Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1922-03-07
SECONDHAND BOOK MARTs-By Frederic ]. Haskin

likely to part with a literary gem LOT price
below it's worth. The profit on used text
books and on the best sellers of yesteryear is
very slight, it is said, but that on first edl-
tions books that are out Of print, and books
of sensational nature is immense. volumes
which receive the official taboo OF the society
for the suppression of vice are also given a
cordial welcome by many Of the dealers, who
find it easy to sell them at fat price. 1t is
reported that one downtown dealer made
enough profit on the sale Of James Branch
Cabels "Jurgen" alone to open another book
shop uptown.
1t is net surprising, therefore, to find most
of the secondhand booksellers strongly In
favor of rigid censorship of our literature.
In fact, their only criticism Of the antl-v1ce
society is that it is too lenient One such adj
miring dealer on the west side even has a
photograph Of the late Anthony Comstock
lconspicuously in evidence on the wall above
his desk.
"The world is getting worse and worse, -
lamented this gentleman recently, echoing
the views of New York's much discussed
preacher, Dr. John Roach Straton, especially
in it's taste for books. The movies have ruin
ed it, You can't sell the good, sweet love
stories our mothers used to read any more.
The new girls want something snappy. Today
a young girl not any older than my daugh-
ter came into the store, drew me over in the
corner there where none of the other custom
ers could hear her, and asked me II 1 had in
society suppressed in this country last year.
All, you know it? Hum"-here he paused
and gaZed at the customer trifle suspicious
ly, but at last seemed to be treasured by what
he saw-"have you seen the latest Lawrence
novel? I happen to have one there on the
back shelf. And here is another that is like
ly to be suppressed soon." He held up a
brand-new copy of book and added irrele-
vanity, 81 am getting in large stock Of this
book tomorrow although, of course, 1t is a
little late for the society to act now after
nearly everybody has read the work.
Sources of Book Supply
The great majority of the books sold in the
secondhand shops are obtained by the deal
ers at auction sales of large estates and from
other sales of private libraries, but a good
many are also bought up at low price from
European dealers and shipped to this country.
To one who is close observer it is also ap-
parent that at least few of the dealers Cor
perhaps the people from whom they have pur-
chased) rely upon the public libraries for a
certain percentage of their stock. Indeed,
in the past the libraries have suffered so many
losses to the secondhand book trade that they
code of the state of New York, protecting
them from such depredations
cat one time" declares library official,
it was possible to go out and find whole push
carts full Of library books, bearing library
names and marks. Some years ago found a
whole circulating subscription library full Of
them. They were all library books, which had
been rebound to make Identification less easy,
the 50-cent bindings removed and replaced by
18-cent bindings This was a subscription
library where people paid so much week to
take out book. We don't have many cases
Of this kind now, though"
If the dealers are occasionally guilty of sell
ing library book which somehow wanders
into their possession, however, they them
selves are the victims of much bold thievery.
They constantly losing valuable first edi-
tions in this way. Only the other day, a
bookseller on the East Side lost two volumes
worth at least $500 to a clever and distin-
guished looking old bibliophile, who moves in
the best society, and is said to earn hand
some income by supplying coveted first edi-
lions to millionaire collectors.