In 1909, almost 100 years ago, these Twelve Maxims For Book Collectors appeared in Volume 1 of The Bibliophile. A Magazine and Review for the Collector, Student and General Reader.
Even today, one would be hard-pressed to find a better guide to the field. So if you are just starting out or have thought about starting a book collection here is your 12 step program. No need to spend your money on how-to books in the field or on book collecting classes, save that money and buy a good book!
1.—Before starting to collect any class of books, make sure that it is within your means. Nothing is more unsatisfactory than a collection which is restricted to poor copies of third-rate books. If you can’t buy good books in one class, choose a cheaper class and buy the best in that.
2.—A little originality is a valuable asset. At the time when £2,250 was given for the first edition of Boccaccio’s Decamerone, £lOO was considered a high price for a First Folio Shakespeare. There are plenty of bypaths of Book-Collecting which are still untrodden, and a Collector who is happy in his choice of one of these will have the pick of the market and do well for his heirs.
3.—Start with a special subject, and extend your range as your interest grows. You will spend twice as much if you begin purchasing over a wide field and then narrow down, and you will make twice as many mistakes.
4.—Don’t buy a book unless you really want it. Save your money for the chance which will give distinction to your collection.
5.—Don’t try to make bargains before you know the game. The idea of getting a book unreasonably cheaply disturbs the judgment, and to buy books about which you know very little from a vague idea that they have fetched high prices is sure to lead to throwing money away. The better attitude is at all times to be ready to pay a fair price for a good book.
6.—Never haggle with a bookseller. He is sure to have a reason for his price, and even if it is a bad reason he will be loth to abandon it. Moreover, should he give way, now and again, in order to effect a sale, the Collector who always beats him down will certainly be the last person to whom he will offer a good book. N.B.—If you mean to haggle, don’t telegraph for a book first
and dispute the price afterwards, unless you can show serious misdescription.
7. Don’t accept quotations of Auction [or online] prices as irrefragable proof of a book’s value. You may know who bought the book, but you don’t know who put it into the sale, and dealers are sometimes willing to pay 15% for a quotation. One sale-price, even if genuine, proves nothing.
8. -Don’t buy cropped or imperfect copies, except of the very rarest books. They will give you no pleasure while you keep them, and however little they may cost they will assuredly sell for much less.
9.—Learn how to collate a book for yourself, and collate your purchases as soon as you get them home. If possible, make sure from a book of reference as to what a perfect copy ought to contain.
10.—If a book comes to you unsoiled, thank fortune for it, but don’t battle too vigorously against a little dirt. There are many worse evils. A book cleaned with lime or acids is almost always seriously damaged, though the damage may take some years to show itself. Even excessive washing, without any injurious ingredient, will give a blurred appearance to print, and take all the strength out of the paper. Be content with what can be done with moderate washing and a little size.
11.—Don’t make up one copy of a book from another. Making up of this kind destroys the history of the book, even when very carefully done, and often leads to exasperating mistakes. Making up by means of fac-similes is also a very doubtful advantage. The Bibles which have passed through the hands of the late Francis Fry are excellent examples of how books should not be treated.
12.—Think twice and thrice before you throw away an old binding, however bad its condition. If it has ceased to be able to protect the book, have it honestly repaired, that is without any attempt to conceal where the old leather ends and the new begins. Leather used for patching should be quite plain. Where it is absolutely necessary to have an old book rebound, remember that elaborate modern gilding should be reserved for modern books. It is quite out of place on old ones.