Posted on eBay right now, I have a 1940s educational booklet on the dangers and consequences of unsafe driving published by the Travelers Insurance Company.
It’s filled with beautiful painterly graphics portraying the aftermath of car accidents, plus short fiction, cartoons, charts, statistics and more.
Here are some of my favorite images from the booklet, together with a handy explanation of “The Danger Unit”.
The end-of-year recession round-ups brought a flurry of articles on the current state of bookselling. This one from the NYT was the most grating:
Bargain Hunting For Books and Feeling Sheepish About It
The author laments the Houghton Mifflin buying freeze, folding indies, and faltering chains, but states that we shouldn’t “blame this carnage on the recession or any of the usual suspects” (you know; the real estate bubble, bestseller driven publishing, superstore culture, mushrooming media distractions) but rather on the “networks of amateurs who sell books from their homes” and the people who buy from them.
There’s barely a fact in the article…and sadly I can’t rally the ones I want to counter him. Anybody know the percentage of book buyers who’ve bought a used title online? or the ratio of Amazon’s used versus new sales? Unless some of the other “amateurs” out there had a much better ’08 than me, I can’t imagine the numbers are all that formidable.
The author pays lip service to the fact that “resellers…offer a great service [and] this is a golden age for those in love with old-fashioned printed volumes” but he mostly treats this as fiddling on the deck of the Titanic and doesn’t explore the real game-changing possibilities of an easily accessible second hand market.
For example:
Of the last 10 sales I’ve made, you’d be lucky to find 2 of the titles at even the most well-stocked indy. The rest would have taken weeks/months of searching or (pre-internet) the acquisition of specialized mail order catalogs. In that time there’s a good chance that the buyer would have a) moved on or b) spent the extra cash on something else.
At least 2-3 of those books went to small towns that have probably NEVER had a bookstore, or at least nothing better than a Waldenbooks in the mall (I know these towns exist, I grew up in one).
Another couple went to distant lands (Sweden, Germany), markets that I would have had no access to previously (and believe me, I’ll be spending those Marks and Kroners locally).
Finally the used bookstore where I used to work depended on supplementary internet sales to keep it going (and I’ve heard this from many a brick-and-mortar dealer). Yes it was still staggering and has since died, but it was the doubled rent that killed it. The internet sales were the only things holding back the Verizon stores and the Duane Reades.
The most aggravating thing about the article is the author doesn’t differentiate between the penny/bulk dealers and those who provide a professional service and a satisfying and unique shopping experience. Just because he bought a book for a quarter and it showed up in a floppy bubble envelope doesn’t mean that you can’t do better.
Also the book he describes purchasing for $.25 was in fact between $4-5 bucks with shipping and was bought blind without a real idea of the condition or transit time. A used store could match this price–if the store’s used book buyer is aware of the price point they’re competing with and pays out accordingly–and maybe even mark it up a few bucks for the store ambiance and the chance to pre-inspect your purchase. If the title is too obscure for a brick-and-mortar store to keep in stock then it’s not a sale they would have had anyway and whining about online amateurs is just sour grapes….okay now Im officially rambling.
More links:
The Leonard Lopate Show commenting on the above Times article and the state of bookselling (mostly a love-letter to the Kindle).
A more thought-provoking–and insider–overview of bookselling in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, by John Schulman of the Caliban Book Shop (link via The Bibliophile Bullpen)
And lastly a peak inside the 54,000 foot warehouse of online dealer Wonder Books from the Washington Post (link via BookThink News)
Feeling a bit lazy today so I’m re-posting one of my early pieces. This one’s from June 26, 2007 so it will be new to most of you–and I thinks it’s particularly appropriate in this crap economic season. The 3 faithful subscribers I’ve retained since then can move on to the next feed. I’ve updated some of the specifics.
A friend called me Sunday to tip me off about two large boxes of books being curbed nearby. That always gets the juices flowing, so I thought I would post a salvage report describing my technique for squeezing the last dollar from someone’s garbage.
When I got to the books–only minutes after the call–there was already another browser but she was nearly done. I started sorting and putting aside dirt common or truly unsellable books but there weren’t many, so I just sealed up both boxes and brought them home before more vultures started circling (Is there a scavenger that drags the whole carcass back to its den to feast in safety? If so, that’s my spirit animal.).
The majority of the books were recent and in barely used condition so I turned on my bar code scanner and went to work. There were thirty titles that I added to my Bookhound database (to be listed on Amazon, ABE, Alibris, etc). Most were priced in the $4-8 dollar range–which I normally don’t bother with–but they were free. There were a few outliers priced between $50-150 but I can’t say that they will ever sell [2 out of 3 did]. All told, I added about $350 worth of books to my inventory.
Once those were listed, I was left with about 50 “penny” books ($.02-$3 used on Amazon). Some booksellers will list these if they weigh 1 pound or less and try to make at least $.80 on Amazon’s shipping credit, but the stacking and packing would drive me to violence, so I don’t bother. What I will do though is collect common books into interest lots to auction on eBay.
I keep a text file of my lots in progress. Once I’ve added a book’s details, I toss it in my eBay cupboard and forget about it until I have a decent-size list. When the time comes, I insert the new titles into a recycled Turbolister Poster Toaster entry, weigh the books for calculated shipping, take pictures, and upload on Sunday evening. These lots frequently go for my minimum bid (so I set my prices accordingly) but sometimes I get a welcome surprise.
Some lots that I’ve had consistently good luck with are: pulp era paperbacks with suggestive covers; gay/lesbian fiction and non-fiction; single author or series collections; animal books (horses, pigs, mice, etc); New Age/Wicca; westerns, and many more.
[Another outlet I’ve discovered for common titles is PaperbackSwap. When someone requests one of your books, you get a credit to request a book from any other member. I have a wish list of valuable paperbacks a mile long but since they only show up infrequently–and my credits keep increasing–I often request collector’s guides and other hobby books to increase my scouting knowledge. You can also move credits between their sister sites: SwapaCD and SwapaDVD.]
After those two passes, I had about 40 books left that I couldn’t find a “hook” for. At this point I pull out books that are suitable for a used bookstore. Make sure they are in saleable condition and cull the heavily marked, dirty, torn, or out of date titles (the book buyer won’t give you as much $ if you overwhelm them with crap…and if you do it consistently, they’ll remember and eventually ban you). Ask the buyer for credit instead of cash as most stores will give 30%-50% more in credit. If the bookstore doesn’t sell online, scoutpal a few titles. If they do sell online, look for flashpoints they may have overlooked: 1st printings of popular fiction, autographed copies, collectible mass markets, etc. If you can’t find anything to resell, find something you want to read, or better yet find business or reference books for your bookselling library. Always try to spend more than your credit to give them something towards the rent. [Since my original post 3 out of 4 of the nearby used bookstores have gone under, relocated or are in severe financial jeopardy. Support your local booksellers NOW. They frequently order OP titles from sellers like me so it’s a win/win situation.]
When I was done at the used bookstore, I had 15-20 titles left. I walked these down to the Salvation Army/Goodwill, made a donation and got a receipt and write-off come tax time.
Left with an empty cart and box, I went back to Sal’s book rack and started all over.
A major source of anxiety for real New Yorkers (more so even than economic downturn and dirty bombs) is the impending gutting/condoization of Coney Island.
Current plans for the park include the retention of a few iconic landmarks and rides but for many of them the future is hazy.
Astroland’s Rocketship and Tower have no new home lined up, and if owner Carol Albert doesn’t find a taker before the end of January, they may end up on the scrap pile. Albert is even willing
to pay some moving expenses for the rocket.
So if you need a rocket to launch your offspring to a friendlier star, or you just want to get a SCUD missile trailer and drive it around to freak people out, now is the time to act.
Story and image via The Brooklyn Paper.
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“A Terror in the Ring…A Tigress in the Boudoir! Can a professional fighting-girl experience genuine tenderness, love? or does she become brutalized, morally impoverished, sapped of all womanly decency by the sordid exhibitions in which she takes part?”
and more new additions to the Pulp Fiction Cover Gallery.
Over the last few years of going to booksales, I’ve been developing a toolkit of essential and useful items to bring along. Here’s the contents of my jump bag so far (more or less in order of importance).
Optional
Allergy tablets: Pop a few at home before heading into a dusty cat haven and keep some handy.
A Weapon?: There’s been some talk on the Biblio list lately about self-defense for the bookdealer. While I haven’t yet felt physically threatened at a sale, I’ve certainly found myself in bizarre and uncomfortable environments. I firmly believe you shouldn’t pack a weapon that you don’t want turned on you, but maybe learning a little book-fu is a good idea. An OED would make a formidable bludgeon, pocket books fly like throwing stars.
Additions from Readers
Hat / Sun Shade: “I would add a light-weight collapsible hat for outdoor events. Sunburn and heat exhaustion are dangerous possibilities for those of us with library tans. ” [suggested by Mr. JM]
I haven’t posted new plates in a while. It’s not because I’m not finding them it’s more because I’m adding so many to the collection that I have to be selective or drown out my other posts.
Here’s a few recent additions.
First this Esther Nelson plate found in an 1889 Bound volume of Baily’s Magazine, London.
I like the graceful curves and the white-on-black scratchboard effect.
Next this skeleton flautist plate belonging to Bob and Mary Sullivan, found in a DIY book from 1938.
Skeletons would be a fun and fruitful bookplate theme to collect.
Next two plates from my soon to be Mother-in-Law and a faithful reader of this blog (who keeps putting little red stars on my visitors’ map in far-flung parts of the globe).
Her personal plate…
which I’ll let her describe:
Diana huntress was made for me by my Canadian godmother about 1946. She was from Scotland and was spending the summer of 1939 in Toronto on a student exchange before she started the Glasgow School of Art in Sept 39. I always thought the bookplates were very cool and loved pasting them into my books until some nasty kid saw them and made a big fuss about having naked ladies in my books, so I stopped using them I suppose that is why I have a stack of unused ones.
and this plate from her father-in-law, Charles Summers Stevenson who was the first American doctor to enter Nagasaki post bomb.
Charles was featured in the PBS Documentary “Mission of Mercy” and was the first American doctor to enter Nagasaki with the intention of treating survivors of the 1945 atomic bomb. He went in on a tender off his ship which was anchored out in the bay off Nagasaki with 2 orderlies and a sack of sulfa drugs (which were cutting edge at the time). He said it was unlike any thing he could have ever imagined and he realized in short order that there was basically nothing he could do despite all the best drugs that he had with him. Years later he joined Physicians for Social Responsibility on the strength of his experiences.
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Rubber Goddesses, Swinging Senators, Traveling Salesmen and Teenagers with comb-overs in the Pulp Fiction Cover Gallery.
Alice just sent me a link (translated from Portugese) to a post on the Henry Studley piano tuner’s tool chest. I saw an article on this chest year’s ago in a back issue of Smithsonian (which I can’t bring to hand right now) and I’ve always found the image beautiful and inspiring.
A chest like this would be total overkill for me, but I’d love to find a large high quality photo print.
So, I thought I could run but I was caught in the meme crossfire and hit TWICE with this one (by Joyce Godsey of Bibliophile Bullpen and Ian Kahn of Lux Mentis) . Looks like the only defense is an inoculatory post.
1. Link to the person or persons who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself.
4. Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them.
5. Let each person know they’ve been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.
Six Random Things:
1. As a kid I set up all of my Transformers and G.I. Joe figures in an elaborate table-top battle diorama with grenades, rockets, and body parts flying (suspended by fishing line). Really wish I had taken pictures.
2. I’m engaged! Alice and I have been DPs for a while but we’re making the leap. This isn’t super recent news but I couldn’t post until all of our far flung family members had been informed.
3. I know just enough about computers to be a danger to myself and others.
4. I wear only a sweatshirt outside until at least late December because of my layer of protective manliness.
5. Through daily consumption of chilis, I’ve dulled or killed of most of capsaicin receptors. Soon I’ll need to keep a pet tarantula on my shoulder to get my spice kick.
6. I regularly walk 20 blocks out of my way to save $2 with the free bus to subway transfer.
Tagees:
John Klima of Electric Velocipede
Gavin Grant of LCRW
Laura at BookN3rd
Nathan Roberts of Bat Country Books
Lewis Jaffe of Bookplate Junkie
Rachel of Book Trout
Hang Fire Books 
