Evening star., 1937-05-04

country, but in England as we'll. They
are having quite guessing contest over
there as to what becomes Of all the
books published, who buys them, and
why.
The answer is easy. They are bought
by people who love books two-fold, as
things, and as books.
Other sorts OF people do not buy books
either for themselves or for their friends.
They borrow them, etc.
1t is necessary to have admiration for
physical books, before one can love
them as mental books. Books are like
people, they have bodies as we'll as
minds.
1t is easy to fall in love with the
body Of a book. 1t has appeal. 1t may
be beautiful CLOTH or just paper bound;
it may be hand-tooled leather, or one
OF these wonderful old folios kept in
museums.
The browser in a book store is keen
for this sort OF thing. Even the paper
Jackets, now matters for huShed con-
ferences at the publishers, have their
mighty appeal to the real bookman or
bookWoman.
Consider that Gone With the Wind"
Jacket. Who shall say it did not have
something very definite to do with the
sale OF the book? Those big letters in
the title. covering the entire jacket
sort OF hit everybody in the eye, knocked
EN- of their feet, as 1t were. Had to
have something between the covers
though, and it had A novel which
reads better the second time than the
first. Try it.
Browsing in a store brings to eye so
many books one will never read, but it
is good to know about them at first
hand.
The sense of values is helped by the
hand. We are hand-minded as we'll
as eye-minded. The things we touch
are the things we keep.
The real lover Of books will consider
that the volumes in the store are not
his, but probably will be somebody
elses before long. Therefore he will
handle them carefully, taking pains not
to split their backs by yanking them
open suddenly at page 1875; he will
avoid soiling them, realizing that the
next booklover to come along will not
want his book with smudges on it; he
Will not put his fingers in his mouth
to wet them, in order to turn the pages,
for such action is altogether unsanitary
and totally unnecessary; he will not
rumple the sheets, or bend back the
corners, or deface in any way the paper
covers.
He will treat them, in other words,
as if they were his own. The golden
rule has plenty OF opportunity here as
elsewhere. Treat other peoples books
as you would like your own to be treated.
Or don't you care? If the latter is
true you are scarce a browser Of the
true type, for he is as fussy about all
books as he is about his own precious
ones.
Proprietors should not, therefore,
frown upon the broWser, and, as far as
We know, sensible ones never do, for
they realize perfectly that these are
the elect OF bookdom, those who in the
end make publishers and authors and
books possible
Shabby young fellows like the true
opera lover in the peanut gallery" may
buy few books today, maybe only one
week or month, but some day, when
they come into their own, as the saying
has it, they will fill many shelves be-
cause the urge to do so is in their blood.
Fine cars and night clubs may seem
to get most of modern America s
money, but not all; there are just as
true booklovers today as ever, and,
heavens, how many more books!