This is how book colÂlectÂing goes. You see someÂthing that piques your curiosÂiÂty. You wonÂder: “Why did this book get pubÂlished?” “Who would have bought this book?” “On whose shelves did this book rest and why did they let it go?” “Was it a gift, nevÂer opened, or was it cherÂished and read over and over again?”
SomeÂtimes you’re curiÂous about the text or the illusÂtraÂtions or the bindÂing or the publisher.
When I first began colÂlectÂing books, satÂisÂfyÂing my curiosÂiÂty was hit or miss. I would go to the library and look up some of the things I wonÂdered about in the Reader’s Guide to PeriÂodÂiÂcal LitÂerÂaÂture or in the card catÂaÂlogue (I know I’m datÂing myself, but that’s the point). UsuÂalÂly, I had to keep wondering.
Book colÂlectÂing today is entireÂly difÂferÂent. Many of the antiÂquarÂiÂan bookÂstores I freÂquentÂed are gone because it became too expenÂsive to mainÂtain a physÂiÂcal store. They sell on the interÂnet where one entireÂly missÂes the smell and ranÂdomÂness and hapÂpy acciÂdents of book colÂlectÂing. And yet I have access to used bookÂstores across the counÂtry. One comes to appreÂciÂate the buyÂers in these stores, their parÂticÂuÂlar tastes.
A couÂple of my favorites? CatÂterÂmole 20th CenÂtuÂry Children’s Books in Ohio. The HerÂmitage BookÂshop in DenÂver. Old Children’s Books in OreÂgon. Do you have a favorite? Please share in the comments.
SomeÂtime last year, I purÂchased Boys and Girls of BookÂland from Bob Topp at The HerÂmitage BookÂshop. I did this because it was illusÂtratÂed by Jessie Wilcox Smith and I hadn’t ever heard of the book. I admire Miss Smith’s work a lot. And I admire the stoÂry of her life.
The book is writÂten by Nora Archibald Smith. I’d nevÂer heard of her before. Because of the interÂnet, I quickÂly disÂcovÂered she was Kate DouÂglas Wiggin’s sisÂter. You rememÂber Ms. WigÂgin: RebecÂca of SunÂnyÂbrook Farm. I also learned that the two sisÂters were instruÂmenÂtal in foundÂing the KinderÂgarten moveÂment in San FranÂcisÂco in 1873. They wrote 15 books togethÂer. I’ll have to hunt for more about this author.
The book’s copyÂright is with the CosÂmopoliÂtan Book CorÂpoÂraÂtion which, with a litÂtle digÂging, I learned was owned by William RanÂdolph Hearst. Why would he pubÂlish this book?
The pubÂlishÂer of this book is David MacKÂay. I learned that he was born in ScotÂland in 1860. He immiÂgratÂed to the USA in 1871, when he was 11. At age 13, he startÂed workÂing for J.B. LipÂpinÂcott, learnÂing the bookÂselling trade. A rival pubÂlishÂer, Rees Welsh, offered him a job. DurÂing his tenure, he pubÂlished Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass before he was 21, even though the attorÂney-genÂerÂal of MassÂaÂchuÂsetts didÂn’t want it pubÂlished for its “alleged immoralÂiÂty.” At age 22, MacKÂay opened his own pubÂlishÂing comÂpaÂny, eponyÂmousÂly named. Will I be able to find out more about him?
You see, the author wrote roughÂly nine pages each about famous books such as LitÂtle Women, The JunÂgle Book, David CopÂperÂfield, JackÂanapes, and more. They’re sumÂmaries of the stoÂries, hopÂing you will read the full book. I guess you could say they’re lengthy bookÂtalks in writÂing. And Jessie Wilcox Smith did a paintÂing for each stoÂry in full colÂor. What an interÂestÂing forÂmat. Were othÂer books like this published?
I even searched online to find the name of the woman who was givÂen this book as a gift, Susan Class House, from Uncle Thad and AunÂtie “B” Lawrence. I would like to know more about their lives.
There are often objects inside a book. This one did not disÂapÂpoint. I found a plasÂtic bookÂmark, a Yahtzee® scoreÂcard with a 1996 copyÂright date, and a “Thank you!” card from Bob Topp.
Book colÂlectÂing isn’t just buyÂing a book to read the stoÂry. It’s about disÂcovÂerÂing the stoÂries that swirl around the book.
I still love to visÂit http://brynmawrbookstore.com/ when in CamÂbridge! Still home to many bookÂstores but not as many as there once were.
Thanks for the sugÂgesÂtion, Cathy. We’re planÂning to be in that area this sumÂmer … we’ll make it a point to visÂit the store.
It IS fasÂciÂnatÂing to think of the life a used book may have had before it reached us. What an intriguÂing colÂlecÂtion of items found inside this one!