|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FEATURES
J'accuseBy Bruce ToberCopyright © 2009 Bruce Tober - All Rights Reserved As published in Bookdealer magazine, April 2009 To anyone who enjoys reading, to anyone who cherishes the arts, to anyone
who loves doing research, there are only two mortal sins. Read more here.
|
|
(Newly revised)Just One Good Reason (of many) to Buy Your Books Direct from the Seller, Rather than through ABEBy Bruce ToberCopyright © 2006 Bruce Tober - All Rights Reserved Books at Star Dot Star is no longer listing our inventory on ABE. And we are
not alone. As of April 3 many dealers stopped listing with ABE altogether. And others now list only their cheapest
stock on ABE. Read why here.
|
|
John Betjeman - Richard Farran, Poet Laureate - Architect, One in the Same, he Would Have Been 100-Years-Old in August, 2006by Bruce ToberCopyright © 2006 Bruce Tober All Rights Reserved Sir John Betjeman would have been 100-year-old on 28th August 2006. Born in London to Ernest
Betjemann, a cabinet maker, and his wife, he was named British Poet Laureate in 1972 upon the death of his predecessor,
Cecil Day Lewis. (More)
|
|
newly revisedThe Arbiter of Elegance - Mrs Haweis andThe Musical Moralist - Rev Haweisby Bruce ToberCopyright © 2004 - 2006 Bruce Tober All Rights Reserved Mary Eliza Haweis (1849?-1898), née Joy, artist, illustrator and writer on art and decoration, was one of the more prolific contributors to The Lady's Realm. The daughter of the artist Thomas Musgrove Joy, she was the wife of Rev. Hugh Reginald Haweis (1838-1901), a musician, author, preacher, lecturer and journalist. Hugh Reginald Haweis, musician, author, journalist, lecturer and clergyman, was born in Surrey and studied at Trinity College, Cambridge, graduating in 1859. Following his studies he toured Italy and served under Garibaldi in 1860. Returning to England he was ordained holding a number of curacies in
London before eventually becoming incumbent of St James's, Marylebone in 1866. "His unconventional methods
of conducting the service," according to the Wikipedia article on him.combined
with his dwarfish figure and lively manner, soon attracted crowded congregations." (More)
|
|
Swiss Pictures Drawn with Pen and Ink featured by Books at Star Dot StarCopyright © 2006 Bruce Tober - All Rights Reserved Illustrated by Edward Whymper and from the library of Polar explorer, Henry George Watkins. The book, with text by an anonymous author (variously attributed to
Samuel G Green or The Rev S Manning) includes a frontis chromolithograph of Mont Blanc and many b&w woodcuts
and plates by Whymper who was a Wood-engraver and mountain climber, probably best know for having made the first
ascent of the Matterhorn in 1865. (More)
|
|
We celebrate the 150th anniversary of the National Portrait Gallery.Copyright © 2006 Bruce Tober - All Rights Reserved The National Portrait Gallery was founded 150 years ago. Founded by the biographers and historians Philip Henry Stanhope, 5th Earl Stanhope (1805-1875); whose efforts resulted in the Gallery's foundation in 1856; Thomas Babington Macaulay (1800-1859) and Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881). Stanhope was one who believed in the old saying, if at first you don't
succeed, try, try again. He first introduced the idea for the NPG to the House of Commons in 1846. Failing in the
effort, he tried again in 1852. Failing again, but winning a seat in the House of Lords, he tried for a third |
|
The Doctor's and the Patient's
|
|
And now for a word from
|
|
A Second-Generation Bookseller's View of BookbreakingCopyright © 2005 Susan Netzorg Halas - All Rights Reserved (see below for details)
Editor's Note:Earlier this year we published essays by Martin Murphy railing against Bookbreaking and by Gabriel Austin, in favour of the act. Here we present the view of a second generation bookseller. As for Books at Star Dot Star, we're still of two minds on the subject and are re-evaluating our position. We'd be happy to hear your view on the subject which you can e-mail to us here.My parents were both book dealers for more than 50 years in the pre-Internet
antiquarian, scholarly and OP trade. For the record I am now 62 years old and have been working in the book biz
since I could sit upright and hold a pencil which is just about the time my folks started their shop. |
|
"The Trial of the Century"Copyright © 2005 Bruce Tober - All Rights Reserved The Polymath vs the Belly-DancerEvery generation produces its share of Renaissance Men and Women. And the Victorian Era surely produced quite a few. Noel Pemberton Billing [1880-1948] was one such. Inventor, Member of Parliament, playwrite, editor, publisher, bricklayer, tram
conductor, policeman, boxing champion, estate agent, law graduate, entrepreneur, the man, son of a Birmingham (UK)
iron founder, who left school and home at age 14, was beyond question a genius/polymath. (more)
|
|
|
Copyright © 2005 Bruce Tober - All Rights Reserved Had there been Television back then, it's been said that Alexis Benoît Soyer, arguably London's most famous 19th Century chef, would certainly have been its first celebrity chef. Soyer wrote that, "In ancient times a cook, especially if a man, was looked upon as a distinguished member of society; while now he is, in the opinion of almost every one, a mere menial." My, wouldn't he be surprised how the situation has once again reversed itself, with many chefs once again, becoming household names, celebrities. "If he were working today, Soyer would be a titan of television and the bestseller lists, disgustingly rich, on equal terms with models and footballers," as Lewis Jones wrote in The Daily Telegraph last year. (MORE)
|
|
An argument against BookbreakingCopyright © 2005 Martin Murphy All Rights ReservedAt Trinity College, Dublin, where the Book of Kells is displayed, the pages of the manuscript are turned regularly, both to display its riches and to reduce exposure of the individual leaves. Everyone seems to be quite satisfied with that arrangement. Would anyone consider defending a proposal to dismember that book and sell the individual leaves? We should be forever grateful that society’s “arbiters of cultural heritage” didn’t get the idea centuries ago. As for my being denied easy access to a great work of art, I’ll just make that book a special reason for a trip to Dublin, rather than petition Bill Gates to buy it and bring it to the USA. The story about Houghton involves high-handed pressures from the Internal Revenue Service and stupidly naïve ideas about artefact valuation. Of course the individual leaves of an illuminated book will add up to a value much greater than the intact book. That’s exactly what motivates book breakers. (more) |
|
The Distance Selling Regulations: Trick or Treat? Depends on your point of viewCopyright © 2004 Bruce Tober All Rights ReservedOn All Hallows Eve (Halloween) 2000, a new set of consumer protection regulations came into effect. But (you knew there would be a "but") after more than four years, most consumers don't know of its existence. (more)
|
|
And Now For Something Completely Old, Especially if You're "Into" LeatherCopyright © 2004 Bruce Tober All Rights ReservedDuring the past few months, Books at Star Dot Star has expanded its range of antiquarian and Victorian titles. Many are in Leather or Elaborately Decorated Cloth bindings and will make truly wonderful additions to your collection. (more)
|
|
A 17th Century Renaissance Man,Dr William Salmon:In which a 17th Century Mrs Beeton talks of religion, cookery, medicine, dentistry, herbs and ever so much moreCopyright © 2004 Bruce Tober All Rights Reserved William Salmon, author of Ars Chirurgica - a Compendium of the Theory and Practice of Chirurgery (The Art of Surgery...) was what would today be called a Renaissance Man, whose tastes ran to "the obscure". But he has also been called an empiric ("An unqualified or dishonest practitioner; a charlatan"). . (more)
|
|
Death by Chocolate"Page one is a diet, page two is a chocolate cake. It’s a no-win situation." Kim Williams was talking about "women’s magazines", but as far as I'm concerned, that's true of life generally.Copyright © 2004 Bruce Tober All Rights Reserved
And so to celebrate the wonders of that magnificent brown gold, and coincidentally
the 180th anniversary of the opening of John Cadbury's first shop in Birmingham in which he sold "Cocoa Nibs
prepared by himself" and from which grew the current cadbury schweppes plc empire, Books at Star Dot Star presents an unbeatable collection of
books on chocolate. (more)
|
|
Charles Kingsley's writing demonstrated a devotion to the ideal of making all things work for all people.Copyright © 2004 Bruce Tober All Rights Reserved
His social reforming nature is perhaps best illustrated in the book for which
he's probably best known, The Water-Babies (1863), a fairytale which retains its popularity even today. (more)
|
|
Silas K Hocking was one of the Victorian Era's best selling authors. In fact he was the first ever author to sell a million of his books in his lifetimeCopyright © 2004 Bruce Tober All Rights Reserved
Silas who???? Silas K(itto) Hocking. He was born in Cornwall, the third son of a part-time tin mine owner. A preacher
and an author, he came by both vocations naturally enough, it would seem, through his mother, Elizabeth Kitto,
who was related to (more)
|
|
Before there were celebrity chefs, there was Marguerite Patten:In which "The Doyenne of British Cookery" talks exclusively to Books at Star Dot Star about three of the most important things in her lifeCopyright © 2004 Bruce Tober
Read more of our exclusive interview with Mrs Patten here.
|
|
Some reflections on antiquarian and out-of-print books
|
|
A Farewell to HousewivesA Hello to Fast-er FoodsCopyright © 2004 Bruce ToberPerhaps no genre of book is more reflective of the times in which they're written
than cookery books. Take post-war England, for example. Read more about post-war cookery books here.
|
|
An Encyclopaedic Collection of Knowledge for the MassesCopyright © 2004 Bruce ToberWriters ran the gamut from the poet, Sir John Betjeman to the Methodist clergyman and Left Wing activist, Rev Donald O. Soper, and from the novelist, Leslie Paul to the veteran BBC cricket commentator, John Arlott. Subjects ranged from Archaeology to Atomic Energy, and from Christmas and Computers. Take Home Books formed an encyclopaedic collection of knowledge for the masses in the '50s and '60s. Read more about Take Home Books here.
|
|
The Arbiter of Elegance - Mrs HaweisCopyright © 2004 Bruce ToberMary Eliza Haweis (1849?-1898), née Joy, artist, illustrator and writer on art and decoration, was one of the more prolific contributors to The Lady's Realm. The daughter of the artist Thomas Musgrove Joy, she was the wife of Rev. Hugh Reginald Haweis (1838-1901), a musician, author, preacher, lecturer and journalist. Read more about this very prolific Victorian writer here.
On the Trail of "Stevens' Cure"Copyright © 2004 Bruce ToberOne of the most fascinating recent acquisitions we've made is two related books,
we're now offering as a set, though it was not published as such. It is comprised of two volumes with the unlikely
titles of, The Treatment of Pulmonary and Surgical Tuberculosis with Umckaloabo - Internal Medication (Stevens'
Cure) by Adrien Sechehaye and translated from the French by Miss A H Grant, and Tuberculosis - Its Treatment and
Cure with the Help of Umckaloabo by "an English Physician M.R.C.S. (Eng.), L.R.C.P. (Lond, 1893)".
`I NEVER SEE ANY HOME COOKING.ALL I GET IS FANCY-STUFF.'Copyright © 2004 Bruce ToberPoor Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. He is quoted as having said, "I never see any home-cooking. All I get is fancy stuff". In that case, I guess his must be a rough life. Allegedly, he is a man who enjoys his food -- cooking it (preferably by barbecue) as well as eating it. He also owns quite a collection of cookery books. Cookery book collecting is a hobby many of us enjoy, more often unintentionally than deliberately. Read more about cookery books then and now here.
|
