No comments about Rare Finds: A Guide to Book Collecting.

No comments about 2006 Comic Book Checklist & Price Guide: 1961-Present/Comics Buyer's Guide (Comic Book Checklist and Price Guide).

No comments about Antique Trader Collectible Cookbooks Price Guide.

No comments about A Treasury of Hours: Selections from Illuminated Prayer Books.

3 comments about May I Take Your Order: American Menu Design 1920-1960.

1. As a designer, I consider this a must-have as a visual reference, though incomplete because of it's general lack of interior art. I suspect the cover art is prevalent because of it's appeal to collectors. Well-designed presentation by Jim Heimann. Glad to have it, but I want to see more.



2. As the author of "Restaurant China, Identification & Value Guide for Restaurant, Airline, Ship & Railroad Dinnerware, Volume 1 and Volume 2," I was delighted when I received this excellent historical resource. The 1000+ priceless photographs, along with difficult to document dates and locations are most appreciated. In addition, it is a pleasure to simply page through Jim Heimann's books and imagine life as it was in days gone by.



3. I thought the book was great, but I was hoping it would show more of menu interiors rather than the covers/exteriors. While folks can show you excerpts from text...it's a bit harder when you are buying a book for the images.

1 comments about Atlas Maior - Hispania, Portugallia, America Et Africa (Joan Blaeu Atlas Maior of 1665).

1. I bought this book for my brother for Christmas, and I wish I'd had more time to look at the beautiful maps before he had to fly away home with it. I did not get to read the text, so I can't review that part of it, but the maps themselves are worth the money. A fabulous gift, but make sure you get to look at it too.

No comments about The Art of the Label: Designs of the Times.

5 comments about Among the Gently Mad: Strategies and Perspectives for the Book-Hunter in the 21st Century.

1. A wonderful read about the world of books by one of the preeminent writers on the subject of book collecting.Using the word 'subject' to describe the passion of books is akin to using 'subject' to describe love or any other passion.Blame that on me,if you will,not Nicholas.
   It seems I never get enough of these books about books and this is one of the best.Here we are given a look in on the wonderful life the author has in the world of the High End Collectors.Those like me,and that means all but a very miniscule number,who can only dream of attending and partaking in those auctions,where single rare books sell for tens of thousands,and lots or even complete personal libraries sell for sums equalling the national treasury of small countries.That doesn't mean reading about that sort of thing isn't very interesting;and the author has the ability to make one feel they are part of that activity.What one gets from this book is that anyone can have the same desires,same enjoyment,and all the rest of what comes along with having a passsion for reading,collecting,owning,sharing,arranging,their personal collection whether it is a small number of favorite volumes or some huge ammassment--it's their collecion and is what they have the ability,desire and resources to call their own.I suppose many who work with books like booksellers or library staff can even imagine the books around them are their own.I remember once reading somewhere, something to the effect that nobody ever really owns a book,but only has the privilege of being its caretaker for a while until it eventually passes on as its "owner" is sure to do--it's only a matter of time.This idea comes through very clearly as the author shows how collectors spend lifetimes searching for books that eventually end up in university,library and other collections.
   The author describes the personalities he encounters and we can identify with all of them as we pursue our passion with books.
   In a nutshell you'll get from this book that the only real difference between your collection and the world he writes about is a matter of scale
   A great read and highly recommended to anyone who loves books and reading.



2. This is a great book for anyone interested in collecting books, or who likes books, or even anyone just interested in what makes a book collectable. Different people adopt very different approaches and strategies to book collecting and Basbanes documents a number of them. The eccentric madness of it all is what makes it entertaining and I found that this quickly became a hard book to put down. After reading this I suspect that I will never look at books the same way again. The fundamentals of book collection are not unlike other forms of collection, so people who are self confessed "collectors" (You know who you are!) are likely to find this an exciting read. In among all the entertaining yarns is a pretty good starters guide to book collection, and this book contains a number of practical pointers to web sites and book sellers to get the novice started. Overall it was really enjoyable to read and very much a page turner.



3. In "Among the Gently Mad," Basbanes declares, "the more you read or read about reading, the more you will uncover about other books." And, the more, it seems, you will get to know an ever-expanding circle of people who collect and/or sell books. All their stories are here...what they collect, how they collect them, how much they spend and on and on until the value of this book is almost hidden under their weight.

   However, if you are serious about book collecting, "Among the Gently Mad" is a tremendous resource. Reading between the lines of other book collectors' stories, you will find out which web sites, bookstores, dealers, book fairs, organizations and other sources can help you fill out your collection. By the way, this is not just a book for those who collect rare books. An antiquarian book is simply described as any book that is worth more now than when first published. Basbanes's first rule of collecting books is to focus on subjects that hold your interest and, in fact, your collection should contain books you actually want to read. If you are gently mad, that is "taking delight in the pleasant touching of books long coveted," this book is an indispensable tool to fulfilling your own madness.




4. In rapturous, elegant prose, the author envelops the reader in his consuming passion for books and the people who love to collect them; as the hours flew by while I curled up with Basbanes, I assuaged my guilt at forsaking mundane tasks with the right-on lines that end the book's first chapter: "... a sentiment that I confess I savor on a daily basis: Books are not Life, But then what is?"



5. Reading Basbanes is like engaging in a long, relaxed conversation over coffee in your living room with a very knowledgeable friend. In this third volume of his slightly rambling but always fascinating and well-informed discussions of books, book collectors, booksellers and dealers, and all the periperal subjects they engender, he combines advice on bibliophily in the age of the Internet with reminiscence on how collecting used to be done, and what the old and the new still have in common. As a small-time collector of limited resources myself, I enjoy reading abut the fabulous collections built up by those who not only have money to spend but also the intelligence and passion to add value to what they hunt down and acquire by adding to the accretion of knowledge. In fact, as Basbanes makes clear, becoming personally involved with books and other "stuff" is what separates collectors from mere accumulators. In fact, I find I have also become a collector of Nick Basbanes. . . .

5 comments about Slightly Chipped: Footnotes in Booklore.

1. In "Used and Rare", the Goldstones wrote lovingly about their journey of discovery and adventure in the pursuit of a good used book; the book chronicled their descent from merely used book shopping to used book obsession. I rated that book 5 stars - and it deserves it. I like the Goldstones have become a bookaholic. But, in "Slightly Chipped", we see the other side of the Goldstones and those that have followed the same path. Obsession is never a good thing in the end; moderation is a much better goal.
   
   In this book, the Goldstones find themselves behaving a bit badly at times during their quests; especially, when they are with some friends they introduced to the sport (so to speak). And here in lies the problem with this book - it reads like an obsession; not just the pursuit of books, but also in the pursuit of writing about the pursuit (they follow this book with at least three more about this obsession).
   
   Now I admit that I might have become a bit jaded since the first reading of "Slightly Chipped" more than seven years ago (but, oddly, I wasn't in my review of Used and Rare which I read around the same time). Recently, I have re-evaluated my own obsession with books; I now question some of the very principles I have operated under for the last 20 years of book collecting. I question the need to own a copy of every book I have ever read - let's be honest with ourselves, not everything we read is good, some is down right bad; but in the end, even some of the books I have enjoyed and were good books are not necessarily worthy of owning for all time - always needing more bookcases, the ever more challenging task of moving them, the friction caused with a loved one who doesn't quite share your obsession, only your love of books.
   
   So, my new found liberation from the obsession of book collecting (don't get me wrong, I can't get rid of a lot of books and still amaze my friends and irritate my loved ones), has me looking at this book as the glorification of taking a love too far; and thus, I find it flawed. Furthermore, I have lost the desire to read the Goldstones' later books.
   
   >>>>>>><<<<<<<
   
   A Guide to my Book Rating System:
   
   1 star = The wood pulp would have been better utilized as toilet paper.
   2 stars = Don't bother, clean your bathroom instead.
   3 stars = Wasn't a waste of time, but it was time wasted.
   4 stars = Good book, but not life altering.
   5 stars = This book changed my world in at least some small way.



2. I bought this book eagerly anticipating a journey into the world that I love. It transpired to be my most annoying purchasing dissapointment in quite a while. If you know anything about rare books, if you are in any way shape and form a bibliophile, then leave this one alone. No sooner do you start to read the text block than you realise there is nothing here that is based upon scholarship; everything is superficial. The book has so little substance it is clearly a book for people who are not book collectors. The Goldstone's have churned this out too soon after "used and rare", without too much thought and an apparent belief that everything they say is of interest, it is not. The annoyingly gossipy descriptions of book related matters (such as the Bloombsbury set's "who slept with who") is simply pathetic. I found myself skipping over paragraphs because the story line was so inevitable. My impression is that the Goldstone's had read the "gentle madness" books of Basbanes and were trying to do something similar. Unfortunately it didn't come off, this one is a real dud. If you havent read any of Basbanes yet you have a real treat waiting for you; go and type his name in the search box, enjoy.



3. If you like name-dropping and looking down your nose at honest helpful people, you might like this book. The Goldstones seem pretentious and obnoxious. Too much of the book is filled with discusions of fashion and restaurants. I was hoping they'd talk more about books.

   The book is a disservice to book lovers. I wish someone would write a book about book collecting that was infused with a love of books, rather than this blather. Save your money. Buy books by Nicholas Basbanes and John Dunning and John Baxter and Robert Wilson and Paul Collins instead.




4. Having first read Used and Rare I was disappointed in the quality of this work. This collection of essays is too disjointed, never really focusing on anything for long enough or maintaining a single theme. While the stories themselves are entertaining it just isn't on par with the rest of the Goldstones work. Having later read Out of the Flames I must say that the Goldstones need to stick to one topic per book and not to try another collection of essays without a common thread between them.



5. "Slightly Chipped", by Lawrence and Nancy Goldstone is the second offering on what is supposed to be their continuing exploration of the world of book collecting. However, just as in their first book, "Used And Rare", the topic of books serves to provide these people with a continuous stream of targets for abuse. Please do not take to heart their description of what it is like to collect books nor of what type of people you will likely encounter while doing so.

   To give you an idea of how far this book routinely strays from the alleged topic, what follows are direct quotes. The first takes place at a gathering at a library amongst a small group who are present to learn about very rare books. Any one of the volumes could be the subject of an entire book, but books are just a tangent in this brief and shallow memoir. While they do not hesitate to name the person they describe, and also list his occupation, I offer just a fragment out of the respect for privacy they show no concern for. "He was the kind of person whom Hollywood casts as the computer junkie who uses the Internet to lure young women to his apartment for.................." This is what they choose to describe as books from nearly a millennia ago are passed around the table. A book by William Morris is part of the evening's discussion. Mr. Morris produced some of the most prized limited editions of the late 19th Century. Here, that is almost a footnote when compared to his personal life, which rambles on for pages.

   These people cannot even visit a bookstore that I know well, without adding this bit of irrelevant mean-spirited commentary on Torrington CT. ".thus providing the grimness and depressedness of Torrington for that much longer". Canton is described as, "hardly a town at all", and they quiz the owner on why he is located in such a difficult location. Our authors have moved to Fairfield CT. since their last book, an area that allows them to name drop the famous and wealthy, one of whom had to change homes because the light at The Yacht Club shone into his bedroom. What any of this has to do with books is beyond me.

   Collecting books is a wonderful hobby. Shop owners generally will spend vast amounts of time, sharing their knowledge and love of books. I have been present when booksellers have taken a personal check for several thousand dollars on the final day of a show, from a person they never met, hours before they were to fly across the Atlantic to their shop in England. As a group, book collectors and dealers are wonderful people who share what Author Nicholas Basbanes has called, "A Gentle Madness". The authors do not enjoy this state of mind, rather, like the title of this book what rests upon their shoulders may be slightly chipped, however a large portion remains firmly in place.

5 comments about The Anatomy of Bibliomania.

1. 
   If you are an aficionado of "books about Books" ,you'll love this classic.
   The author,Holbrook Jackson ,who died in 1948 at the age of 73 was one of England's foremost men of letters.He was primarily a "bookman" who loved books and everything about them,and what they were to him ,he wanted them to be for others.It has been said, that when it came to books he was a conductor,not a composer-and what a brilliant conductorhe was.
   This book was first published in 1930 when Jackson was 55. It came out in 2 volunes comprising 435 pages and a small printing of only 1,000 copies. It has been reprinted in several editions and still available in a soft cover. It is one of those books that people hold onto and is readily available in various editions. I bought my copy in "The Sleepy Hollow Bookshop" in Midland ,Michigan,in 1997.It is the Hardcover edition ,published in 1950,consisting of 668 pages ,excellent condition,including the dj,and very reasonable priced at $20. As I have always been attracted to books about books,I was captivated by it immediately. Since that time,I have glanced at it many times,but finally got aroumnd to reading it through. Since the time I bought it,I've read several other books about books and written reviews on them. I 've enjoyed them all ,but this is without doubt a classic.
   You must keep in mind that this book was written 60 years ago .It also concentrates mainly on British and European books,collectors,authors,classics,etc.However;what the author writes about applies to any books anywhere.He covers everything imaginable about readers,collectors ,booksellers,collections and not muchabout authors ,other than their love of books,versus writing them. Also,don't think that ,with so many pages,the book is too detailed and gets bogged down.There ree co many subjects covered that any subject covered is done in a couple of pages.It is broken down into 32 Parts or Chapters.with each Part again broken down into several sectionsFor instance ,Part XXXIV,
   
   The Symptons of Bi"Tbliomania;there are 7 sub sections;
   I.The Symptons Introduced
   II. Wherein the Madness Lies
   III. Its Main Character an Obsession
   IV. Of Hording
   V. Bibliotaphs and Book Misers
   VI.Of Pluralists
   VII. The Mania for Rarity.
   All this is covered in 18 pages.
   One thing that becomes very evident is the immense difference with readers and books from the time this book was written and today ;is the introduction of the Internet on the whole world of Bibliography. Those were the days that most books were found in small local bookstores.Book lovers spent endless hours searching bookstores in hopes of finding their books. Now virtually any book can be found and acquired via the Internet. Also,Bookfairs and Events like street sales are great ways to find books and even meet authors.In Totonto we have huge charitible used
   book sales run by Univrersities.;who get donations of books from theri Alumni.
   And then we have Amazon and the communitaion among readers with Customer Reviews. All these new advancements would be totally unimaginable,to Bibliophiles.But ,once again,all the things that Jackson talks about are stii as revalent today as they were then ;but even more so.
   
   



2. I adore this book! I have it on my nightstand and can just open it up anywhere and be entertained and delighted. One can find facts and qoutes that are truly beautiful. I few of the passages literally took my breath away.
   
   If you love books and reading, this is a MUST have!



3. I found the place by accident; I always do. It isn't as though I set out looking for them but they call out to me. I don't even have to see them. Sometimes I can simply sense their presence. The closer I draw, the greater their insistence, the more persuasive their arguments, and the stronger the attraction. A good bookstore is irresistible.
   
   Some time ago, I was with some friends and we stopped in a café briefly. My bookstore indicator went through the roof and after very little looking, I discovered the Acorn bookstore in Grandview. I'll save the complete story for another time. Inside, I found a book of particular interest: one that might describe how I am able to discover such bookstores so easily and why I am so enamored of books. The volume was Holbrook Jackson's The Anatomy of Bibliomania, this 1981 edition being supertitled, The Book About Books.
   
   "Bibliomania" sounded like a strong word to me-its meaning obviously being "book-madness." Nevertheless, consideration of the possibility seemed wise, and likely a pleasurable task, as it would include an addition to my library and some hours spent in reading and introspection. After looking over the extensive table of contents, I turned to the opening and read, "The Author to the Reader." Therein, it said:
   
   "Gentle Reader, I presume thou wilt be very inquisitive to know what antic or personate actor it is that so insolently intrudes upon this common theatre to the world's view, arrogating as you will soon find, another man's style and method: whence he is, why he does it, and what he has to say. 'Tis a proper attitude, and the questions clear and reasonable themselves, but I owe thee no answer, for if the contents please thee, 'tis well; if they be useful, 'tis an added value; if neither, pass on, nor, in the observation of what wise Glanvill, hath any one need to complain, since no one is concerned about what another Prints, further than himself pleaseth; and since Men have liberty to read our Books, or not, they should give us leave to write what we like, or forbear, which for the most part they do.
   
   "Yet in some sort to give thee satisfaction, which thou hast a right to demand, since I have caused my book to be printed and sold for money, I will show a reason both of this usurped title and style. And first for the name and form, which I hae so freely adapted from Robert Burton his Anatomy of Melancholy: lest any man by reason of it should be deceived, expecting a pasquil, a scherzo, a burlesque, a satire, some humorous or fantastic treatise (as I myself should have done, recalling that all parodies are jests), I may at once undeceive him, for my intent is serious; I have gleaned the crops of innumerable authorities scattered far and wide, winnowing the chaff from the grain, and setting out the various species in such an order that they may best contribute to our knowledge of books in general and of Bibliomania in particular."
   
   I was hooked, and purchased the book. Its structure is thirty-two parts, covering such things as "Of Books in General," "The Pleasure of Books," "The Art of Reading," "Study and Book-Learning," "A Pageant of Bookmen," "The Influence of Books," "Borrowers, Biblioklepts and Bestowers," "Of Bibliomania or Book-Madness," and concludes with "Bibliophily Triumphant."
   
   A passage I found particularly noteworthy was "Men Who Become Books: Biblianthropus."
   
   "If, as I have shown, pro captu lectoris habent sua fata libelli, [`The reader's fancy makes the fate of books'] books, as I have also shown, make the fate of their readers; it is a quid pro quo, give and take."
   
   As I read through the text, I found that the treatise became an increasingly plausible argument that I afflicted by bibliomania. I have long believed in this quid pro quo and indeed have proclaimed to the entire world time and again that lego, ergo sum. Even so, in the sections where Jackson discusses the hunters and collectors of books, he shows that bibliomanes often do not read their books. Their love of books is often superficial, appreciating much about them but ultimately being driven by such things as greed, or at the very least profit. I found myself disconnected from the subjects of the discussion.
   
   The opening of the conclusion, entitled "Wedded to Books," I found myself once again connected with the subject. Jackson advises:
   
   "Let us love books as we love, dum vires annique sinunt, while we are in the flower of years, fit for love, and while time serves,
   
   Gather ye rose-buds while ye may,
   Old Time is still a-flying:
   And this same flower that smiles to-day
   To-morrow will be dying."
   
   Bibliophily is a natural and even healthful state, for books are the most timeless way for us to proclaim who we are and to find out who our ancestors were. I suggest that there is no better way to find one's place in the world than first to survey the world. I hold that there is no better way to survey the world and human experience than through books. With this knowledge of the world, one has a frame of reference for one's own experiences and can see one's own life in perspective. This understanding will not only enhance one's own experiences, but through discernment leads to wisdom: knowing what to do when confronted with decision, how to promote what is ultimately good. Or, as Johann Kaspar admonished:
   
   "Act well at the moment, and you have performed a good action to all eternity."
   
   So this is the crux of bibliophily for me, even if I do enjoy such simple pleasures as seeing, smelling, and touching books. Nevertheless, the world of books is large enough to allow for reading that is less purposeful in nature, even allowing for the pointless. Other bookmen, whether bibliomanes or bibliophiles, may well take liberty of disagreement with me; and I have no interest in preventing them in any case. Having taken Jackson's tour of bibliomania, I am well satisfied with both the content and presentation. And I'm delighted to have another volume to add to my library.



4. This is it. Huge, plenty of data, infinite in its approaches, full of ideas, rich in details, abundant in humor and written in a circunvoluted english as if written by a XVII wit. In fact, as if Robert Burton would have done it now, as in fact he did it then.



5. a tongue-in-cheek look at the "madness" of bibliomania, inspired by Robert Burton's 17th century classic "The Anatomy of Melancholy", this book is filled with fun facts and interesting anecdotes from the world of books. If you're a book-collector, booklover, bookseller, or just all-around bookaholic, you'll delight in this compendium of book trivia, and in the clinical classification of the numerous manifestations of bibliomania (book-madness), from the book-thief to the book-abuser to the book-hoarder, and everything inbetween - but be careful you don't find yourself described therein!