The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-03-26
QUEER THINGS AMONG OLD BOOKS
How People Buy Them and Sell Them
A True Story That Sounds Like
From the Ne,O York Tribune.

Fiction
From the Ne,C YORK Tribune.
''There is pro- ably no dealer in old
books" said one of the best-known men IN
this city the other day, "who has so much
experience and sharpness as not to be caught
mapping now and then. l spend most OF
nv leisure time goi z about among other
dealers, and it is wonderful to see what val
liable things they will sell some
times for a small price, AID what absurd
SUI MS they will charge for things that are
w nth next to nothing. The other DAY L
was looking over the books placed outside
the door of shop and found, tied up in a
bundle. file of little paper published at
Brook Farm, that experiment. In co-opera-
ton tried years ago at West Roxbury,
Mass. 1t is now one of the rarest OF
American periodicals. The bundle was
marked so cents l could scarcely believe
my eyes.
deg | said to the dealer.
"He looked at the bundle and then said
carelessly:
"'Oh, no; you can have that for IS cents,
if you want it.
"And in buying books people don't
know, often, when they are getting good
bargain. Here is an old French book that
few know anything about, but it is ex-
ceedingly curious. Librarians see it on my
catalogue, but they never heard of 1T be-
| fore and think it isn't worth anything. Well
| If somebody doesn't buy it l shall double
| the price Of it in my next catalogue, and II
it doesn't sell then shall double the price
again, and by that time some one Will be
sure to want ii"
do you never get hold Of books that you
| find it impossible to sell at all?
mo never; have had SO much expert
ence that l can tell when l see any book
| whether have ever had calls for it or am
likely to have any.
"a good many queer things happen in
| this business, but here is one that sounds
| almost like fiction, though it is every word
true. man came into my snop here one
| day and introduced himself, saying that
| though he had had a good deal of CORES
pondence with me he had never seen me,
but being in New York he thought that he
would call, though for no other purpose
than to say 'good-day,' as he did
not want to buy anything at present. We
talked pleasantly for few moments and
he he looked about the shop.
What is in that big basket? he said, at
| last.
''The basket that he pointed to was the
same one that is there behind you now, and
| it was full of old legal documents.
ooh, nothing of any consequence l re-
| piled, letting the basket on the counter for
4
He turned over the papers and finally
asked me what l would take for them.
"'I don't know l said, what will you
| give for themg
"'I'll give you $40 for the lot he said,
and l took the offer at once.
He picked out two OF the papers and
put them in his pocket, and then said:
"'Send me the rest any time; there is no
hurry
" But now that you have bought this
stuff and paid for it, said, Il suppose
| you won't mind telling me what you want
of it,
| Not in the least was the reply. 4 lam
the executor of an estate up in one of the
northern counties, and it has been lmpossi-
| bic to prove the title to certain parts of it.
Nobody ever disputed the last owners title,
and he as careless about his papers. And
now, here in your basket, l find the genuine
| deeds of the property
"My customer was naturally delighted
with what he had found, and he wrote to
me afterward to say that he had collected
over $4,000 in rents that he could not get
before for want of those deeds"