At the monthly meeting of the Colophon Society, a group of book-lovers who support the libraries of Southern Methodist University, the subject was, as usual, books. This was to be a sort of Antiques Roadshow for book collectors. Members had been invited to bring two or three of their favorites for appraisal. Evans Caglage Larry Myers of Arlington collects books on Western outlaws and the cattle industry. No matter how arcane or downright weird, if somebody has written and published it, these days there's a good chance that somebody else wants it - and is willing to pay.
Book collecting is as old as books.
The Roman statesman Cicero avidly sought out old manuscripts. Renaissance princes and popes assembled whole libraries. But never before has it been so easy to collect. A half-dozen online search services now put almost any book within the reach, if not the financial grasp, of the collector. You can no longer charge as much for a book because it's readily available on the 'Net.