsurs by hlsown cholee and. deslgn, hls turn cf events. H hrd crceted the quaint st t rhours tn sc le r to earn h ls kecp end h ls lodg ing ebove the book s to re . Thjob bad nst been an casy onc t s gct - - no Job ef fe r ha i l ever been mai le tethe enterpr ls ing Tome-Bookoutby thc two 1lveJ"y clessy old-meld. s lsters vownei l ani l ran thc brokstore themselvcs. But fete @r the merc cl roumstanoof I pecul ler turn d events hrd pl : ,ced the Jod cl 'ar ly ln the hends of TBookout . T@n1cookout siezed the momentancl then kcpt the shoppe ln r rdea f l es ty f f i t r , hc kept the brsk s tock per fec t l y er reyed, prefcr r lng to s tnln a oomfor table n lche hc kncw by rote as t t geemed:so easi ly i t was fo rTonne o f l t lnto the natur :el scheme of the shepper tt r et l te tastc ' morc len o ld v l s l t e r reun lon to the t ima lcss she lves t in t he ld e l l h i s fevsr i tef r lendly e l l i ances , books - - ror ,ys egcrved f or the lcx i con, theseurusr c@eordnncas, gezetteer, e Imanecs, cncyclepaeil le, t 'r{}IOtS 'c\rHOend 'f#{0 ',qAS$IIJAnCl , eh, hew o le Tone Rookout d is t tkcd se l l i ng the hrck inks l l ngers , eL I perv6rsc nDl-meNevelsr i he kept on the revolving netal racks. And ele Tomcol lec+ed over -d .uc ecs @r f lnes wi th a vcngcnccr a tenac l t y er invent i vewi th e buoyent sel f -csnf ldcnoc that oonstant l -y amzecl the unnerrLed Lrdle


4/11

+/r*/tr mn on

wha cent inuecl tE operate the shoppe dur ing the day shl f t . T@wnspeopleweeger ly pay thls needLlng mrle bookCleeler when othcrwlsc the bcelLy knodeai l -ber ts weu ld lgnore the lad les f demends,but s l l gh t ing never o le Tsnqu le t l y dcmend lng menetary st r re. Tomcnever a l l swed pr@speet l vc sus fonte reed vcry long wi thout buy lng or w l theut pny lng tha renta l fee; he wtsthc culator ef the bocks , a s teward f i rs t rnd fcemost , as o le Tone st rers ta tea l tn h ls t yp ica l New Ysrk d la lee t tha t jus t lmpl led New York Cl ty eshls b i r t i ip l .ace whi le the br@ue or reg iene l nccent cLear l y suggestcd lnunoertein terms to the publ lc read'er thn t the 'smuggedPages do nob selL vwelL rnd t f iat the pr lntcd lnforrnt len would. be evcn morc. nterest ing vrheread at home in pr lvrcy -- I genulne coneern f ,or the bolksf wcl" f r re and cJoyrcn t ceac f rom the hesr t ra ther thrn the grnsp lnc 'hend towerd the do l lspent , nt r t for nr ts t saket t bc lng the nt t l tude herer l t r r t l r i s tecrecy-cf - themindr t re lgned suprcme ( t f ro personn l Inss lonate dlat r lbe to pro tce t I booJust such en opus expected fron thls quelntT msny faccted cl ' l test of e mnRlg beok sales-promot lons ln the stere never brougl t t - ln meny customers orrea1ly m.rnt t@, I mere forml l ty to r t tenpt mrv lng the boek s tock te r? lh@aer r f c lessLess concern - - the bsoks bd el reei ly been reed by nrst ofc l t l zens or s tudcnts ( tne story- l lnc l lkc ly r l rcedy be ing to ld by c l ,e ToRookout ) .

Tonp Boekout seemed .o regre t se l l l r g cer te in books , h ls 1 l fe -Longfr iends se to speek. I lc elvrays knew the c*ntents l lke nlsslves fron ol- i lF r tec l f r l ends be lng un i ted ln scr lp t bu t never wls secn reei l lng eny booo1e Tanp cven knew the eur ren t bes t se l l e rs , toc - - end these worLd ly bo


5/11

r/ S rAYT,oR

hc sa ld . wi th a d l f f i dent mnncr , l nks l l ngers , e I I ths t he lped Iny thc ren(Just ebout the only rc8son to keep thern about , would nout ter ole Temo toh imsc l f , shek ing h is head beek an i l for th, m. re en lmated t l rn meledrenret i

The dremet lc book i lee le r more thrn csr lud h i s own keep. But th ls luct ive t radc had net a lv rays been the c tse - - e t reet lse er hurnn lntercstnevc l fu wl th in t t se l f oou ld herd ly tc l l h l s l l f e story. TemeRookout hadonoc w@rke i l n e fer -ewny ner th -eas tern reg ione l cc l l -egc l l b rary r t theeheck-out i l esk , ron in l y to se t t l e o ld nccor . rnts , o ro6r i l t t bs t books . Butse lCom back then ccu ld he ees i l y co l l eo t the few penn ies crue i iso was saanle t go , in d l sgrace, ru ined and f i ne l i ze i l . And b. f ore that Job, thts ^ "6Bookout had worked in s h lgh schc,o l l lbrary csunt lng tho books as on ly atyp lca l schoo l msrm lbrar i ta knew hew to do ; thc work neturn l ly was net nand lng enoupf r or the i rnag lna t l sn , espec ln l l y for a complex tnn of pnr tsnot rca l_ l zed to h ls potent ie l bu t e t leas t hnv ing e work lng pcs l t l on nct rh is c lass lc r l f r l ends bound in ve l l um who best comprehendcd he rce l TomBockout whosc own bounc l less but shal tered. l l fc was end less anong theset ime less l l b re t tees , l l ke r l i vc ly book re turne i l f rcm bc lng too long sut l oan - - a ta t te red tsno borne out o f e l cbor of lovc .

TomeBoskout labored at rneny edcl Jobs end i lul lerct workleds befsre ar lv lng f lnal ly ln thts nor th-ccntre} par t cf Eest Texas now, ovcr f lvcyaars had prsse6 l , net reel l -y so long 68r r but back then o le TomeBookouthad becn sel l ing reems and retms of ber ing dul l psper ts pr lnters snd' or ll -a tera l bus lnesscs , and even t i t t l c books teres , such ns the onc the cr lcr fs l s te rs here rkrust rcated Co,nmercc,ov ing1y @per t t cd . tsut the fano l fuL


6/11

'r iyr,on

aglng sisterst maager shoppc dld not have the brsad soopc clc TomeBoskothen rcprcsented, a t leas t Laoked the pcrspcc t l ve at thp t t l ne when e lcEoskout er r l ved on I cer l wtndy Ia te-0c tober a f te rnoon. Thc lnc l lmr teweather l l ko a path. t ic fe l l ncy had ln f luenced the tu rn o f events becauss f an unt lme ly ce ld snap or "b lue nor thcrn tha t had prec ip i ta ted a rashof head co lds . An i l l ness , a v l rus , much lke the ln f luenza Ef the f919ki t ler - farned f lu ep idemle aga ln lnvaded the c lo l s te red bookroomcal le i l thNewsstand; the ar l s tocra t i c sp lns ter s l s te rs took to the i r bed fo r a fs r thnight , I l fe @r deeth c l r cumstances for them, i I l a t home n the l r o ld . TexSteambrn t s ty le house nemedVr t lnn l ford Way Iocated. @n he ancestora l l andgcount ry es ta te . TomeBookout had jus t happenedupon thd sreaa, out of thb Iueorouto f thewood.work 'up@n&chances1tuet1cnn" , f f i t oca1I fo rprospect lve prper sales and then made the most of 8 dry run or bad turn ocvents 1n the oh i l l y weather , tu rned bad mein ly unp leesent fo r the nob lel rd. les t tn t l -s . o le Tomebegan work ln th ls co l l ege town bookstore acc lda I I y by jus t bc lng t r resent @r Just ce l l l ng et the f rsn t i l oor cn the i l reedr fbcok deyr rs the fe l ks ln the t rade ca l led the dreadfuL ohcrc : cvery Tudel lvery f o r pnper -backs , ad Thursc tayde l l very fo r mrgaz lnes or then JusI tkc ly any t lme for rceelv ing del lvery o f the herd .backs . Conp le te havecexlsted at the front dorr up and down the long sldewalk -- fcmnerclel cabrerd boxes l lned or blooked the wlde dewntown wel}ct lay.

ole TomeBeokout began work ln downtownccmmcrce by performing a goocleei l , a fcvor Just to place alr the eartons lnslde thc bookstore i loorwaynGoed samar i tantr cnough. But @ncc nsld'e the sheppe, ole TemeBoekout sl


7/11

TAYT0R

c@uld not reslst the cpportuni ty the rsmanced fancy of l t a l l Justoould not leave the eonpel l ing place. Tomc began hls rnprk by stecklng thshelves and then conpletely reerganizing the stsrc f loor plan -- [ tany Inobooks ho wel l knew eou ld be nerchand lzed by mak lng scvera l s t ruc tura l chaalong the htgh wal l s . Tomebcr rowed hemmermd sew from nnother concernc i t l zcn @ver t l re heal th s f the s lck l y s l s te rs . OIe TEmebul l t she lves updown the four teen foot cc l l i ngs , even bu i l t t ab les nnd racks f or a i td l t l onbooks thet ho a lso knew must be bought and d lsp leyed for the genera l pubor cus tomer peruse l . O le Tone Bookout pa ln ted the who le p laee, fny lng fothe nater ia ls vd- th h ts l ns t do l la r and gnve his a I I to t rens forn ing the sboskroom nts e chnrmlng but Inrger bookhs l l .

15e t ransformat ion p leased the na lden lnd les up@n hel r r cgr lned heeBut the prospects of an ob l lg lng enp l ryac , nob lesse ob l lge or ne t - - endmalc , s t rangcr , e t - tha t - - ovcrwbe lmod he tw l ro ld . g l r3-s i l ( t tg i r l -s t r , t seec tue l l z lng term used ts i l escr lbe thcmse lves f sni l l y ) . The zest fu l , energs is ters bed eper r ted , the bus lness as ene for dccades, e un l t y , end 'mac ledcolslons together as suoh; no onc ln tbe to5-rer l lV kncw ratr ich slsteractual ly owned he shoppe, cvcn the i r pers uf f in"o nnmcs b lcndcd togetherI i ke mus loa l t i t l es : Lynna and Luo l I I c Wlnni ford; over the te l 'ephone, thes is te rs r vo loes sound.ec l l rn l ler , l dent i c le , tnd f r lends ce lLod or a i l d resthe twosoae ln e fest cl ipplng Tcxen upper-oLass voeal menner ef runnlngthe chr lst lan 541ven-names ynna-J,uci l te assuredly together as one ncnlkert@ assul .c n@ sl lghted pers@nal err r r ln e lew Quat i ty pi tch( the hlgher thc l .ass , the l rwer the verbn l p t t ch : the low tones a lwnys be ing ev idcnt ln


8/11

r ' lYroR

Newsstand atnosphere ss unl ika the high-pi tchei l twang ef the rowd.yrednecwho arc wel l -known.es the perpotratss of the Texas legend or the Texnn

yptce t peesant p le lnsmrn wey d speak ing) . But e na le en-p loyee ceu ld csrnp l lea te met ters. I l owever , thc Wlnni ford. g l r ls l l ked thencw &nnrs genern l dcnesner , eb l i ga t lon er ns t . The st rango man cou ld poss lb l y have a p lace ln tho i r fenn ique hnb l te t ns the two gi rJ-s re ised the ieyebrows to eaoh other in h lgb eccord , non-verba l ngreement , l f he l l kedfess iona l spor ts espec ie l l y s lnce both s ls ters wcre e weL lc lngcncyo lopEf fogtbr l lmenler Fr r t lcuter ly a runn lng casc o f Cowboy- l t l s (nrore thnn obo ls te rous customer hrs beon ordered. sut o f the l r bus lness es tnb l i shmentncgat l ve cr i t tc lsm of the De tas Ccwb@ys) . Thesc femin lne prspr ie tors kna good play or s t ra tegum when they saw onc so wel l e i l d ressed. The new boc lea le r repor ted f or work , a lmost e work-ca I1 , dressed lmpeccab l -y :h lgh lysh ined shoes, p ins t r i ped su l t , bow t ie , f 1n . "erna11smnicured. , ha l r event r lmned and moustaohe cur led . r s t r en t lque look - - tn ass lnge i l l cok theI r f lnn i ford. g i r lsr 1 l ked, not a t a l l un l i ke the huge sep ia co lored photogreof thei r d.eceased.ether , seated. en the wcst verandeh of his grandfatherrsTexane menslon cel lod Winni ford. i { Iey (t tre t ransplanted old Vlrglnla lYlnni fo f . f f inn i ford WaX, no less) . T .ess hnn per feet , o le TomeBcokout cu t qu l te f lgurc ts losk l lke tho lend,eclgentry sc el i t feshlsned or t imoless thatd id lndeed IEok nuch l tke the i r doar d .ead. l re but nr xomnt i ca l l y a t tnohnents for them this t ime, e t i rne ly feat r . re in h l s favor fo r s tay lng-en atthe rev i ta l l zed beoks tore , shou ld the volume @f sa les lncrease to mer l t cpermanent pos i t i on @r so the gi r ls stated in the st ipu lat iens of thc i rh l r l ng-bus iness prac t i cs l l t i es '


9/11

rAYr'oR

Bus iness , however , d ld no t increase imnred ia teLy . And the s ld -maid tss i s te rs onLy too soen had te g lve f ina l no t l ce f s r [ fenday week e3 v ieck afncx t t@ thei r sp lendid bookdea ler . TemeBookcut l i s tened imfnt lent ly anon ly ha l f -hcar ted ly to the sa i l den lng news, reasons aI l econemic no t persobut c l ssed h ls ears ; bembooz lec l ,Tomeshut h ls mlnd, t@ the bad news l ikec losed account , th is imper fec t moment , Ies t , h is preponderance in th lst raves ty ; o le Toru Jus t re fused te be le t Bor f lne l ly , no more cou ld be saf tor a l l had been sa l i l and done l Ole Tome on ly responded ora l l y by repelng h is posl t l ve t ra l ts over and . ver l i ke e catec lsm, raut ter lng as usueln h is hep l -ess yankee whln ing brogue, shak lng h ls herd and hcnds fas t l i kethe quick fluttcring [email protected],bp, rthe f inal thurnb-actlrn on dusty plgestr1/clrse f lrn1y a ha f-opencfif-adFVbo the muttered drone becomlng I motone, a basso profundo, slnr l lnr to the publ lc speaklng volce fqr a wel l - rei loss ier s r ncwspaper rb i tuary be lng proc l -a i r cd to a lL the wor ld ln publ lcopcn forum sn the vl l lage green sr the tcwn $queret But ele Toms Boskoustayecl -on, anyway, fql a shlpraent d| books i lad iust arr lved agr in and ssmsinply had to put t l rem alvsy -- to be shclved snuggly sut sf sigbt l ike althe o ld or out -of -datc books so ld on eons lgnnent , Tomehlmse l f qu le t l y end.e l l bere te l y p laced h is salary or p ink s l ip so to spcnk on resc l . ve , te hEl lke a l l fe- t lme membership card, lVcr l r Ani t Tome Boskout never nent loncthe al tcrcat lon aga ln , the f lna l l z ing ncver ree l l zed. , as he cont inug.d d 'oh ls o ld. job as usua l to per fec t ion anc l even a l l men la l chores n" twa 'n"whi le l lv ing ln the r@@ns bove the store, just as though word one hai l ebeen sai i l aUou!f i f rc termlnat ion, a sigh cf sl lent rel ief to the beekd'ealaQIe Terc BEekout nsver lef t tbe bookstee egr ln for any reas@n 8s though


10/11

Lo Lo La Lo rAYT-oR

hav lng taken abst lnence f rcm f resh al r forever but in reel l ty ho fearec l tdoors would becsme shut, loc ked; he renalne d. a wrys , on t he premises : I 'rbut net a sedentary l l fe , scur r lng a l l rover the p l -ace, tak ing h l s food f r4U4/-tbe scraps nthe gl r ls [ as he now cal t6\ , /eohor tsT de l ibera tc l y le f t f rom thIunches spreed sn thc baok ceunter where old books got rebound -- and thoedlb lc scraps becamom@re cnereus wl th each Pess ing da iLy nea l t l ne . nsua harmless de lus lonr " reegoned the k lnd ly sp l r l t ed s ls te rs - - thesc sweeladles of que l i t y acccpt lng the l r gantee l cu l - c le -sac sl tuat ion wi th a genprot tcs l bch lnd the l r b lg s taeks of cons igned booksheaLves.01e Torne i ved ln gentee l pover ty f rom h ls conpetent n lche between tshe lves of the cur i rus o ld book s to re , h l l g randc shoppc, , eni i l h ls fen l l l abosksr_glg deer beeks now stacking-up on the r lght s ld.e of Els long l l febut f rme l ived Els l t fe cornpletely al lvel l , f i ld-nannered o1c Tone Bsokouse l i l on was t1o t l ced"a t a l l bu t observed never l d le , ncvcr socn wi theut s@Journal or oodex ln hand. Ole Tomemade the store rsundg cluiet ly throughthe mny ls1es of tab les ln the o ld shoppe, f l l t t lng ln end about endaround the var ious pub l t ca t ions l l ke an exha l ted v l s i ta t i on wi th o ld f r iento keep-up wl th a I I the scu t t l ebut , a lways jus t popp lng sut o f the s tackssimj . lar te a l lve Jack-1n- thc-box @r &n unexpectei l walking bork marker ,turned hlmsel- f personl f ied lnto a human f ly- teaf not qui te turned-dountf i r rn ly . Ole TomeBookout Jus t appeared to have e touch lng reLat ionsh ip te l l the books , se tact l le the f ingers e l ,ways hand led @r dawdl lng , cachr sl sv ingLy compel led t reesures fc rever by the wayr Yet to be enceuntererecsunted as a recor i l ed exper ience for n l l the wor ld , g i ven, v i c l r i ous lymade eal wl th a d.e f tness , a real - l l ve b ib l i opo le th is fus ty o ld book ish


11/11

LL LL tt / tt / tt rAn"0RtiIIT,t'I

OLe Tome Bockouh lookcd alder than his aetunl ycrrs, whetcver theywcrc ln ehronobg icd l r rder , h ls faee l inod, and eyes Jeded wi th s low, dberete nocvenentsstudylng h1s surreundingsrmovlng l lkc rcei l lng pr lnt on apsge: h is phys ique fuI l o f feetures beet l ing, o ls Teme, seemedpag lne teca lways fac ing rec to or verse much l - l ke e center - fo ld. p i c tu re e lmost eoL-laps lb le ln k lnes the t l c eggregat i l n , a rnn of s l cw p leasures , a man o f pnot s ingu ler ln rc lat lenshlp te a13. he books , these mr rked compl }a t ionsc f c i v l l i za t ions reguler ly v is i tod ln th ls prev inc la l l l t t le o ld shoppc lthe ocnter of thlngs, l ts own universe wel l -worn. Ole Tome elweys wore aswcater now tbet lookcd hend.ed-dowr, nore end mrre I lke a wel l -worn bookjecket ; h ts sh f r t cu f f s e lways f re ighed arEund the cdge$ t r l kc I rare but\fr/*"favor l tc old bff i with deckLc edges ths lmpeccable or lginal business shad. ong sgr ngcne- to -seedr r , fe I Ien lnto d. lsrepel r @r tet tered d.ecayendonly hand.y musty garments feund or Lef t ln the old shoppc by f orgatfullyf l ighty col lege studcnts lnai lver tendly provided the ncagr werd.rcbefor thls booi tworn of a mtn. And the skln tones on olc Tomets weatherecl iwas d l sco l r red . !n leyers over the wbi t ish chnlk sun less spots l lke theseldom used book bindings en soroeof the spct tcd classlceL but unuscd.booin the Newsstanc i , to r long unreac l and cleer ly unapprec la ted - - the @ncei lappcr eonf lgurat lon of the staLward, tores had f i -nalLy glven way te thct i rno lcss, ys t oh so t ineLy , werLd-wl i le features of a l l thc yo l lowed exot lbooks on the se ldon used bnck she lves . The bsokdea ler h inse l f bLend.ed 'f lna I Iy by cho ice hepp l l y l l ke a ha l f -opencd. fo l io pag ina ted onte the dushc lves , w i l l i ng ly l l torate, the mln l i tera} Iy ne more a ru j 'n upen thcwhole wide Gxpense than the sld d.usty books elL areund hlm'

Documents

the bookdealers calling