Working as a special collections librarian is quite a blessing. Truth to tell, I can hardly believe my luck! I've always appreciated handsome books -- rare or otherwise. On the Blue Shore of Silence makes for a nice example of just such a book that lives on my shelves...
"Condition, condition, condition," stressed my mentor, as he guided me through the fair.
Condition indeed! This I well understood, for I was raised, in part, by my beloved father who is a book collector in his own right. When we were little, our father wouldn't allow me and my sister to touch the books until we'd washed our hands.
"No, no, no," I remember scolding myself as a toddler, my hands tucked obediently behind me. "Mustn't touch, mustn't touch till I washes my hands!"
He taught us, too, how to turn the pages properly, such that we wouldn't tear or wrinkle the pages.
For years he's been acquiring first edition/first printing books with the hopes of getting them signed at some point. He's been successful in many cases (occasionally a writer proves disagreeable).
I realized, as I meandered through the fair, that he has an impressive collection by now. I suppose we had a sense of this when the fire roared through the north end of San Bernardino (in 2003 was it?). Suddenly, the family was gripped with worry, for what would become of all the rare, beautiful books he'd collected over the years? Pay no mind to the house! What about the books?!
Fortunately, our house was spared.
*
Sweet dreams.
