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One of Britain's largest stocks of second-hand books ever amassed

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Re: One of Britain's largest stocks of second-hand books ever amassed

#31

Post by thevagrant »

jacquesm wrote: post #23

I just helped clean up the estate of an uncle of mine that died. He'd collected an absolutely massive amount of books during his lifetime. Besides that he played the violin and had collected an equally impressive amount of music books. I managed to save some of the rare works but I could find absolutely no takers for the bulk of the books, at any price or even for free. That generation is leaving behind an enormous a…

It's a shame. I'd happily take good books (low cost or free) but storage and shelf space is the problem.

I used to imagine running some kind of second hand book business (non profit) when I retire. Sad that these days it may not be feasible.

Re: One of Britain's largest stocks of second-hand books ever amassed

#32

Post by fancyfredbot »

akk0 wrote: post #15
fancyfredbot wrote: post #12

Being a collector is an affliction. A huge house given over to his collection while he relegates himself to the groundskeepers cottage. A lifetime acquiring money to grow the collection. I hope selling it gives him some peace.

What a strange read on the situation. The man combined his hobby with his profession and is now retiring a millionaire. Best I can tell the guy must feel like he's had a rewarding, satisfying life so far.

Yes, it's entirely possible he may loved every minute!

I don't know if the fact he's financially successful affects my read though. It's certainly obvious he had money but unfortunately I don't think the money precludes an unhealthy obsession. Infact it might make it worse.

Re: One of Britain's largest stocks of second-hand books ever amassed

#33

Post by unsungNovelty »

parodysbird wrote: post #27
unsungNovelty wrote: post #25

I can only imagine the feeling of visiting this bookshop. Hopefully these books will find a good home. I just went to Chruch street in Bengaluru which is full of bookshops like this (obviously not at this scale). Bookworm (a new gem I found) and all 3 Blossoms bookstore (famous in Bengaluru) shops is what I covered on my recent visit. Morning 11:30 till evening ~6:30 buying 19 books. And happy to report that it was r…

I remember being a young boy spending summers with my grandmother who lived on Church Street. I used to spend whole days in those book shops, good to know they are still a major part of the neighborhood.

It definitely is. This was my first visit after 7 years. Cos I only recently moved back to BLR.

And I do remember a time where there was a dip in visitors on weekends (Or maybe I felt?). But that has definitely changed.

Kind of annoying as well with way too crowded blossoms. Good problems to have. :)

There is also https://www.tumblr.com/overheardatblossoms

Looks like it is not updated anymore.

Re: One of Britain's largest stocks of second-hand books ever amassed

#34

Post by Freak_NL »

fancyfredbot wrote: post #32
akk0 wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What a strange read on the situation. The man combined his hobby with his profession and is now retiring a millionaire. Best I can tell the guy must feel like he's had a rewarding, satisfying life so far.

Yes, it's entirely possible he may loved every minute! I don't know if the fact he's financially successful affects my read though. It's certainly obvious he had money but unfortunately I don't think the money precludes an unhealthy obsession. Infact it might make it worse.

Unhealthy in what way? The article mentions that he is (or was) an active seller as well as a buyer. His lifestyle doesn't seem particularly unhealthy either.

Re: One of Britain's largest stocks of second-hand books ever amassed

#35

Post by pjc50 »

pavlov wrote: post #29
jacquesm wrote: post #23

I just helped clean up the estate of an uncle of mine that died. He'd collected an absolutely massive amount of books during his lifetime. Besides that he played the violin and had collected an equally impressive amount of music books. I managed to save some of the rare works but I could find absolutely no takers for the bulk of the books, at any price or even for free. That generation is leaving behind an enormous a…

Sorry for your loss. It's sad that his collection didn't get the full attention it deserved. > "the housing company only gave us two weeks to vacate the place" It's a very good idea for a collector to own a place to keep the stuff. The British book collection mentioned in the article is housed in a former youth hostel in the countryside. That kind of place can be surprisingly affordable to buy... But of course it's t…

> It's a very good idea for a collector to own a place to keep the stuff.

Perhaps, but even for valuable things like musical instruments the floor space ends up being far more valuable than the objects. Hence the relentless march of waste disposal. It's very sad but a core fact of modern life that land is money.

(the phrase "housing company" implies that the collector did not even own a house for himself, let alone the collection..)

Unless you go deep rural. I've been to a few "bookstores" that were basically somebody's house, but an hour's drive to the nearest town and therefore only getting specialist traffic or people in the area for other tourism.

Re: One of Britain's largest stocks of second-hand books ever amassed

#36

Post by pjc50 »

fancyfredbot wrote: post #12

Being a collector is an affliction. A huge house given over to his collection while he relegates himself to the groundskeepers cottage. A lifetime acquiring money to grow the collection. I hope selling it gives him some peace.

It's like having a family: on paper, they take up space in your house and cost you money.

Re: One of Britain's largest stocks of second-hand books ever amassed

#38

Post by ycombinete »

jacquesm wrote: post #23

I just helped clean up the estate of an uncle of mine that died. He'd collected an absolutely massive amount of books during his lifetime. Besides that he played the violin and had collected an equally impressive amount of music books. I managed to save some of the rare works but I could find absolutely no takers for the bulk of the books, at any price or even for free. That generation is leaving behind an enormous a…

I've also started to do this. I've given away a few copies of Neuromancer now. One of which I gave away as part of a Android: Netrunner sale I made :)

Re: One of Britain's largest stocks of second-hand books ever amassed

#39

Post by 2b3a51 »

dyauspitr wrote: post #17
fancyfredbot wrote: post #12

Being a collector is an affliction. A huge house given over to his collection while he relegates himself to the groundskeepers cottage. A lifetime acquiring money to grow the collection. I hope selling it gives him some peace.

Depends on what you find important in life. I would love a life where I get to drive around the country, collect books and make enough money to retire a millionaire.

Iain Sinclair has written about his book dealing days as he was starting to write and be published. Perhaps a less romantic take.

Re: One of Britain's largest stocks of second-hand books ever amassed

#40

Post by Cthulhu_ »

andrewstuart wrote: post #9

I wonder if an AI company will quietly buy and scan.

Google has been scanning books for just over two decades now, and likely has used their scans to train their AI. I wonder what percentage of this collection hasn't been digitized elsewhere yet.
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