Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1889-03-15
QUEER THINGS AMONG BOOKS.
How People Buy Them and Sell Them
A Story that Sounds Like Fiction.

Story that Sounds Like Fiction.
; There is probably no dealer in old
books" said one of the best-known men in
that business In this city the other day.
who has so much experience and sharp.
ness as not to be caught mapping now and
then. | spend the most of my leisure
time going about among other dealers, and
It Is wonderful to see what valuable things
they will sell sometimes for small price,
| and what absurd sums they will charge for
things that are worth next to nothing.
The other day / was looking over the
books placed outside the door of shop
and found, tied up in bundle, file Of
little paper published at Brook Farm.
that experiment in cooperation tried
years ago at West Roxbury, Massachusetts.
1t is now the rarest of American period
icals. The bundle was marked SO cents
| could scarcely believe my eyes. rs that
the price you ask for this bundle p / said
to the dealer.
He looked at the bundle and then said
carelessly: oh. no, no; you can have
that for 80 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 exceed
lngly curious. Librarians see it on my
catalogue, but they never heard of it be-
fore, and think it isn't worth ANYTHING.
Wen, II somebody doesn't buy it / shall
double the price Of il in my next cata-
logue, and If it doesn't sell then shall
double the price again, and by that time
some one will be sure to want it.n
No Won rlevpr ,rat hold &c booJ-- Al "a
you find it impossible to sell at all ~
No, never; l have had so much ex-
perlence that can tell when / see any
book whether l 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. A man came into my shop here one
day and introduced himself, saying that
though he had had good deal of CORE
spondence 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 a few moments and 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.
".Oh, nothing of any consequence l
replied, setting the basket on the counter
for him to look at.
lie turned over the papers and finally
asked me what would take for them. Il
don't know said what will you give
for them?
90 Tll give you $40 for the lot he said,
and | 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
90 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.
8" Not in the least was the reply, am
the executor of an estate up in one of the
northern counties, and it has been impossi-
BILE to prove the title to certain parts of it.
Nobody ever disputed the last owners tt
tie, and he was careless about his papers.
And now here in your basket 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."-N. Y
Tribune