Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1904-02-29
BOOK HUNTING
Rare Works Found Among the Jun
Left by Sailors.
A Heoklovsr on Old Bookshops Of New
L..-,.An..sA. York.
4EHlR Ukl1
H'EvfU- New York Sum-

old book lover, ito write up the Phy9i-
ognomy Of the old bookshops OF New
York. We all know the fashionable es-
Establishments, but / am Vagraht man
and find pleasure in odd places, quite
foo common to be within the ken of
courtly collectOrship.
perhaps they might assunl~ lore
attractive aspect even in these "iA!rHnt
eyes II it were known what treasures
they sometimes contain and what
faes end of romance they often have
hidden among their dust and cobwebs'
behind those grimy windows which arr:
only washed when the wind is at the
eastward and the skies bulging with
rain.
II thought had discovered the odd
est bookstall in New York. 1t STOOD
in front Of junkshop in South street.
near the dry docks and consisted OF Il
box filed DELL nell with old almanacs,
books on navigation, sea adventures
and voyages, most of them rare Amer
lean imprints and all of them rare.
.There were also rolls Of old charts
views. etc, which had evidently been
torn from old works on navigation
The dealer informed me, through the
smoke Of a very black and very rank
with a lot Of other junk. and that he
had another boxful inside.
II bought both lots for q little Inrjo
than q truckmen charged me to cart
them to my house, and had no occa-
sion to regret my bargain, for among
the almanacs were several bearing the
name Of William Bradford. the first
New York printer-late issues. 1730-43
nd
printed by the Widow Catherine Zen
ger" John Peter Zenger's second wife,
whose imprint is known on only two
other publications.
"A week later CHANGED upon an al
most similar establishment. In this
instance 1t was on the West Side, in
one of these streets where remains OF
the New York of the past still linger.
1T was q little frame Shanty, sand
wiched between two brick dwellings.
and covering what had apparently been
q cartway leading to an abandoned
stable in the rear. There We're two
boxes Of books at the entrance, and
more boots on shelves inside, mixed up
with books and shoes in various stages
Of dilapidatOn.
Seated on 4 rickety shOemaker'S
bench within an Old man was cobblinS
a truckdriyer's shoe, alternating his Ia
Dor with swigs from a tin can of beer
at his feet The cobbler stated that.
being fond of larning,' he had begun
to buy old books from some of his Gus
toners and when he had read them he
sold them or traded them off for others.
He read everything indiscrininately.
PchoOl primers, sermons, almanacs.
poems, political pamphlets, novels, and
so on and there was his stock, five
and 10 cent Il piece. all around. The
only except ms to these prices were in
favor Of some old New York directories
-LongwOrth's American Almanack,
New York Register and City Direc-
tory odd volumes between 1893 and
1918, for which he demanded a quarter
each, and for some Valentines Man
nails which he rated at twice that
sum.
Il cleared out about half Of his stock,
and he was SO completely satisfied with
the deal that he insisted upon my shar-
ing n can of beer with him.
"Three years ago some affairs called
me to a city not far up the Hudson riv-
er. My business was soon transacted.
and after dining had two hours to
spare before my train should take me
back to New York.
might had fallen. l was idling down
the main street when my eye caught
small shop, within which an old man
was reading a newspaper by the light
Of a kerosene lamp.
1.-THE window was full of 81, ndle-
sticks fireirorls ard other war, II, iron
and brass, mingled with a lot of books
and there We're more books and IRON
ware inside. The place was, in short,
sort of provincial curiosity shop. and
Its master was not the least curious
portion OF its stock.
His stock came from the villages
and farms all around. of which the city
in question was the county seat. Farm
ers' wives and daughters. enticed by
the tawdry novelties OF the day. dis
posed OF their heirOOms in order to
mOderniZe their house-fittings. and
raked out OF their attics old county
histories and other publications of the
early presses of the state. which pos
sessed no interest to them.
THE old shopkeeper was by no means
unaware that the heirlooms had Il val
Tie superior to that of old metal, al
though his prices We're low. calculated
by the New York standard. On his
books. some of which We're among the
scarcest items in the department g
American local history, he set less
store. / took back to New York a
number of the rarest works.
''When l returned n few weeks later,
] found the ancient shopkeeper dead and
his stock sold at auction. The entire
collection OF books. it seems. had beel,
purchased for couple of hundred dol
lars by a New York dealer who had
somehow heard of its existence. and 1t
presently figured. not far from Fifth
avenue. ut monumental prices.
downtown the old bookshops are
fast disappearing. One that long
existed was on canal street.
''One horrible winter day, deep with
snow. went into the shop-a one-story
barraCk, where pigNy stove grumbled
and sputtered as If in angry protest at
having to work on such Il day. From
the proprietor. a shabby Scotchman.
bought for IS the rarest OF the three
'poetical volumes bearing the name of
,JOhn KeafS-fhe Poems Of ISL. biS