collections

Books written by America's presidential candidates are selling for astronomical prices. Collectors are grabbing them on the chance that the author will become the 44th president of the U.S. Here’s a list of the top contenders in the book race and what they’re selling for.

The authorities of Nuremberg intend to return books stolen by the Nazis to their Polish owners or their heirs. According to the information of the municipal library, its archives still contain almost 10,000 such books.

The University of British Colombia is the recipient of an unusual donation—4,730 golf books. Retired meat-packing magnate Sam Martz wanted the books to be available to the public. The collection has been appraised at $500,000 and is the largest collection of golf books in the academic library world.

“…if one regrets one's choice of roast chicken over beef at Sunday lunch, no whingeing is allowed. Rather, you must ‘bury your regret deep in your own heart.’” One of the priceless gems to be found in vintage how-to books. Jean Hannah Edelstein talks about how to appreciate the kind of cultural history that can only be gleaned from a how-to narrative.

He might be best known as one of the pillars of the influential band Sonic Youth but Thurston Moore is also one hell of a book collector. A video tour of some of his items, including an Allen Ginsberg protest sign and a collection of magazines from F*** You Publishers. One of the reasons Moore is drawn to this subject matter is because as he says "a lot of this work is reprinted nowhere."

I didn’t know there was such a thing, but it seems there are few of these competitions, the aim of which is to encourage the use of books and to highlight their value in an increasingly electronic world. The winners are chosen on the basis of “intelligence and originality of the collection and the evidence that the books were sought out and not simply accumulated.”

A contest organized by the British Library and intended to reveal the buried treasures of regional libraries has done just that. Among the entries were priceless medieval manuscripts, an 18th century atlas of Ireland, and a Georgian register of abandoned babies. The works will be digitized and put online alongside some of the British Library’s own treasures. Can’t wait to check it out.

I’ll admit to being one of those book people who also loves books as objets d’art. I’d so enjoy this bookstore, especially since it’s in Old Montreal, a truly magical area of the city. Bring a thick wallet, though, and don’t forget to put on the white gloves; these books are treasures. Check it out.