Re: book collections
Tim O'Connor (oconnort@nyu.edu)
Mon, 11 Aug 1997 01:50:16 -0400 (EDT)
Like so many people here, I've pieced together a collection over the
years (though while moving a few years back, I had someone filch my
entire hardcover collection of Salinger first editions, including the
Catcher with his picture on back, which I consider irreplaceable, by
this point).
It's great to see how many of us prowl the aisles of stores this way; I
wonder whether any of us have crossed paths at some time or another!
Anyhow, I wanted to mention the curiosity that was in this week's NY
Times Book Review. A dealer in rare books is selling a first edition of
F&Z for $500. Gack. The most I paid for any of the Salinger firsts I
had was $6, and most of them were in tip-top shape.
One little delight (where would we be without little delights?) popped
up this weekend, as I was continuing to rearrange books in some coherent
way. I turned up a geeky paperback in a pile of Salinger material, The
Armchair Esquire, a 1958 anthology of stuff published in Esquire
magazine. Whoever sold it to me for $2.50 lightly pencilled inside the
cover, "has out-of-print Salinger story about Holden Caulfield," and
what do you know ... it has "This Sandwich Has No Mayonnaise."
Unfortunately, it's so brittle, I can hardly open it. But it was a
decent surprise.
One of the sad, sad facts of life here in NYC is that there are so few
used-book stores, it's nearly impossible to find a rarity on the shelf
anymore. A few years ago I snagged an inscribed copy of a special
edition on Goodbye Columbus for about ten bucks, and I remember leaving
the store convinced that someone would snag me by the arm and take it
back....
--tim o'connor