Lots of fusty musty dusty books at the mart. The sort that make me sneeze and wheeze as soon as I walk into the hall. A very masculine collection from one man who spent his life mostly in Rhodesia, possibly as an antiques and secondhand book dealer as there were multiple copies of some titles with codes and prices written in them. I saw my first knobkerry. Useful. There was also a morse code buzzer which I would rather have liked but couldn’t think of a good reason for getting it. The only sign that he had any female in his life was a single cut glass scent bottle with a silver top like the one my ma-in-law gave me once. Maybe the females of the family are still alive.There were medals and fishing gear and ‘trench art’ and so on. Nothing fetched big prices, in fact the books did best of all. Plenty of dealers, mostly internet folk I know by name (I had been told by Bryn who met some of them at the viewing) and I spent the in-between times trying to put names to faces. A certain lady who Bryn was told ‘usually gets what she wants’ became recognisable eventually as she got what she wanted. We were, of course, all after the same boxes and it was a question of who had the deepest pocket. I was quite alarmed at the prices reached. How can they make a profit? Not by selling on Amazon where Wilbur Smith, Alistair Maclean and other such manly writers aren’t going to fetch much, not even 1sts, especially in the condition they were in. They weren’t the real catch though. That was the ‘Rhodesiana Library’ books, which the lucky winner will now have to find buyers for. I feel certain she paid too much for these reprints. If Mr. Toad-up-the-road had been allowed to go along with someone else’s cheque book I expect bids would have reached even higher. It would have been fun watching the stand-off!
I got some bits and pieces that pleased me and some for a friend. I also ate the best mince and tatties I’ve had for a long time. Good mince without gristle and hardly any salt. I’m an aficionado of mince and tatties; also of sausage with onion gravy. Both can be ambrosial or filthy. One day I’ll write a guide to good honest freshly cooked pub food.
2 comments:
These days are so enjoyable. You can meet so many people and they all come past the stall to see how things are. I just did a lovely day at Tynemouth Station.
I will continue that one regularly.
Do you know the Vs and the Ts from Darlo? They seem glad to see me and we chat along. Previous big buyers seem to be taking me seriously which thrills me into doing so much more of this.
Cheers Gillian
Again - very well done you. It's not a bad way of making a bob or two, and I think bookfairs are more satisfying than the High Street (mutter grumble!) People that go to them actually appreciate the value of what one has to offer. I wish there were more up in this part of the world. It's so far to travel to anywhere from the far north.
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