Resources for Book Collectors
What is book collecting?
Although many of us are avid readers, admirers, and accumulators of books, overflowing bookshelves do not necessarily qualify as “book collections.” Book collecting is the gathering together of books, (and perhaps other printed materials and related documents) on a unified, thoughtfully chosen topic or theme. In other words, book collecting is the planned, rather than haphazard, accumulation of books. Fortunately, the themes or topics available for a book collector to pursue are infinite, limited only by your imagination and your budget.
For example, you may have set out to acquire every book, essay, or magazine appearance you can find by your favorite writer. Or perhaps you have an interest in a historically defined time period, intellectual movement, or genre of literature, such as 18th century England, the French Revolution, African-American literature, Modernism, or children’s books. Physical aspects of books can also provide topics for collections: the history of books and printing, book design, illustration, or bindings. Often, collectors will gravitate toward the subjects they know best: a profession, hobby, or field of expertise, such as architecture, medicine, gardening, computers, music, engineering, or cooking.
Interesting and thoughtful book collections don’t necessarily require large outlays of cash. Many wealthy collectors have indeed focused on rare or expensive books, but just as many clever collectors have relied on innovative approaches to under appreciated (and reasonably priced) subjects or formats. To read more about what makes a book “rare” see Your Old Books.
Book collections also need not be limited to what might be considered elevated intellectual themes. Any defined category of popular culture may provide opportunities for collecting: books on television and film, Walt Disney, comic books, astrology, baseball, dogs, cars, romance novels or science fiction are all worthy subjects for exploration through collecting. In fact, some argue that “popular” subjects like these make for the most interesting collections, since they focus on areas of our cultural landscape that may have been undervalued or ignored by more traditional approaches to study and scholarship.
Why Collect?
Book collecting can be an absorbing and enjoyable form of self expression. Although some have purchased books for financial investment, this strategy frequently backfires, as subjects and authors experience extreme swings in popularity—and marketability—over time.
Driving many collectors is an awareness that their endeavors can change our understanding of history. When thoughtfully chosen, books, manuscripts, and other documents can determine what future generations can know, or not know, about an individual, a historic event, or any subject at all. If collectors had not looked for and carefully gathered all surviving examples of, for example, railroad time tables from the 1840s, woman suffrage pamphlets from the 1890s, sex-education pamphlets from the 1930s, or war protest posters from the 1960s—categories of printed material routinely thrown away—we would know far less today about the shape and progress of our own history. Paper is all around us. What do you think will be interesting and important to preserve?
Above all, book collecting should be fun. Below are some further resources to help you explore the world of books and book collecting.
Selected web resources about book collecting, rare books, and book sellers:
Book Collecting:
These Web sites offer large compilations of links to (mostly) useful information on book collecting, rare books, and the care of books:
Fine Books & Collections Magazine
Collegiate Book-Collecting Championship
Collecting Books (Google web directory)
Littera Scripta: Bibliomania
Rare Books:
Learn about the organization and services provided by America’s largest organization of antiquarian booksellers:
Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America (ABAA)
Book sellers:
These three web sites are among the best that offer the ability to search for millions of used and rare books for sale online:
Advanced Book Exchange (abebooks.com)
AddAll Book Search and Price Comparison
Selected books about books and book collecting:
Although there are many books published about book collecting, (explore on your own by typing “book collecting” as a subject search in Cornell’s online catalog) the following five titles provide an excellent introduction to the subject.
Basbanes, Nicholas A. Among the Gently Mad: Perspectives and Strategies for the Book Hunter in the Twenty-first Century. New York: Henry Holt and Co., 2002.
Olin Library Call Number: Z987 .B28 2002
Carter, John. ABC for Book Collectors. 7th ed. New Castle, Del.: Oak Knoll Press, 1995.
Olin Library Call Number: Z1006 C32 1995, also in Rare and Mss.
Carter, John, 1905-1975. Taste and Technique in Book-Collecting; a study of recent developments in Great Britain and the United States. New York, R. R. Bowker Co., 1948.
Olin Library Z987 .C32; second copy in Kroch Library - Rare and Manuscript Collections.
Ahearn, Allen & Patricia. Book collecting 2000: a comprehensive guide. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons.
Olin Library Call Number: Z987.5.U6 A35x 1999
Peter, Jean, ed. Book collecting: a modern guide. New York: R. R. Bowker, 1977.
Olin Library Call Number: Z987 .B719; second copy in Kroch Library Rare Book Collections
