sow the thought seeds

That Urban Legend about the Bacon Bookmark …

Ever felt that when you enter a public library you cross an imaginative threshold between interior and exterior? In Ray Bradbury’s (1962) Something Wicked This Way Comes, the library is where young Will's father, Charles Halloway, seeks refuge against the town, half of which has succumbed to Mr. Dark and his malevolent carnival. The library feels like it should be a sanctuary … except it is an urban space, and therefore a window for defilement and contagion. Maybe that’s why most librarians seem to remember the strip of bacon they discovered in a book once … or was that a friend of a colleague? … and, come to think of it, wasn’t that book the holy Qur’an?

To protect your purchase, books are secured in thick bespoke corrugated card sleeve and a bubblewrap inner to stop the book bouncing in the card packet.  Standard paperbacks are shipped in a bespoke envelope (trimmed to fit the book snugly), bubblewrap and corrugated card stiffener.

The following is the system I use for grading books ~

Mint ~ New or as new, clearly unread, no tanning to pages, no creasing to spine or cover, no marks or inscriptions. This is the condition you would expect to find in a high street bookstore or on mail-order.

Excellent ~ The book appears to be in fine condition. A closer look reveals some signs of previous ownership, such as shelf-rubbing and in some cases an inscription. Yet on the whole, the book is perfect.

Very Good + ~ Less than excellent condition with no more than mild tanning or foxing to pages, minor creasing to spine or cover, possible shop sticker/pencilled price or previous owner name, but no other marks or inscriptions. This is still a tight and bright copy.

Very Good ~ The book shows clear signs of previous ownership / shelf wear. There may be some tanning / foxing to pages, slight creases to spine or cover, inscriptions from previous owner (typically their name or words of presentation).

Good + ~ The book cover and contents may have faded in colour and there may be creases, wear and inscriptions. However the book is still intact and readable and there is no loosening to spine or pages.

Good ~ This is an acceptable reading copy and there may be several of the reported problems above as associated with age and/or mishandling.

Poor ~ A book such as this is sent to auction for reasons such as the edition's rarity. This will probably not make an acceptable reading copy, and is more likely to have value in relation to its collectable status.

N.B. where a double grading is given, the latter refers to the dust-jacket, wrapper or cover

This grading guide is updated monthly to save you scrolling through archives. 

Your book can be gift-wrapped (paper and ribbon), together with your message in a card.

Simply request the service when paying, indicating the recipient, recipient address and 'your message'.

Your book will then be gift-wrapped, placed in bubble-wrap and secured in a thick, corrugated card sleeve before being sent to the recipient address.

The cost is £1.25. Please add this to the p&p box on your invoice.

Wrappers

The wrappers are the outer covers to a pamphlet or similar type of publication. Usually shortened to wraps, they are typically of card or paper material with a heavier bond than the interior pages. Wrappers are more commonly associated with antiquarian titles, although the term could also be used to describe some small press publications. Certainly the term is one that distinguishes a publication from both the hardback (which has boards and, usually, a dust-jacket) and the paperback.

 ephemera  etc.... 

   Top Ten Things Found in Books    

Used books frequently tell tales of their previous owners. Here are just a few common tell tale traces:

10 BILLET DOUX – Perhaps proof that literature is the next best thing to love

9 PHOTOGRAPHS –  Family? Friend? May even be a portrait of the person who read the book last

8 BOOKMARKS – Typically an advert for the original bookshop; sometimes of very good quality

7 CUTTINGS – Often a review of the book, author or allied event, cut-and-pasted with fleeting enthusiasm

6 DRIED FLOWERS – After all, some books are little better than flower presses

5 ARTWORK (REPRODUCTIONS) – Normally on postcards which can often be worth a lot more than the book

4 ARTWORK (ORIGINAL) –  It is not unusual to find doodles and drawings,  occasionally of such artistic integrity the book is significantly added to

3 MARGIN NOTES – Nor is it unusual to find inscriptions or annotations … sometimes the commentary can be erudite, witty … or just plain weird

2 EPHEMERA – Normally defined as written and printed matter of a transitory nature, something that no one intended to keep, and perhaps this explains how an old invoice or letterhead can have rarity and value

1 MONEY – Yes, it really does pay to give second-hand books the shakedown

Private Eye magazine started as part of a satire boom in the 1960s. A thorn in the side of the establishment, it made its reputation both by ridiculing that which the British media treated seriously (and thus lent authority to) and through its fearless approach to libel. It’s reporting on the Poulson affair was a major coup in the 60s, and it has frequently been ahead of the press pack since, notably with its unflinching treatment of the late media baron, Robert Maxwell. The magazine first appeared on the newsagents’ shelves in the 1961 and was briefly banned over its send up of the hysteria surrounding the death of Princess Diana. Despite numerous visits to the High Court, it still makes a fortnightly appearance.

Copies of Private Eye magazine for auction include many of  early 1960s editions as well as a selection from the 1970s.