Evening star., 1896-07-25
SECONDHAND BOOKsrALLs.
As They Exist In the Highways and
Byways OF Great Cities.


Byways Of Great Cities.
From the Springfield Republican
One must make the rounds of the second
hand bookstalls in our big cities to get the
real aroma and atmosphere of books.
These stalls are usually in the byways.
and they are oases Of quaintness and fas-
cination to the bibliomaniac and collector.
These old bookstalls are usually sand
wiched in between other shops or down in
srimy Easements. The master 10 all Of
piece with his wares, in the sere and yell
low leaf, down at heels, out at elbows and
general air of dilapidation: just as the
books are a bit worse on the outside for
the battle If life. but within coltain n
heart as pure and young as when the back
was straight and the cover thing of
beauty. Few OF these old bookstalls are
ever advertised. One stumbles upon them.
The dingy shelves often hide, among
countless miscellaneous volumes. rare
treasures, veritable finds Editions long out
of print. autographic editions that have
dr1fted into this promiscuous collection of
Old books no one knows how. All these
books are veterans, who could tale un-
fold besides that bound and printed be-
tween the covers. Some Of these books
wear the antiquated garb Of vellum. so
fashionable in our grandfathers' day. some
have quaint, black letter type. with curl
OuSly Illuminated c0apter Initials.
AT the bookstall the new book counts for
naught. and the shabby old book takes
precedence. Many and various are the rea-
sons why old books acquire their value.
They may belong to limited editions, or
to editions that have long been out Of
print; they may be autographic or have
valuable exlibris, or bookplate of some for
mer owner. Be it primer, almanac. Bible,
or. in fact, anything between covers. with
this treasure in it, it is prize that marks
red-letter day to the finder. Age at the
oookssau Is at premium, that in many
cases goes for bargain. The uninitiated
mortal little thinks of all this as he heed
lessly passes these dingy old stalls, while
the collector or bibliomaniac Is ever on the
qui vive to find an Elzeyir. an Aldne or
Bordom-or early American editions with
the Bradford or Ben Franklin imprint.
NOT long since friend of mine became
the happy owner of an extended" edition
of the New York Stage. in which great
amount of additional clippings on the stage
mad been bound in with the book. besides
plates and photographs of the successive
actors and actresses that have delighted
the public for years. This valuable edition
was procured for mere song and the
same lucky mortal picked up first edition
Oh Ihackerays works, with broken backs
and dog-eared leaves My friend showed
me his treasure with the pride of Pom
pey, and told me of the remarkable old fel-
low OF whom he had purchased the books
This old man / afterward interviewed and
found him character. although not a
literary man, he had inhaled the book at
mosphere so long that by a strange intui-
ton he knew the inside as well as the out
side OF his wares-as If the books had con-
fided to him all their secret being Then he
| had CLEANED lot of valuable informa ton
from collectors and experts. Out of the
confusion worse confounded that always
reigns in bookstall the old vender can
produce just what one asks for without
any real search in dark, dingy. dusty cor
ners. where to the purchaser disorder
seems supreme. --.l .