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Antiquarian and secondhand book dealers in Australia: A directory
126
Books on Library Acquisitions: The Review Section
model o f precision and concise detail. Entries are arranged alphabetically by author and provide basic bibliographic data, unbracketed code for dealer's catalogue, price, bracketed code for bibliographic location. A typical entry reads thus: H A L L , VC Bad medicine Melbourne: R&M, 1947 FRi 8:139 $80f [MIS: 137]. The preliminary tables and lists, then, are essential if one is to glean understandable information from the citations; the average user, however, will not be pleased when he has to consult three different lists to determine what the various abbreviations indicate. Perhaps any future compilation o f this sort can give full bibliographic data in each entry, thereby increasing its "user friendliness" by obviating the need to consult quite so many abbreviations. Despite these somewhat negative comments, this is an important work in its field. Both the acquisitions librarian and the collector will find that it contains everything needed to acquire antiquarian Australiana: names and addresses o f dealers, prices and conditions of books, access to basic bibliographic data. The compilation is adequately produced from camera-ready copy and is handsomely presented in sturdy library binding. It will withstand regular use for a number of years, and one expects that it will receive such use not only in acquisitions departments of university and research libraries but also in the sales rooms of major dealers in Europe and North America. Howes is an indispensable tool in all such institutions with an Australiana focus. It is a worthy successor to the 1970s guides by Woodhouse and Alison and P a l m e r - a n d certainly has the professional quality which those compilations lacked.
G. E. Gorman School o f Information Studies Riverina-Murray Institute of Higher Education Wagga Wagga, NSW, Australia 2650
Antiquarian and Secondhand Book Dealers in Australia: A Directory. Brian R. H o w e s . W a g g a W a g g a , N S W : M a g p i e B o o k s , 1987. 137 pp. A$22.00. I S B N 0-9590144-2-X. Brian Howes has single-mindedly worked to fill a gap in our knowledge of the antiquarian book trade in Australia, publishing three volumes in as many years [1]. We now benefit from a centralized listing o f antiquarian dealers' catalogues since 1969 and of prices asked for "fine and rare" Australasian books between 1982 and 1984. To the seasoned bibliophile it may seem naive to ask some basic questions. To what extent, for instance, are dealers themselves interested in using Howes' three volumes, or is their appeal limited to bibliographers, librarians, and collectors? If dealers showed an "overwhelmingly favourahle" attitude [2] to Howes' projects in their genesis, are they prepared to cooperate in the promotion o f his crusade? Do all dealers know each other personally, read each other's catalogues, and therefore have no need for synthesizing publications? When it comes to purchasing antiquarian books, is it best to "shop around" or to use a known dealer consistently? Answers to these questions are not contained in the checklist, guide, or directory under review: that is not their aim. Nevertheless, such answers may reveal much about the form and content o f Howes' published work. Ideally the information in the directory would be most easily updated if it were on a database, though with a limited market and with small dealers operating with minimal overheads
Books on Library Acquisitions:The ReviewSection
127
and sometimes small collections (of about 300 titles), a database is probably financially unviable. In Sydney IDAPS-LYNX offers online information on books offered for sale by a handful of dealers, but unfortunately maintains no record of sale prices, or of the books once they are sold [3]. The problems of cost of production, keeping information up-to-date, how much information to include, and how to index content adequately by subject are more frustrating for the compilers of reference books than ever before now that the potential benefits of computers are appreciated. Frustration also has been felt by librarians faced with the tedious task of checking myriad entries in hundreds of separate dealers' catalogues for desiderata. Some relief from the tedium was offered in 1969-1978, 1973-1974 and 1983-1985 by sources acknowledged by Howes [4]. I believe Howe's directory of book-dealers is best approached from the back. Only there will the reader find an index to the subject specialities of dealers, an index to the subject content of dealers' catalogues from 1985 to 1987, an index to business names, a list of "useful" references, of binders, associations, and auctioneers. The user should bear in mind several features of the directory: it is weakly bound, with a plastic ring spine, and is not likely to withstand much wear and tear; the body of the directory includes secondhand shops as well as "rare and antiquarian" dealers, and therefore lists some businesses which purvey mainly cheap, popular paperbacks (for instance, Barman Books in Melbourne); it contains several businesses which specialize in the sale of prints and paintings. The reason for dividing the list of dealers state-by-state, then by metropolitan and "non-metropolitan" areas is obscure, especially when a place like the Melbourne suburb of Hampton is classified as nonmetropolitan. Howes' index of localities obviates the need for the chosen arrangement. The index to the special subjects of dealers demands concentrated attention as it is probably the most useful part of the directory. It tells the user much, but not well. Almost half the dealers have a unique specialty [5], but too many of them are listed as dealing in amorphous "literature." No "see" or "see also" references are given, so a user interested in the management of wild animal game will only find "game management" in the index, or one interested in tennis will only find one entry in spite of the existence of 13 possibly-relevant entries under "sport." Enigmatic entries like "instruments" and "North-West" confuse, as do descriptions of subject specialties in the dealer directory not indexed at all ("Australian literature" on p. 39). Howes' bibliography of references is selective, including the Mitchell Library catalogue of books but excluding the catalogue of the Bernice P. Bishop Museum Library in Honolulu, including Ian McLaren's bibliography of John Dunmore Lang but excluding his other bibliographies, including Alfred Pong's list of nineteenth-century Australian periodicals but excluding Lurline Stuart's. A useful bibliography, which is perhaps beyond the scope of this directory, would be on the antiquarian trade itself. It is to the author's credit that the last page of the directory consists of a tear-out questionnaire requesting information for future revisions, an optimistic and helpful insertion. After investing much energy and enthusiasm in the field of antiquarian books, I hope that Brian Howes maintains his momentum. There is scope for much more work: for example, a rough count of the establishment dates of the dealers listed indicates that about 43% of them started after 1980. Does this show a healthy burgeoning or wild speculation? Another rough calculation suggests the latter: of the dealers producing catalogues between 1985 and early 1987 about 6% are already "out of business." Another area worthy of more investigation is the degree to which dealers' catalogues reflect broad national leisure and cultural interests.
128
Books on Library Acquisitions: The Review Section NOTES AND
REFERENCES
1. A Checklist of Some Recent Australasian Antiquarian Book-dealers" Catalogues. Wagga Wagga: Magpie Books, 1985; Guide to Fine and Rare Australasian Books. Wagga Wagga: Magpie Books, 1986. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Author's letter to the reviewer, 14 June 1984. William de Winton, "Key Touch Keeps Tabs on Book Lists," The Sydney Morning Herald, 21 April 1986. P. 123 of the directory under review. Brian Howes, "Some Preliminary Thoughts on the Rare and Secondhand Book Trade in Australia", paper given at the Third Forum on Australian Library History, University of New South Wales, 18 July 1987, p. 4.
Graeme Johanson D e p a r t m e n t o f I n f o r m a t i o n Services Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology Australia
Books on Library Acquisitions: The Review Section
model o f precision and concise detail. Entries are arranged alphabetically by author and provide basic bibliographic data, unbracketed code for dealer's catalogue, price, bracketed code for bibliographic location. A typical entry reads thus: H A L L , VC Bad medicine Melbourne: R&M, 1947 FRi 8:139 $80f [MIS: 137]. The preliminary tables and lists, then, are essential if one is to glean understandable information from the citations; the average user, however, will not be pleased when he has to consult three different lists to determine what the various abbreviations indicate. Perhaps any future compilation o f this sort can give full bibliographic data in each entry, thereby increasing its "user friendliness" by obviating the need to consult quite so many abbreviations. Despite these somewhat negative comments, this is an important work in its field. Both the acquisitions librarian and the collector will find that it contains everything needed to acquire antiquarian Australiana: names and addresses o f dealers, prices and conditions of books, access to basic bibliographic data. The compilation is adequately produced from camera-ready copy and is handsomely presented in sturdy library binding. It will withstand regular use for a number of years, and one expects that it will receive such use not only in acquisitions departments of university and research libraries but also in the sales rooms of major dealers in Europe and North America. Howes is an indispensable tool in all such institutions with an Australiana focus. It is a worthy successor to the 1970s guides by Woodhouse and Alison and P a l m e r - a n d certainly has the professional quality which those compilations lacked.
G. E. Gorman School o f Information Studies Riverina-Murray Institute of Higher Education Wagga Wagga, NSW, Australia 2650
Antiquarian and Secondhand Book Dealers in Australia: A Directory. Brian R. H o w e s . W a g g a W a g g a , N S W : M a g p i e B o o k s , 1987. 137 pp. A$22.00. I S B N 0-9590144-2-X. Brian Howes has single-mindedly worked to fill a gap in our knowledge of the antiquarian book trade in Australia, publishing three volumes in as many years [1]. We now benefit from a centralized listing o f antiquarian dealers' catalogues since 1969 and of prices asked for "fine and rare" Australasian books between 1982 and 1984. To the seasoned bibliophile it may seem naive to ask some basic questions. To what extent, for instance, are dealers themselves interested in using Howes' three volumes, or is their appeal limited to bibliographers, librarians, and collectors? If dealers showed an "overwhelmingly favourahle" attitude [2] to Howes' projects in their genesis, are they prepared to cooperate in the promotion o f his crusade? Do all dealers know each other personally, read each other's catalogues, and therefore have no need for synthesizing publications? When it comes to purchasing antiquarian books, is it best to "shop around" or to use a known dealer consistently? Answers to these questions are not contained in the checklist, guide, or directory under review: that is not their aim. Nevertheless, such answers may reveal much about the form and content o f Howes' published work. Ideally the information in the directory would be most easily updated if it were on a database, though with a limited market and with small dealers operating with minimal overheads
Books on Library Acquisitions:The ReviewSection
127
and sometimes small collections (of about 300 titles), a database is probably financially unviable. In Sydney IDAPS-LYNX offers online information on books offered for sale by a handful of dealers, but unfortunately maintains no record of sale prices, or of the books once they are sold [3]. The problems of cost of production, keeping information up-to-date, how much information to include, and how to index content adequately by subject are more frustrating for the compilers of reference books than ever before now that the potential benefits of computers are appreciated. Frustration also has been felt by librarians faced with the tedious task of checking myriad entries in hundreds of separate dealers' catalogues for desiderata. Some relief from the tedium was offered in 1969-1978, 1973-1974 and 1983-1985 by sources acknowledged by Howes [4]. I believe Howe's directory of book-dealers is best approached from the back. Only there will the reader find an index to the subject specialities of dealers, an index to the subject content of dealers' catalogues from 1985 to 1987, an index to business names, a list of "useful" references, of binders, associations, and auctioneers. The user should bear in mind several features of the directory: it is weakly bound, with a plastic ring spine, and is not likely to withstand much wear and tear; the body of the directory includes secondhand shops as well as "rare and antiquarian" dealers, and therefore lists some businesses which purvey mainly cheap, popular paperbacks (for instance, Barman Books in Melbourne); it contains several businesses which specialize in the sale of prints and paintings. The reason for dividing the list of dealers state-by-state, then by metropolitan and "non-metropolitan" areas is obscure, especially when a place like the Melbourne suburb of Hampton is classified as nonmetropolitan. Howes' index of localities obviates the need for the chosen arrangement. The index to the special subjects of dealers demands concentrated attention as it is probably the most useful part of the directory. It tells the user much, but not well. Almost half the dealers have a unique specialty [5], but too many of them are listed as dealing in amorphous "literature." No "see" or "see also" references are given, so a user interested in the management of wild animal game will only find "game management" in the index, or one interested in tennis will only find one entry in spite of the existence of 13 possibly-relevant entries under "sport." Enigmatic entries like "instruments" and "North-West" confuse, as do descriptions of subject specialties in the dealer directory not indexed at all ("Australian literature" on p. 39). Howes' bibliography of references is selective, including the Mitchell Library catalogue of books but excluding the catalogue of the Bernice P. Bishop Museum Library in Honolulu, including Ian McLaren's bibliography of John Dunmore Lang but excluding his other bibliographies, including Alfred Pong's list of nineteenth-century Australian periodicals but excluding Lurline Stuart's. A useful bibliography, which is perhaps beyond the scope of this directory, would be on the antiquarian trade itself. It is to the author's credit that the last page of the directory consists of a tear-out questionnaire requesting information for future revisions, an optimistic and helpful insertion. After investing much energy and enthusiasm in the field of antiquarian books, I hope that Brian Howes maintains his momentum. There is scope for much more work: for example, a rough count of the establishment dates of the dealers listed indicates that about 43% of them started after 1980. Does this show a healthy burgeoning or wild speculation? Another rough calculation suggests the latter: of the dealers producing catalogues between 1985 and early 1987 about 6% are already "out of business." Another area worthy of more investigation is the degree to which dealers' catalogues reflect broad national leisure and cultural interests.
128
Books on Library Acquisitions: The Review Section NOTES AND
REFERENCES
1. A Checklist of Some Recent Australasian Antiquarian Book-dealers" Catalogues. Wagga Wagga: Magpie Books, 1985; Guide to Fine and Rare Australasian Books. Wagga Wagga: Magpie Books, 1986. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Author's letter to the reviewer, 14 June 1984. William de Winton, "Key Touch Keeps Tabs on Book Lists," The Sydney Morning Herald, 21 April 1986. P. 123 of the directory under review. Brian Howes, "Some Preliminary Thoughts on the Rare and Secondhand Book Trade in Australia", paper given at the Third Forum on Australian Library History, University of New South Wales, 18 July 1987, p. 4.
Graeme Johanson D e p a r t m e n t o f I n f o r m a t i o n Services Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology Australia