Last Thursday evening, I attended a lecture (i.e. talk)
by Nicholas Basbanes at the Vancouver Museum. It
was a memorable event.
Nicholas Basbanes is perhaps the leading modern
proponent and chronicler of the “book culture” of
the Western World. His books, including “A Gentle
Madness”, “Patience & Fortitude”, “Among the
Gently Mad”, “A Splendour of Letters”, “Every Book
Its Reader”, and “Editions & Impressions” are
engrossing studies of the history of the book, the
power of the book and the talents, passions and
idiosyncrasies of the myriad of people intimately and
obsessively involved in the book world, including
booksellers, collectors and librarians of yesteryear
and today.
As I listened to Basbanes relate several of the
fascinating stories included in his writings, I felt his
enthusiasm and dedication to books flow through
me, revving up my own engines of book lust and
invoking my personal passion to get out there and
discover many more books of importance and rarity.
And it wasn’t just a desire to find more great books,
for myself and others, but also a need to read more
great books, read about more great books and
about great book collections.
As I said to Nick after he’d finished speaking, “I
always enjoy listening to someone who knows more
about books than I do”. After thirty-five years in
the book business, one thing I know for sure…
there’s so much more to learn. Listening to Nick
Basbanes and looking through the books he has
written merely confirms the notion.
Nick’s first book, which took eight years for him
to research and write, “A Gentle Madness:
Bibliophiles, Bibliomanes, and the Eternal Passion
for Books”, was first published in 1995 and it has
gone through nearly twenty printings and sold more
than 250,000 copies. When I heard that Nicholas
Basbanes was coming to Vancouver, I searched
my “books on books portion” of my personal library
for my copy of “A Gentle Madness” which I had
purchased five or six years ago. I thought that I
had a first printing of the book, but when I’d
located it and opened it, I discovered that I actually
owned a second printing. Oh well, it would still
be nice to have it signed. Thus, I took it along when
I went to hear its author speak in Vancouver.
When I told Nick about having a second printing
when I thought I had a first, he commented that
actually the second printing was more scarce. In
surprising manner, the first printing of 5800 copies
sold out quickly, and a second printing of just
900 copies was rushed onto the market to fill
the void. He also pointed out to me two full pages
and parts of two other pages of text that were
removed from the book by the publisher before
the third printing was issued and the deleted text
never appeared in any subsequent editions. If
you’re a bibliophile like me, you eat up this stuff!
Then, Nick asked if I’d like my copy to be certified
a “first printing”? I said, “Sure!” He proceeded to
turn to the copyright page and he added a “1″ and
an asterisk to the end of the number line. Below,
with asterisk, he added the note:
“I hereby declare this an official First Edition”
and added his initials.
Nick asked me next if I wanted a signature or an
inscription (some author’s today will only offer an
inscription because it makes the book somewhat
less saleable than with just a signature) and I said
that since this volume was remaining in my personal
library, that I’d welcome an inscription.
I gave Nick my name and jokingly said that I
like to tell people that my ancestors “manned the
stills”. So this is what Nick wrote:
“For Terry Stillman–
Bookseller in Vancouver–a man whose
ancestors “manned the stills” (this from a man
whose name in Greek is “winemaker”–
with regards and best wishes
for many years of happy hunting.
Nick ”
I laughed when I’d seen what he had written
and said, “We make a great pair. Who’s
buying the first round?”
Nick then proceeded to write his full name on
the title page, plus place and date. When he got
to the date, he confirmed with me that it was
the 30th. I said yes, I’d remarked to his wife
that tomorrow was Halloween and they would
be spending it in Victoria. So Nick added in
brackets “(Day Before Halloween)”. He’s a
literal guy, and I said, “gee, you must make
copious notes when you’re researching”!
At any rate, that’s one special copy I now
have of “A Gentle Madness”.
Constance (Connie) Basbanes, Nick’s lovely
and vivacious wife, although not a book
collector herself, is obviously a good sport
as she has to cope with her husband’s
“houseful of books” that has accumulated
over the years. Connie and Nick write a
monthly review of children’s books for
Literary Features Syndicate which they
established in 1993. They are both dedicated
to the encouragement of reading in young
people. With their first grandchild on the way,
I can only assume that lucky girl or boy is
going to have one heck of a personal library.
Connie mentioned that there were lots of
children’s books in the house, so I suggested
that birthdays and holidays wouldn’t just mean
a gift of one or two books. Connie said “No,
I’ll be giving them by the box!”
Check Nicholas Basbanes’ website:
www.nicholasbasbanes.com
or,
www.agentlemadness.com
Nick’s most recent book, “A World of Letters:
Yale University Press, 1908-2008″ is being
released this month. Nick received a few
Advance Copies while he was visiting Vancouver
this past week.
Nick and Connie, it was so great meeting you
both, and thanks for the wonderful evening. Too
bad you live all the way over there in Massachusetts;
I wouldn’t mind seeing that cellar of books.
Please take some time to visit my website:
www.stillmanbooks.com
for hard-to-find children’s books, aviation,
Canadiana and more.
Remember, the only book purchase you’ll
ever regret will be the one you didn’t make.
Talk soon.