Saturday, December 24, 2011
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Friday, September 02, 2011
Friday, August 26, 2011
Shelf Sale
The Shelf Sale at Swann has been recommended to me numerous times as a place to get foundation stock at a good price. Though I have a lot of books there are many I could cull for more quality. I was hoping to come away with a few books worth $50 so I could get rid of 50 worth $4. The preview was very interesting and a great opportunity to get hands on with books from the 15th century up through signed firsts of King and Grisham. I had seven lots I was particularly interested in...three with auction estimates well below what I believed they were worth. One lot I was interested in solely for a book I had read as a child that brought back fond memories, another for signed Sondheim playbills. The auction started slow with final bids coming in at half the estimates. I started to get my hopes up that I could get some of my lots at great prices and maybe some of the others that I thought were well out of my price range. As the auction progressed it was obvious that the bidders knew exactly what they were looking at and what they wanted. When they had the later, they were willing and able to pay what it was worth. I won three lots...two sets of 19th century lit and a lot of children's books with three first edition TS Eliot books in dust jackets. I was comforted by the fact that what I saw in the other lots, others did as well and the bidding went to those with ready cash. Yet I can take home the thought that I am gaining experience little by little. "She can be taught!"
The road trip of 2011 was cancelled due to earthquakes and hurricanes which has disappointed me more than I thought it would. I guess I'm losing my sense of adventure but it seemed wise to not travel alone when the Universe seems unhappy.
