Just Found

Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (Random House, 1969 first
edition, first printing) in fine condition with fine dust jacket, and no
internal marks.

This has been on my actively sought list for at least a decade. And I
found it at a thrift store.


Francis A. Miniter

Francis A. Miniter wrote:
Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (Random House, 1969 first
edition, first printing) in fine condition with fine dust jacket, and no
internal marks.

This has been on my actively sought list for at least a decade. And I
found it at a thrift store.


Francis A. Miniter

You sure have some great finds, Francis. I am drooling over your
Sir Walter Scott....

--
Jean B.

On 5/14/2013 11:56 PM, Jean B. wrote:
Francis A. Miniter wrote:
Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (Random House, 1969
first edition, first printing) in fine condition with fine dust
jacket, and no internal marks.

This has been on my actively sought list for at least a decade. And I
found it at a thrift store.


Francis A. Miniter

You sure have some great finds, Francis. I am drooling over your Sir
Walter Scott....



Maybe, it is Connecticut that provides the opportunities, with so many
colleges and universities and literary people who live here to hang
about New York.

One of my most surprising recent finds at a thrift store was this:

Hermes Trismegiste. Corpus Hermeticum Quatre Tomes. Societe d´Edition
Les Belles Lettres - Paris, 1960. With Greek and Latin texts on one
side and a French translation on facing pages. Published in paperback,
but I have not found a hardcover version of this publication. Even
earlier printings (e.g. 1945) were in paper.


Francis A. Miniter

On May 26, 2:25*pm, "Francis A. Miniter"
wrote:

One of my most surprising recent finds at a thrift store was this:

Hermes Trismegiste. Corpus Hermeticum *Quatre Tomes. Societe d Edition
Les Belles Lettres - Paris, 1960. *With Greek and Latin texts on one
side and a French translation on facing pages. *Published in paperback,
but I have not found a hardcover version of this publication. *Even
earlier printings (e.g. 1945) were in paper.


The French seem to have a history of paperback-only books. The "lost"
Jules Verne novel, PARIS IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY, sold very well
indeed, but was not deemed worthy of a hardcover edition. (I brought
the trade paperback home with me from Paris...)

why don't you ever post pictures of your finds?

On 5/29/2013 5:20 PM, SpanishMill wrote:
why don't you ever post pictures of your finds?




Nowhere to post them. I avoid Facebook like the plague and I have not
set up a web site, though I probably should do that.


Francis A. Miniter

Originally Posted by Francis A. Miniter[_2_]

On 5/29/2013 5:20 PM
Nowhere to post them. I avoid Facebook like the plague and I have not
set up a web site, though I probably should do that.
Francis A. Miniter

"Nowhere to post them"????

call it as I see it _._.

Never pass a thrift - what you have been looking for might be inside!

Willow

Francis,

One reason I collect the workers that I do is that my part of the world is brand new - the first "white woman" arrived in Prince George in 1912! So thrifts simply do not have anything published before... 1980 or so. Actually, even that date is considered old. Add to that - the only used bookstore in town is 90% paperbacks, for that is what sells. Anything else must be found on line, and shipping costs are going totally off the wall. A hardcover to Canada from the US used to be $7 or so. Now, Sellers start at $11 and some go to $30 or more! And if you ask, they bitch. Thankfully, Book Depository and others in the UK offer free shipping, and a few of the massive used book dealers in the US at least are reasonable - $5 or so per title. Any new book comes from there - and faster than a book ordered in Canada or the USA. I simply cannot understand how some dealers can sell a book for $.99 and ship it for $5 when others charge more and have shipping costs that are very high.

So writers must be chosen with care to make hunting possible. No use hunting for a tiger when all you have are moose and deer, with the occasional black bear. Also, the taste in books locally is... limited. Anything on the tables at Costco will show up in a few months at the thrifts. But if you are looking for Chris Bohjalian or other writers, no way ( by the way, in his "Before You Know Kindness" you will find a character named "Willow". She had a different name in the first draft, but Chris was taken by my name so changed the name to Willow after our first exchange of letters).

Still, I remember the old days when writing to London took weeks for an answer, them more time to place and order and get the book! That was a major reason for my annual trips to London when - thankfully - airlines gave one considerable leeway in extra baggage. A new piece of luggage from Woolworth's near Victoria Station was always necessary for the return trip, but airlines in those days did not care.

Willow

On 6/14/2013 8:01 PM, Willow Arune wrote:
Francis,

One reason I collect the workers that I do is that my part of the world is brand new -
the first "white woman" arrived in Prince George in 1912! So thrifts
simply do not have
anything published before... 1980 or so. Actually, even that date is
considered old.
Add to that - the only used bookstore in town is 90% paperbacks, for
that is what sells.
Anything else must be found on line, and shipping costs are going
totally off the wall.
A hardcover to Canada from the US used to be $7 or so. Now, Sellers
start at $11 and
some go to $30 or more! And if you ask, they bitch. Thankfully, Book
Depository and
others in the UK offer free shipping, and a few of the massive used book
dealers in the US
at least are reasonable - $5 or so per title. Any new book comes from
there - and faster
than a book ordered in Canada or the USA. I simply cannot understand
how some dealers
can sell a book for $.99 and ship it for $5 when others charge more and
have shipping
costs that are very high.

So writers must be chosen with care to make hunting possible. No use hunting for a
tiger when all you have are moose and deer, with the occasional black
bear. Also, the
taste in books locally is... limited. Anything on the tables at Costco
will show up
in a few months at the thrifts. But if you are looking for Chris
Bohjalian or other writers,
no way ( by the way, in his "Before You Know Kindness" you will find a
character named "Willow".
She had a different name in the first draft, but Chris was taken by my
name so changed
the name to Willow after our first exchange of letters).

Still, I remember the old days when writing to London took weeks for an answer,
them more time to place and order and get the book! That was a major
reason for my
annual trips to London when - thankfully - airlines gave one
considerable leeway in extra
baggage. A new piece of luggage from Woolworth's near Victoria Station
was always
necessary for the return trip, but airlines in those days did not care.

Willow


You remind me of the time four decades ago, when I was a graduate
student at the University of Toronto. I had an account with Blackwell's
in Oxford. I would write to them, telling them what I was seeking; they
would find it and mail it to me along with an invoice! No payment in
advance. And I would send them a check by mail.

Ah, what a wonderful world it was then. May I suggest that you might
want to consider a trip to Massachusetts and Connecticut the next time
book fever strikes. We are closer than London, and you can even find
British editions. Just yesterday I came up with a 3rd printing (January
1931) by Gollancz of Besier's play, _The Barretts of Wimpole Street_ .
And there is a weekly auction of books in Northampton, MA, that always
has some rare treasures; and I should mention CFA Book Auctions has a
monthly auction in New London, CT. I picked up a first printing of
Hemingway's _The Fifth Column and Other Stories_ there.

One place I want to return to for book hunting is the left bank in
Paris. So many books, so little time and money.


Francis A. Miniter