A Poor Man's Morgan Library

"....I have not touched on my small but choice collection of Incunabula
and medieval manuscripts, because as captivating as this field truly is,
such books begin to involve fairly sizable expenditures, and have no
bearing on my original thesis.

These books and manuscripts I have described do not represent any
substantial investment as collections go. In the aggregate they were
purchased for not much more than the price of a new Lincoln Continental.
But they were acquired across a period of years of earnest pursuit
through the underbrush of second-hand book stores, the neat hedgerows of
rare book dealers, the open countryside of catalogues, and the
competitive obstacles of the auction house.

Much of what I have described here cannot be duplicated in any other
library. They are some of the highlights of my collection, shedding
color and interest to the many other volumes which may be unique only in
their relationship to one another and to the whole of one's personal
collection.

My purpose has not been to brag about my collection, but to reassure
those of you who have a love of books and are infected with the madness
of bibliomania that there is no need to despair merely because your
funds are limited and because the great institutional collections of the
world would seem to have captured everything of unique interest and
value.

In ending, I should like to caution you never to collect anything
because you think you ought to, or solely because you think it might be
a good investment. Vanity will get you nowhere, and AT&T will beat the
averages on books nine times out of ten. Look upon book collecting as a
vice, but one which provides respectable evidence of its pleasures. It's
cheaper than a mistress, and far more amenable to your mood and
convenience. And if you prusue book collecting properly, the chances are
that you can't afford a mistress, and that alone will save you a peck of
trouble!"

Here's a link to the rest of my recent acquisitions:
http://community-2.webtv.net/notjerryandlinda/VolV/page11.html

Jerry Morris

That's all? Wait unitl I tell my wife that the $2,000 I have spent
over the past 18 months is chicken feed. But I do agree about focusing
on increasing value or making money. Collectors should focus on
quality and buy what they can afford. If the books are worth more in
the future, great. But I am not selling what I collect.

Art Layton
Stamford, CT

i saw that too and thought "oh to be able to spend that kind of money on books
for my collection :-)"

i agree with that too, but if your collecting interests change it's nice to
find that your books will nicely finance your new collecting interest too!

robert

Excellent point.

Last week I read Nick Basbanes new book on collecting *Among the
Gently Mad*. The best thing in the book are the collector stories,
some recycled from his previous books, some new, and several make the
point that you are making.

One anecdote involved Robert C. Bradbury who assembled a collection of
about 1,000 North American "birder books" (books on bird watchers, not
on the birds themselves) out of about 1,400 titles he had identified.
He planned to complete the collection, but before he could do that a
dealer made him an offer he couldn't refuse ($35,000, I think, 15
years ago or so). He took that profit and rolled it over into a
collection of miniature books, which he increased considerably (at
almost no cost due to good luck in buying and selling other miniature
books). He has since published 2 bibliographies on American miniature
books.

http://www.microbibliophile.com/

Cheers.

William M. Klimon
http://www.challonerreview.com

On 16 Nov 2002 15:36:09 -0800, sheb...@optonline.net (Art Layton)
wrote:

I guess you're talking about a used Lincoln in distressed condition with a
few bits missing from the outside. Nigel

In 1959, Norman Strouse gave a talk before the Book Club of Detroit
under the title How to Build A Poor Man's Morgan Library. He used the
very same title in 1966 in his talk at the luncheon of the Syracuse
University Library Associates. Strouse relates that maybe he should
have retitled it How to Build a Poor Man's John Mayfield Library,
especially since he was giving the speech at the dedication of the John
Mayfield Library at Syracuse.

Strouse also notes that one of his book dealer friends, who was
familiar with the changing character of Strouse's library since the
first talk, suggested that Strouse retitle the second talk How to Build
a Poor Man's Library in an Affluent Society!

I would like to add that Norman Strouse worked for Ford Motor Company;
however, he must have gotten a hell of a discount on the Lincoln
Continental to afford the books he mentions in his talk, from
Cobden-Sanderson bindings, to first editions of William Morris, to
Carlyle's manuscript of Historical Sketches, to a copy of Paradise Lost
with a vertical fore-edge painting of Eve; Strouse had eighty books in
his library wit fore-edge paintings appropriate to the titles of the
books. I have yet to acquire one for my library.

Jerry Morris

http://community-2.webtv.net/MoiBibliomaniac/MOISBOOKSABOUTBOOKS/index.html
or
www.moislibrary.com

Thanks Jerry I get it. You have some very nice things there especially the
first issues of periodicals. Dont pay too much for "the Quiver" by the way
over here people use them to keep tables steady.
Good to see someone who still uses Gilbert Fabes on Modern Firsts, of
course it has points on some firsts not available anywhere else. --Nigel