Having just issued my first two catalogues during the last year, Michael’s weekend post on the resurgence of this bookselling tool was of particular interest. I completely agree that catalogues are making a comeback, perhaps especially among younger booksellers (an incredibly relative term in the antiquarian book biz – see Between the Covers’ Tom Congleton for more on this). In addition to the previously-mentioned Derringer Books and Jeff Maser (and even, for that matter, Wessel and Lieberman), I would also throw out the examples of Garrett Scott (whose Some preliminary notes on the aesthetic merits of interesting catalogues is another great take on the matter), Royal Books, Harper’s Books, and Lux Mentis as examples of younger(ish) booksellers issuing exciting catalogues. Jed Birmingham approached the question of catalogues from the point-of-view of a collector last year for his Bibliographic Bunker column on the William S. Burroughs website Reality Studio. And at the risk of quoting myself, around the same time I expanded on my own reasons for issuing a catalogue and what the future of catalogues might be:
For me, the decision to issue my first catalogue was one I made more than a year ago and was due to a number of factors. First and foremost, I had items that required a catalogue to sell them properly. The constraints of most databases mean that for important items needing long descriptions, necessary information would have to be left out or only suggested. Catalogues allow you to sell the book the way you want, with as many images as desired and with as much verbosity as you can muster.
Not only that, but put frankly – a dealer is not going to sell very expensive books on the internet. Few collectors or institutions are going to plunk down several thousand dollars on a book through ABE. A quick look at ABE’s monthly list of most expensive books sold bears this out; these prices are regularly eclipsed by book auction results and listings in dealer catalogues. A catalogue demonstrates a certain professionalism and proficiency that lend themselves to confidence on the buyer’s part. A catalogue also allows you to target your marketing, aiming your books at the customers and collections who would most be interested in your offerings. And finally, as a new and relatively young dealer, my hope was my first catalogue would act as a kind of calling card within the book world – a way to announce myself. So there were both practical and marketing reasons for my decision to issue my first catalogue.
That said, I recognize that the internet necessitates certain changes in catalogues, modifications that in my opinion need to be adopted if catalogues are to continue and if they are to be used successfully. In the current climate of easy price-comparison and simple access to many millions of books, a catalogue to succeed must meet two or more of the following criteria, and the more the better:
1) Scarce, rare, unique or unusual offerings.
2) Competitive, if not down right tempting, prices.
3) An interesting and informed perspective.
4) An appealing format and presentation.
5) A cohesive marketing identity – branding, if you will.Before the ubiquity of the internet, a dealer – because of asymmetrical information – could often get by with perhaps a well-designed catalogue, or a well-written one. Now, however, either #1 or #2 are musts (and preferably both) and they need to be coupled with at least one of the remaining conditions. Why? Because for catalogues to succeed they must offer something the internet does not.
Finally, I should also mention new bookseller Chris Lowenstein of Book Hunters Holiday, who has been documenting her own experiences readying her Dante catalogue on her blog. Having read a draft of the catalogue, I can say with certainty Chris will make a fine addition to the list of booksellers using this still-vital tool.