Worn Collars - Part Eight - "Emendation"

Worn Collars

Part Eight

"Emendation"

            The original emendation to the ‘to get a find out’ foundation of ‘read’ ‘books about books’ (the “work”) (Part Seven) came from the (usually) well educated, erudite and network savvy bibliognoste “DEALER” who regularly shortened neophyte old-rare-book-collector/seller ‘wish I could be’ self garnered ‘daunting’ view of the ...trail into the ‘hidden land’... by ...emendation... to “READ... CATALOGS”.  This means (it is still an emendation) ‘READ’ old rare book seller’s catalogs of old rare books they have for sale... with this emendation... emphatically supported with rare bookseller-bibliognoste jargon, respite, spittle, jabbing the air fingers and ‘glory days’ tales of applying this “READ... CATALOGS”.

            The neophyte generally did (does?) two things; take this sage emendation to heart as truth and ...then tried to find some of these ‘catalogs’ to ‘read’.  The first of the ‘did two things’ was misdirected for it only served the “DEALER” to make the neophyte a ‘minion’.  The second was hard, frustrating and confusing.

            For an example of the first, the neophyte finds a catalog, reads this catalog, embraces and stores the ‘valuable information’ found in the catalog and ...dutifully reports all this, as a neophyte minion does, to the mentoring dealer who promptly tells the neophyte that “this (rare book) seller’s catalogs are no good, the seller doesn’t know what he’s doing, the seller is a idiot, all of his books are not rare and that HE (the mentoring dealer) can, for sure, purchase ALL of the same books as are recorded in the catalog any time he wants for a fraction of that bookseller’s catalog price.  There is, too, a back blade edge to this extending emendation by I reporting that such a bombast will be, too, resonated in the ear drums of the neophyte EVEN IF THE rare BOOKSELLER and their CATALOG in question ARE, in fact, a TOP OF THE LINE rare book seller catalog; an ‘impeccable’.

            “WHY WOULD I WANT THIS IDIOT to KNOW ABOUT THAT (a good/great rare book seller and their good/great catalog)” is the premise behind this last.  Is that; this ‘too’, a surprise?  And how did this neophyte find that catalog anyway?  And... does this matter... today?  Answering...:  This is not a surprise.  ...The catalog came from the shrewd acquisition of a ‘run’ of a once top and now venerable-top “FIRM” (dealer’s rare book store) by... yes... a neophyte doesn’t have to hunt too hard these days to ‘find’ ‘old runs’ of ‘good/great dealer’s catalogs’.  (No one is seeking them).  And, again, does this matter?

            Yes it does... on two points.  One:  The smart phone is currently the biggest catalog of ‘rare books for sale’ (Advanced Book Exchange, Amazon, et al).  Two:  Few know how to use this (smart phone rare books for sale) well and what it actually means about rare books that

            I find and

            Work with

            At my rare book desk

            In my rare book room.

            Now we get down to some serious ‘sitted at desk’ rare-book-man-ship.  The A plus B equals C ‘sitted’ is the common action... not the solution... of our current ‘this moment’ of ‘rare books’.  An ...OLD... book is found, suppositioned to be a “rare book?”.  A sidestep to a ‘safe work space’ (flea market lobby or toilet area) is done:  It is...; step away from the book and look

            It

            Up

            On the “YOUR SMART PHONE”). 

“A “ old book...plus... BE for sale ...equals... SEE?  C is... “SEE” “How much it’s worth” 

“OH THAT’S SO EASY!”

            So now you are a rare book dealer and you may

            MAKE A LIVING ‘doing this’ (A+B=C).

            This is, really... really... the core status of the ‘playing field’ of ‘rare’ ‘book’ ah....

            “FINDING” ‘currently’.  That is the “A” rare book, the ‘does this “B” a rare book?’ and the “C” right here it says “HOW... MUCH” (a cash value) (“valuable”) “rare book” ‘this (book) is’.  It is a ‘whole’?  Simply add the “D”.  ‘D’ is...

            The “Good luck with that!”

And... you have... your... whole... destiny in the hidden land of rare books... ‘outlined’ “perfectly”.

            Once one has gained control of the hidden land using the tri-formula access ‘at hand’ on the ‘my smart phone’ one ‘has a number’ (cash value) for all the rare books one can find and know, too, how much to “SELL THEM FOR” too and... ‘oh you sweet thing’.  Yes... YOU may sit up at the front of the class and even TELL US ... all about HOW YOU DO IT.

            Yes... you have made an ass out of yourself and continue to do that every time the ‘your mouth’ opens in addition to... putting yourself ‘out of business’ TOO:

            “I HAVE

            “A BOOK

            “I FOUND

            “IT

            “ON ABE

            “FOR...”

            “Good luck with that.”

            “You don’t want it?”

            “No.”

            The price of the rare book; the “it’s valuable... SEE”, is not what makes a rare book rare and ...why... that rare book is rare...  This then, makes it (the old book) a... why... would “ANYONE”... ‘want it’ (want to buy the old... rare... book...

            And... be delighted to do that).

            The first iota of clearing this up is to understand that a true rare book is ...actually rare... soooo... ‘isn’t around’ meaning the proper ‘best’ for me on a ‘ABE ‘my smart phone’ search’ shows... no copy... ‘for sale’... at all... anywhere.  It is understood... that if, these days, a rare book ‘is not listed on ABE’ that means... what?  No one wants it?  It is too ‘not valuable’ to be ‘listed’... especially when many... many... many listed books have forty... fifty copies ‘for sale’?

I

            Specialize in rare books that have

            “No copy located”.  Those are good ‘rare books’.

            For example, a book that has ‘five copies’ recorded as being... in ‘five major library collections’ is

            “KNOWN”:  One may, making a pilgrimage to a ‘Special Collections’ in one of the libraries... ‘see one’ (a copy).  Therefore... in rare book jargon... this rare book is “KNOWN”.  THEN the I at the rare book room desk... work... gets a ‘more interesting’.  For this rare book... that there are ‘none’ for sale and “five” ‘in libraries’...:  What is this book about, what is this book physically, what is the SUBJECT that this book is about and WHAT does this subject mean to bibliognostes who look directly to subject scholars to ... WHAT IS THIS BOOK’S VALUE to SCHOLARS to then... VALUE to READERS to then... value to ‘library collections’ on this (whole) subject to then... value to collectors of books on this subject to then... value to collectors of books that are... then... rare books... that, I suppose... to end this litany...

            Do have

            Some sort of

            CASH VALUE.  But again;

            “Good luck with that.”

            So far I have covered two points; the emendation of ‘read catalogs’ and the soft ice that this old and venerable  emendation rests on in our current ‘rare book moment’.  At the end I came around the back side of the bush of these two by quiet steps AWAY from catalog listed (rare books) with cash price information to, being ‘sitted’ at my rare book room desk... to come at the cash price fixation by looking out over a broad open plateau of ... ‘just what’ is this ‘old rare book’ about (physically and intellectually)... and... reaching... by this route... an actual CASH VALUE... too.  The difference between the two routes to a rare book’s cash value is that my ‘involved in the evolved’ route... supplies me a severe and detail critique of the full value of a rare book; a foundation of “why?” this book... merits being ‘rare’ and having a cash value (“valuable”) and giving me a very solid path to having

            “Good luck with that”.

            I suppose I should go back over my route?  I prefer to ‘work with’ ‘smart phone’ “IDIOTS”.  They... ‘screw up’.  Maybe I should just leave them there... and go back to telling of Arlington St. John’s ‘old books’ and my ‘purloin’ of them?