OLD BOOKS

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 4, Issue 140, 11 August 1941, Page 8

OLD BOOKS

CASH FOR BRITAIN

MORE THAN 1,000,000 DOLLARS

A few weeks ago a jiarcel was carefully packed and sent by ordinary post from Berkeley Square, London, to Titusville, U.S.A. In it was a single book, "The Greater American Voyages'' by Hlxeo de Bry (1590-1634). In exchange a postal package containing 4500 dollars will come back to Berkeley Square.

The man who sold the book is doing to-day 350,000 dollars worth of business a year in rare books: with the United States alone; and the total annual turnover to Britain fiom this source is estimated at 1,0.)0,000 dollars.

American buyers are of two kinds: public libraries and rich private coPcctors. Both categories of collectors will give very high j>rices for rare publications. For example, the Titusville collector mentioned paid no less than 7500 dollars for two leaves of paper. It was! an early "broadside" dated 1470.

Libraries commonly list their requirements and state the maximum price. They also acquire, from tiime io time, items of historical importance. Fo'- example Philadelphia Library lecently bought for 1025 dollars the first Bible published in the States, the famous "Aitken" Bible (1782).