The Pope's Bookbinder (2013)
“It is my intention that the following anecdotal accounts demonstrate not only my increasing expertise as an antiquarian bookseller, but also my increasing sophistication in the understanding of the importance of history and tradition. I also hope to demonstrate the incredible importance of personal papers as sources in the study of human history.
Of all my activities as a bookseller, archival appraisals have taught me more about the importance of tradition and continuity than anything else.... That’s why I now refer to myself as essentially conservative.
The appraisal of books is very different from the appraisals of papers. We are required to appraise books at what the government refers to as “fair market value”—the price that demands a willing buyer and a willing seller, both of whom prudent, knowledgeable and in possession of all relevant facts. I will leave books for the moment and dwell on papers, for it was through the appraising of papers that I learned much of what I know about archives and formed the habit of looking at everything, books or paper, from the perspective of what they contribute to our understanding of humanity’s historical record.MoreLess
Of all my activities as a bookseller, archival appraisals have taught me more about the importance of tradition and continuity than anything else.... That’s why I now refer to myself as essentially conservative.
The appraisal of books is very different from the appraisals of papers. We are required to appraise books at what the government refers to as “fair market value”—the price that demands a willing buyer and a willing seller, both of whom prudent, knowledgeable and in possession of all relevant facts. I will leave books for the moment and dwell on papers, for it was through the appraising of papers that I learned much of what I know about archives and formed the habit of looking at everything, books or paper, from the perspective of what they contribute to our understanding of humanity’s historical record.MoreLess
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