Slightly Chipped: Footnotes in Booklore

Follows the authors as they explore the world of book collecting and shares their experiences as they discover new places to find and buy rare literary works

Having introduced a friend to the pricey pleasures of book collecting, the GoldstonesAnovelists and book collectors whose bibliomaniacal exploits were first chronicled in Used and Rare (1998)Astumble on a copy of the Virginia Woolf-Lytton Strachey letters and find themselves in a polite standoff: "you take it," say the Goldstones; "no, no, you saw it first," says the friend. Seeing an opening, the acquisitive urge wins out over politesse, and the Goldstones, to their friend's chagrin, find themselves "quickly snatching up the book and putting it in our stack." So goes a typically amusing and self-deprecating anecdote in their second collaborative effort. Less of a how-to than Used and Rare, this book is a trove of tart observations for those in the know. In many chapters, the authors begin with an anecdote about visiting a shop, fair or library. Then, filling in the background of a particularly intriguing volume, they fade into an informative digression on Bloomsbury bedroom hopping or the biography of A.S.W. RosenbachApossibly the century's most important book dealer. They also investigate the wildly high prices for first editions of recent mysteries, skewer the Edgar Awards, cover a Sotheby's auction and explore the workings of book dealers on the Internet, a medium that they contend could lead to the death of book collecting. But they lighten even this doomsaying by introducing, among other offbeat characters, a disgruntled dealer who claims that B&N is stockpiling used books to drive independent used-book dealers out of business. The Goldstones can rest content that they've done their part to keep their venerable pursuit alive.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Slightly Chipped is the second volume of book collecting anecdotes by the husband-and-wife team the Goldstones (Used and Rare: Travels in the Book World, 1997). While their first effort was praised as ``passionate,'' its companion conveys more of an excitement about the chase and chance of possession than a true love for the books as literature. In ten brief chapters, the Goldstones take us on a journey through book fairs, bookstores, museums, libraries, and Sotheby's. Throughout, they try continuously to make great stories of every detail, from what they eat for supper at the restaurant across the street to various people they meet. Some of their subjects are more interesting than others. The chapter on a visit to the Rosenbach Museum in Philadelphia cannot help but be intriguing; the building itself and its contentsa fabulous book collection includedare a little-known gem, and thanks to the Goldstones, it will probably welcome more visitors than ever. Perhaps, too, the Pequot Library annual sale in a small coastal town in Connecticut will be visited by curious readers. But much of the writing here is too preoccupied with the financial transaction of the book collecting habitprices and resale value. Whereas the authors would once have hemmed and hawed (like most of us) before coughing up over $200 for a book, they are ``much more sophisticated now.'' One hopes that the missing passion might be found in the ``footnotes'' referred to in the title. But the authors disappoint by backing their reporting with redundant histories of subjects ranging from Bloomsbury to the duke and duchess of Windsor. A drab and simultaneously fussy but conversational prose style does not enliven the situation. Rather than pulling the uninitiated into the exciting and beautiful world of book collecting, the Goldstones are writing here for the converted. -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Again taking a booksellers descriptive catalog term for their title, the Goldstones, both collectors and novelists, follow their earlier work (Used and Rare, LJ 5/1/97) with what is termed a companion work. Their chapters are filled with collecting tips, excerpts from some of their favorite new acquisitions, and thoughts on writers and the love and lore of the bound codex. Their book adventures in this latest work include musings on the amazing William Morris, the Bloomsbury Group, the Hogarth Press, and an afternoon spent browsing through Bram Stokers working notes for Dracula. There is a good overview of the hows and pitfalls of shopping on-line. Throughout, the authors communicate their enjoyment of knowledge gleaned from experienced booksellers and fellow collectors and the excitement of large traditional book fairs as well as lesser-known library sales. This is delightful, quick reading for the beginning or experienced book collector or any bibliophile. Highly recommended as a personal gift, but also a fine selection for public libraries.Joseph Hewgley, Nashville P.L.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.