Wednesday book finds

Book hunting is fun, even when you don't always find something and walk away with hands empty.
One never knows what they might find or what might be hidden on the bottom of a dusty shelf in some dumpy little thrift store. The goods are there and sometimes you have to dig.
When I had to run a couple of errands yesterday, I stopped by a little thrift store that's becoming a favorite book haunt for me. It's Christian run as most are. However, their prices are very low and no one there seems too interested in what books they receive as donations. Of course this is to my advantage. This store's book prices are simple and cheap: paperbacks are 50 cents and hardbacks are a dollar. No arbitrary pricing, no large orange stickers with outrageous prices on the covers - this a bona fide down home good place. I don't have to worry here as I can grab a stack and not have to put some back.
Although I didn't find anything extremely rare, I did find some good stuff for clipart and collage and for my self interests - one of which is astronomy. Ranger To The Moon
by Willy Ley
________________
A musty Childcraft book circa 1961 of Folk and Fairy Tales - these books are excellent for clipart and collage. The illustrations are amazing in the older volumes. These books are easy to find and recommended for clipart geeks. You might want to stick with the editions earlier than the 1970's as they usually have better illustrations.


©1961 Childcraft series
Folk and Fairy Tales

















The Southpaw
by Donal Hamilton Hanes


This is the 1949 printing
















Scan of back cover (I like this more
than the front cover)

Published by Comet Books
Rockefeller Center
New York 20,
New York














Life Science Library
Energy by Mitchell Wilson
and the editors of Life



©1963 by Time Inc.
Library of Congress number 63-21614















And another copy of Maus - My Father Bleeds History
by Art Spiegelman



The story of Maus contains a biography of sorts about the life of Spiegelman's father who grew up as a Polish Jew and learned to survive under the Nazi regime.
Highly recommended.
Stunning artwork and heart wrenching as well. This comic book novel took 13 years to complete.












And a spread from the comic book

Unusual and Rare German Metal Art Nouveau Book

GARWOOD & VOIGT

Fine & Rare Books Maps & Prints

55 BAYHAM ROAD SEVENOAKS TN13 3XE ENGLAND

has in its latest catalogue a fantastic and unusual book of cookery for sale.

Quote from the catalogue:
The ‘smallest cookery book in the world’ (at least that is what the title says!): Very decorative miniature cookery book (approx. 1 in square), containing over 100 recipes in German for all kinds of soups, meats, pastries, fish, vegetables, sauces, salads, etc. Reading requires a magnifying glass!
No place, no publisher, no date, but ca. 1905 [19594]
24 x 22 mm. 136pp. Original silver binding, floral Art Nouveau cover decoration, clasp and ring for chain.

Yours for a mere £650 - about $1,250 US dollars.

Very unusual and ever so tiny, I'm really surprised that it's survived for over 100 years without having been lost. Someone must have really cherished this lovely little work of art.

The quandry of thrift store book prices

It was about a month ago when I stepped into a local Goodwill, promptly making my merry way back to the book section. This particular Goodwill was a place I'd found many good books for my own collection as well as for resale. I scanned through the books and found a couple of interesting ones and headed up to the cashier. She gave me the total: "That will be $4.28."
I said, "What?"
"Our paperback books have gone up to $1.99 per book and the hardbacks are $2.99."
"I can't do that," I answered back. Paying $4 for two paperbacks was not something I really wanted to do in Goodwill. I was taken aback at their new book prices.
Apparently I am not the only one who feels frustrated over Goodwill's new higher book prices. Others in the store were complaining also.
I went back a couple of weeks later just to have a peek to see if there was anything to make my day. I didn't find anything but noticed that many newer and popular paperback books were just sitting on the shelves. No one was buying them. As more and more people begin to find out about the higher pricing, they won't be buying as many books as they once did. I think this won't be good for Goodwill. And I personally thought it was a bad choice for several reasons. First, we live in an economically depressed area where high paying jobs are hard to come by. We are the second poorest county in my state. Children in my city go to school hungry and without proper school supplies.
Raising book prices at thrift stores has its unfortunate consequences in that poorer people who shop at thrifts for books because they are the only place they can afford to buy them won't have as many affordable places to obtain books for their kids. Raising prices even a dollar or more can hurt the working poor.
I'll be watching the Goodwills in the next couple of months to see if they have the same books sitting on their shelves.
Perhaps I'm a bit cynical, but I find the greed of the larger thrifts to be ever increasing.
In a small town not too far from here is a Waterfront Mission, a religious based thrift store. Waterfront Mission charges different prices for its books. Hardbacks are usually $2.00 unless they decide for some strange reason to put a $5 or $10 price on a hardback because it's big.
What's the worst thing anyone could do to books besides tear them up? Mark in them or on them. Waterfront will sometimes mark books with a permanent black marker. Some Goodwill stores do this as well. The other day, I found an antique book from 1902 with poetry by some famous guy (can't recall now) - lovely cover in gold gilt, small book in blue cloth. I would have purchased it for $1.19. But it was $2.99. And an employee had put a nice large "K" on the spine of this 100 plus year old book. So I placed it back on the rack and decided to leave.
These are the times when I get a little frustrated. Don't get me wrong, I love book scouting. But sometimes it's frustrating to see these books marked up with black marker by the employees.

Blasphemy!

If you want to do something to an old book, you can be creative. Here's a great example. Now some people get upset when books are altered and used in art projects. I have no problem with it. I'll address the issue of using books in altered art projects in a future blog. In the meantime, enjoy this video on how to make a book purse.

Welcome

Hi and welcome to my new book blog.
Salmagundi Booktopia will be focusing on the love of books, which covers anything and everything.
I'll focus on things I find of interest - ephemera, antique books, book collecting, selling, scouting, anecdotes, rants and news.
Hope you'll enjoy what you read and comments are always welcome.