Used and Rare - Book Review

Used and Rare
by Lawrence and Nancy Goldstone
St Martins Press 1997

In the early 1990s Nancy and Lawrence Goldstone were both working long hours on Wall Street in New York City.

Nancy had given birth to their daughter Emily (born roughly around 1991) and the frantic pace of their jobs meant that Emily was being raised by babysitters.


So Lawrence and Nancy made a decision - to get out of the rat race and go somewhere less driven. So they quit their fast-paced jobs and moved to Massachusetts, where Nancy and Lawrence began writing books.

Nancy's first book was called Trading Up (Surviving Success as a Trader on Wall Street) - In this hilarious, no-holds-barred account of Wall Street, Nancy Goldstone tells of the series of coincidences and sheer luck that landed her, her trading position, how she managed to succeed in the job. and the pressures and demands of the crazy world of high finance that led her to quit.
NB - I must try and find this book to read.

I have previously read and reviewed the second and third books in the Goldstone book trilogy. Slightly Chipped and Warmly Inscribed. Now I have finally located and read the first book - which tells the story of how the Goldstones became book collectors.

In 1994, Nancy tracked down a ten-dollar copy of War and Peace in order to win a birthday bet with Larry. What started as a last resort on the quest for a cheap gift soon became an addiction. Over the next three years they haunted every used and rare bookshop between New York and Boston that they could find, from dingy, dust-filled barns to elegant Park Avenue galleries.

Starting small on cheap, out-of-print used books, their addiction soon graduated to first editions and, finally, to three-quarter morocco, custom-bound antiquarian classics that they could not afford. Along the way, they gained an education in books - and in people - that we can all savor.

I read this book for the Bibliophilic challenge.

The Book Hunter

I found a lovely new Blog last night, and spent several hours reading it through. It's called the Book Hunter's Holiday, and is owned by Chris in California. She's decided that, after several years of being an English teacher, she would much rather sell Antiquarian Books. So she has started an online shop, attended a book fair and has even been accepted into a course at the Rare Books School in Virginia.

Last month in September, Chris started her blog about the Education of an Antiquarian Bookseller. Her posts are fascinating. As many of you know, I love antiquarian books, but I'm not a seller. I prefer to do the research, (Bibliography). Each post on her blog is called a Chapter. I thought this was a very interesting idea. Especially when there is a consistent theme all the way through. My blog is not consistent. Yes, it is about Books, but not every post is a book review.

My most favourite chapter was Chapter 33 - Required reading for those New to Antiquarian Books..

So please do drop by and welcome Chris to the world of blogging.

Fine Books & Collections and Connoiseur Magazines

My very first copy of Fine Books Magazine arrived in the mail today. It is of course the May/June 2007 issue featuring Antique Miniature Books. I have not been so wowed by a magazine since reading Connoisseur Magazine back in the 1980s and early 1990s.

I loved the Connoisseur magazine. Since I couldnt afford to buy them, I always used to borrow them from my local public library. For those of you who may remember that magazine, it was about Art & Antiques, and the editor (at the time I was reading it) was Thomas Hoving.

I met Mr Hoving for the first time in the pages of his excellent book "King of the Confessors". I fell in love with art history courtesy of this book. I have loved maps since I was a child, and now I have come full circle by adding antiquarian books to the list as well.

I do remember seeing a few antique map advertisements in Connoiseur, so there were probably some antiquarian bookseller ads in there as well. Then the library stopped stocking it. I'm still wondering what happened to Connoiseur.

Warmly Inscribed by Lawrence & Nancy Goldstone - Book Review

Warmly Inscribed
By Lawrence & Nancy Goldstone
Published St Martin's Press 2002

I read this book over Friday and Sunday, because I left the other book I was reading at work. I really enjoyed it.

I LOVED the detailed descriptions of the Library of Congress and the Folger Shakespeare Library. I also enjoyed the stories of the NY Antiquarian Book Fair and the New England forger.

For a beginning collector such as I am, I found this to be very easy to read and a very educational book.



And while some people think that the mentions of meals and passing acquaintences and teddy bears and the writers 8-year-old daughter was somewhat over the top, I had no problem with them at all. In fact I appreciated the Goldstones being enlightened parents and willing to take their daughter with them, on their trip to Washington DC.

This is the third book by this couple.
Now I simply must go out and find the first two books.