The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1883-05-18

BOOKS AS FURNITURE.
Literature by the Yard for Decorative
Purposes---some Queer Book
Buyers.
New York Sun.

/ to tae mark for cash?
The question was propannded by a
some what over dressed man in an up
town book store The emphasis which
he placed upon the phrase for cash re
vealed the esteem in which he held that
| article as compared with the commodity
for which he intended to exchange it.
do gentlemen often buy books by the
dozen?' asked the reporter.
oh. yes replied the salesman, when
his customer had disappeared. 1 have
| been sent for several times this year to
| measure the shelves of libraries in new
houses, to find out the number of books
required to fit them up. Books are an
| I'M orfant item in house furnishing. The
comfortable, old time sitting room has
| made way for the formal library. As a
! library without books would hardly do,
| house owners are bound to have them
| whether they possess Literary tastes or not
Besides, they add tone and color to the
| room. A customer recently said to me
| anything except the papers, but there's
Phone feeling in having books around;
| they look well. too and sort of encoar-
age the children. He told me to be sure
| and chuck in few big ones to pat on
| the tables
The customer who just went out
ordered books for eight four-feet shelves.
| He sand that he did not care much for
literature, but that nowadays a library
was almost as necessary as a billiard
room All buyers are not so frank in
speaking about the matter. The majority
MOI only want books for their decorative
qualities, but TO give an appearance of
culture.
tAnother harmless fellow, who wanted
the reputation of man of culture, always
directed US to put in some books that had
been used little. He once told me that
he was bound to have library as
big as his neighbors, and whenever the
latter ordered a new stand-up showcase,
he was going to do the same.
Some of these folks have queer ideas
One. of onr customers insisted ON having
his books bound after the same pattern
and numbered. Some time afterward a
friend told him that people were asking
if he kept circulating library; so he had
morocco labels stuck on over the figures
But this only made the matter worse, fc~7
his guests were particular to ask him what
the labels were fort At last, in sheer
desperation he sent the volumes to an
auction-roon, and we received his order
the next day for SO many feet of books
each one differently bound. He wouldn't
have even two volume edition of any
thing
A wealthy man once sent in great haste
for neighboring dealer, saying that he
wanted his library closed ont Immediately
and a new one bought. He was a specn-
lator in produce, but some one had sold a
law library. He liked the uniform APP
pearance of the volumes, and had made
the purchase without reading the titles.
His new books were to be illustrated, all
of them.
When L first went into the business
| was surprised to see at a customers
house an eXtravagantly bound
copy of Shakespeare works -in
the German language. | knew the man
did not understand German. and the cir
cumstance puzzled me / found after
ward that bookseller had loaded him up
with "a very unstable article by telling
him that every gentleman ought to have
copy of Shakespeare's works in the or
iginal. The same man once came to MS
for book 10 present his wife at their sill.
yer wedding. And what do you think
he chose? Fountaine's work on How
the earth was peopled. There was some
excuse for him-he had eleven children
No, house furnishers do not ofteh buy
the books for ii library, but they frequent
liz give directions as To bindings They
look for light, elegant and well-contrast-
ed colors- or for heavy, antique morocco
or Russia bindings suited to the character
of the room AS a rule, the owner of the
house thinks himself competent To buy
his own books, though he seeks aid from
as in making his choice l once picked
out handsome assortment for custom
L, ~ n
no acquaintance with books but he look
ed over the titles and made some rather
expurgations He told me to
put all the standard 'thorities in anyway.
and ne would attend to the rest. He
threw out In the Meshes which he sup
POSED to be book on fishing-hecause he
was no angler 'Boswell's Life of John
SON was rejected because ne didn't want
political campaign works. and wouldnt
have the biographies of the Presidents,
they all lied So His wife discarded
The Sparrowgrass Papers on the
ground thai they did not want any
books about vegetables, and The Law
aud the Prophets was not wanted be
case the old gentleman had given up bust |
ness altogether. The man who once pur-
chased The Mill on the Floss. believing |
t to be an account of prize fight, was |
well informed maa compared |
with this customer, who said that |
Beauties of the British Dramatists was "a /
'ell, because The work did not contain |
picture of one of them. He expected to |
ind it full of portraits of actresses. The |
nan even held up fine edition of Plut- /
lrch, and asked how many lives a man
vas supposed to have. He had not once
hought of opening the work These |
nen do not bother US much, for they are /
EASILY satisfied; but what do you think of /
gentleman who refused to pay his bill
because You have left out the dictionary
the most important work of alF-from
complete edition of old Daniel Web
tiers works This mixing up of the Web
tiers seems to be chronic disease with a
ertain sort of buyers.
The house furnishers sometimes have
.ood ideas about bindings, but they are
pit TO 90 to extremes. Oneof them lately
rdered some very fantastic work for
brary TO be furnished in Gothic style
Bat, after all, there is some reason in
hiding books so that they may be in har-
lony with their surroundings. and il helps
business. Scholars may smile as much as
hey like about books for decorative pur-
oses, but elegant bindings. if nicely
hosen and arranged. do add greatly to
ne effect of a well-lighted, riehly-furnish
room.