Chapter 496 Book Hunting Trophies

I spent most of last week looking forward to the weekend.

I know, I know. When you’re working, you’re supposed to look forward to the weekend. It’s “time off”, time to recharge your batteries and do something fun.

Here’s how I know I have chosen the right career for myself: I looked forward to this weekend because I was going to be able to work.

That’s right. Work.

I couldn’t wait to tackle this weekend’s project at hand.

No, I wasn’t going to dust the books or the bookshelves. I wasn’t going to a book fair. I wasn’t going to sit at my desk researching books while throwing in one more load of laundry. This weekend it was time for one of the best and most exciting parts of the job of bookseller.

It was time for this book hunter to locate and acquire some previously undiscovered trophies for the trophy room [read: the bookcases in my hallway that store my inventory]. It was time to hunt for more books, more wonderful and special books to offer to you, my dear readers and customers.

The hunt began began in a promising way on Friday morning. I sent Tom and Huck off to school and had on my docket for the day two estate sales, one annual library sale, and one antiques fair. That would keep me busy until the boys were dismissed until 3:00 p.m. I was thrilled to have a whole day to devote to scouting books, even informing Thoughtful Husband that I would not have time to cook dinner Friday night — I’d be too busy poring over my new acquisitions, gloating over my fabulous finds. Being the usual Thoughtful Husband he is, he just shook his head and said, “I’ll cook.” And off I went, adding to the enjoyable day by stopping for tea and a scone on the way to the first estate sale, which was advertised to open at 9:00 a.m. As long as I was finished with all my stops by 3:00 pm, the day was mine to scout books.

Those of you book collectors who are in it for the “thrill of the hunt” will know the anticipation of which I write. Part of the fun in book collecting, aside from researching and selling the beautiful and interesting books, is discovering that there is life among the ruins. There, amidst the dust-covered belongings of an old and almost empty house, or there, at the bottom of a box under the table at the library sale, are books which others have discarded or overlooked, books for which I know I can find a new, good, and loving home.

Wondering what I found at the sales? Allow me to show you:

A very pretty wooden bookstand. This will come in handy for book display at book fairs.

But what about the books? Aren’t I supposed to be hunting for books?

Sorry to say, that bookstand was my only find of the day. I didn’t see one saleable book, despite shopping at four different and potentially promising venues. Either I am getting worse at identifying good books or I have become much more selective with regard to condition. One of the houses I visited for the estate sale had several huge bookcases full of books — not one of which had its corresponding dustjacket. I passed.

Exhausted and dejected, I picked up Tom and Huck from school at 3:00 p.m. Is it the measure of a good bookseller that she does not yield to the temptation to buy something when nothing spectacular presents itself? Or is it a pretty poor bookseller who attends four different sales and finds not one book worth buying?

On Saturday, I would have a chance to redeem myself. There was one more sale, in the basement of the local historical society, one of my favorite book hunting haunts.

To be continued . . .

Chapter 489 “May we take some pictures of your books?”

While I was at the Golden Gate Park Book Fair Sunday, I answered a lot of questions for those who visited my booth. I’m used to the typical questions asked at book fairs about old books, rare books, and bookselling. What I wasn’t expecting was this question from three people who were wandering the fair together:

“Would you mind if we took a picture of that book?”

“Uh . . . I guess not. Sure, you can take a photo of it.”

A few minutes later they were still wandering through the booth taking pictures of many of my other books.

I tried to figure out if they were bloggers, like me, who might be posting the pictures of the books in a post about the fair. Or, perhaps they loved the books and didn’t have the cash to buy them so they thought a photo would suffice.

Since the four of us were squeezed in my tiny, 8′ x 10′ booth, I eavesdropped on their conversation. I know I shouldn’t have, but I was curious (and maybe just a little bit uncomfortable) about why they would want to take so many photos of my books.

“Oh my God! Did you see this one? Quick! Get a picture of it.”

“Check this one out!”

“Someone please tell me why don’t we still make covers that look like this one! This title is hilarious.”

Paranoia began to take over. What if they wrote a blog post about how not to sell books and used pictures of my books and my booth as examples? Or what if they were booksellers and what if they used images of my books to sell their own?

Paranoia is an ugly thing. One’s imagination can make one’s thoughts entirely irrational.

I couldn’t stand by and smile silently any longer.

Finally, I said, “So, do you mind if I ask why you’re taking pictures of so many books?”

“Oh. Sure. We’re book designers. We work for Chronicle Books. We’re at the fair to get inspiration.”

What a relief!

“Take as many pictures as you like to inspire you,” I told them.

I had to laugh.

When I was in college (aeons ago), I spent every summer vacation and winter break working as an intern for Chronicle Books. Back in 1987 it was a very small (I think about 15 or 20 employees) company owned by the same family who owned The San Francisco Chronicle. I loved working there. I used to take the train to the City every day and walk through the (then) gritty neighborhood to the office at Fifth and Folsom. As an intern, I rotated to different departments, sometimes working for Operations, sometimes working for Editorial, and sometimes working for Publicity. The people there were nice and took time to teach me things about publishing. Though I didn’t work there after college, I still remember the people I met there and the days I spent there with fondness. It’s fun and flattering to think that some of the books I’d chosen to retail for my own business might be providing inspiration to a former employer.

It’s also nice to know that in this era of digital books and cheaply made mass-market paperbacks some book designers are looking to the past to design the future.

See you in the stacks!

Chapter 488 Report from the Golden Gate Park Book Fair

I am carefully wading out of a sea of boxes full of books and portable book cases strewn across my dining room/office to give you a full report on this past weekend’s Golden Gate Park Book Fair, held in the Hall of Flowers in San Francisco’s beautiful Golden Gate Park. After that, I’ll have to dive back in until all the books are put back on the shelves again.

The Golden Gate Park fair was the first one I have done (and I’ve done nine fairs in the two and a half years I’ve been in business) where there was a long line of people waiting to enter when the doors opened. The fair’s organizer did a great job getting the word out about the time and location of the fair. In addition to the bibliophilic crowd were the many people who were out and about walking through Golden Gate Park on a beautiful (75 degree) Sunday who were likely drawn in by curiosity and by the free admission. The aisles were filled with people from opening until closing time. Having occasionally done a fair where the aisles are so empty the booksellers could have used them as golf fairways, the sight of so many people at a book fair made me so happy.

That said, I would characterize the customers at this fair as readers and book lovers but not necessarily book collectors (with a few exceptions, of course). What that means is I sold a lot of books, but the books I sold were in the $10-$25 range, books which are usually overlooked at the larger fairs with paid admission. What that also means is that there were many people in attendance who were like me several years ago. That is to say that I heard comments ranging from, “I never knew old books could be so beautiful!” to “Why would anyone pay $100 for an old book?” to (my personal favorite because I said it myself when I “discovered” the world of antiquarian books), “Why didn’t I know these type of books existed before today?”

There are a couple of ways booksellers view such potential customers. Some might refer to such book fair attendees as “looky-lou’s” because the person looks at the books and perhaps comments that they’re lovely but doesn’t buy any of them. Another bookseller might call such a customer a “tire-kicker”. This usually refers to a book lover who browses the books for sale, takes one off the shelf and then handles the book, often rather, er, exuberantly, perhaps opening it too far or bending pages when turning them. Such a customer usually has little or no experience handling old books. I’ve seen their book-handling methods make booksellers twitch.

The third way, and the way I think most booksellers assess such book fair visitors, is to see this as an opportunity to expose people to the world of antiquarian books, to book collecting, and to the fun of seeking and finding the perfect book. I was very impressed with the way so many people asked questions about the books — “How old is this one?” “How do I know if it’s a first edition?” “Why is this book considered significant?” “How do I learn to do this?” Before I was a bookseller, I often attended fairs but NEVER asked questions unless I planned to buy a book. I was way too intimidated by either the books’ usually high prices or by the sometimes silent manner of the booksellers.

Yep. I was a “looky-lou”. I am officially ashamed to say that I did not have the self-confidence to ask questions so I could learn more. Now I still need to learn more, but I’ve learned not to be afraid to ask questions. Many booksellers are so happy to have someone to talk to about books that they are thrilled to answer your questions. And if you find a rude seller, might I suggest trying again at another booth? While there are a few who genuinely seem to dislike people, most booksellers love to talk about books and are happy to talk to you at a book fair.

Once I observed that most of the people at this particular fair were not going to be buying rare books, I took the opportunity to explain to them why they might want to do so in the future and why it is so fun to build a collection in any field (not just the “expensive book” field) and how to go about doing so.

By the end of the day, I sold more than half of my book case filled with $10 books and had sales of a few more expensive books. I did make a profit, though smaller than my average for larger fairs, but I also think I may have attracted a few more potential book collectors (maybe even booksellers?) to the trade and that is always a good thing.

I bought a few interesting titles, and I hope to show those to you soon. Buying books and discovering new stock is another of the many benefits of book fairs.

Would you believe that in my rush to leave the house for the fair I forgot my camera? Sorry to say I did. I would have liked to show you pictures of my booth and of the bright, light-filled Hall of Flowers.

I have to run now, but tomorrow I’ll tell you about the mysterious customers who asked if they could photograph the books in my booth.

See you in the stacks!

Chapter 486 Know Your Audience: A Bookseller’s Dilemma

Back in the days when I was teaching high school students to write, I would always admonish them to “know your audience.” This meant that the language, style, and tone of one’s writing should take into account the intended audience of the piece. That advice is also applicable to book fairs. If you’ve been to a particular book fair more than once, you begin to get a feel for the type of books that sell best there.

I spent most of Wednesday preparing for this Sunday’s Golden Gate Park Book Fair. As with all book fairs, I am excited and nervous at the same time. While the organizer of the fair has held many vintage paper and ephemera fairs in the same venue, this is the first time a book fair will be held there. Admission is free, which means that in addition to the local bibliophile crowd and assorted book dealers, there should be a fair amount of people who stop in to take a look around because they are already out and about in beautiful Golden Gate Park for the day. Those who just happen to wander in might not be book collectors and might know nothing of antiquarian books, but might become interested by what they see and want to learn more. Maybe they’ll even buy a book or two, just for fun.

My dilemma is this:

What books should I bring to please both the experienced collector and the general reader?

The best (read: usually the rarest) of my inventory? That’s what I usually bring to book fairs.

Or, less expensive books that are pretty and interesting? I am considering having an entire book case dedicated to $10 books, which I have done twice before at the Gold Rush Book Fair and which was fairly successful. Another case might have books under $100. The other cases could be a mixture of my best books.

Or, perhaps a mix of the two? The problem there is that the booth doesn’t have a lot of space. I don’t want to waste time bringing things to the fair that won’t likely be of interest to the people who come to the fair.

Decisions, decisions.

Chapter 478 Golden Gate Park Book Fair, Coming October 25

Come one, come all to “San Francisco’s Great One Day Book Sale”! This fair is a new one, and it takes place in San Francisco’s beautiful Golden Gate Park in the Hall of Flowers. Admission is free. I’ll have a booth there as will many of my local colleagues.

Sunday, October 25, 2009
Hall of Flowers (County Fair Bldg)
Ninth Ave. & Lincoln
10am to 5pm
FREE ADMISSION

What more could you ask for? A beautiful setting in a beautiful city in what is (usually) one of the best weather months of the year. Oh, and don’t forget that you’ll find lots and lots of books and ephemera at the fair. I’m working on cataloguing many new acquisitions — books, ephemera, and a bit of holographic material — to bring to the fair. Come on by and check it out!

Chapter 475 Catching up

I returned from the Central Valley Antiquarian Book Fair on Sunday and on Monday Thoughtful Husband’s mother suddenly became quite ill and needed emergency surgery. She is doing well, now, thankfully, but she gave us quite a scare.

I want to tell you all about the fair. I want to tell you the rest of the story about a post I started long ago. I want to read over my favorite descriptions of autumn. I want to tell you about the status of the Dante catalogue.

I still need to unpack 15 boxes of books and my suitcase. My family needs groceries and clean laundry. My mother-in-law may or may not need my assistance over the next day or two.

With apologies for the delay, I hope to be back to regular posting in a couple of days and promise a full update about the fair then. Meanwhile, you might want to read my friend Stephanie’s account of the fair.

See you in the stacks!

Chapter 474 Here I Go Again, Or, Off to the Central Valley Antiquarian Book Fair

The van is packed and I’m hitting the road once again, this time for the Central Valley Antiquarian Book Fair. Hope to see you there. If not, I’ll post a full report sometime next week.

Have a good weekend.

See you at the book fair!

Chapter 473 What Sold and What Didn’t Sell at the Book Fair, Or, You Never Can Predict

Here’s what sold at the book fair last weekend:

The popular:

The kitschy:

And the absurd.

20th century children’s picture books:

Here’s what did not sell:

The antiquarian:

The beautiful:

The colorful:

The sensational (though for some odd reason, there was a good deal of interest in this one):

I’ll be interested to see what sells at the Sacramento Book Fair. You never can tell ahead of time which items will be popular each year. If you’re going to be an antiquarian bookseller, you better have a good eye for all of it.

See you in the stacks!

Chapter 472 2009 Santa Monica Book Fair

I’ve finally returned home from the Santa Monica Book Fair, and now I am in the throes of preparing for this weekend’s Central Valley Antiquarian Book Fair, held in Sacramento, CA. It’s busy around here, but I just love book fairs, and I am usually full of energy (until the day the fair ends; then I return home and collapse in exhaustion). If you plan on going to the Central Valley Book Fair, leave a comment for me below and I’ll leave a free pass at the door with your name on it. Hope to see you there!

The Santa Monica fair was fun, made so not so much by enormous sales of books as by hanging out with my fellow booksellers and meeting a couple of readers of this blog in person (hi Jill and Diane!). There were sales, to be sure, but (for me, anyway) they were mostly for inexpensive books. There’s nothing wrong with that, as long as I can sell inexpensive books in volume, but I have to say I was surprised. It’s often at book fairs, where customers can examine expensive items in person, that I’ve had success selling books that are priced at $100 or more. At this fair, I sold many books in the $25 to $50 range and a few in the $100 range.

Last year at the Santa Monica fair, I sold an item in the four digit range, and though perhaps I shouldn’t have expected to repeat that success, I’d be lying if I said I not only hoped to repeat that success, I hoped to surpass it. Purchases at the fair this year could just reflect the current poor state of the economy (many people and libraries don’t have extra cash to spend on antiquarian books), or it could be that I brought a different mix of books this year than last. One thing I’ve learned with certainty after doing seven book fairs is that it’s difficult to predict exactly how good (or how bad) a book fair will be. Each fair has a personality of its own, and in my opinion, they are as much about advertising one’s business, developing relationships with customers and with other booksellers, and looking for new inventory as they are about sales. That said, it hurts when sales are low.

Here’s a look at my shelves at the end of set-up:

Books about women:

Children’s books:

More children’s books and books by or about pioneer women:

Western Americana:

Miscellaneous books:

Tomorrow: What sold and what didn’t sell.

See you in the stacks!

Chapter 471 Getting Ready

Sorry not to post yesterday. I’ve been busy getting ready for the Santa Monica Book Fair, which takes place this weekend. I leave tomorrow. Thoughtful Husband, Tom and Huck will stay home and hold down the fort while I am away.

Here’s what I’ve been doing today:

Normally, bookcases line this hallway. The books on the shelves must be removed and boxed, whether or not they are going to the book fair, so that I can take the bookcases with me to the fair. As of this moment, I’m about halfway finished. Will post some photos when it’s all ready to go.