I like to think of myself as a rational creature, but when it comes to collecting, I am decidedly not. I don’t have any lists or plan guiding my collection, but when I see something that is right for me, I just know it.
Generally there is initial excitement (“I can’t believe this even exists!”) that turns to unease (“Oh, no, I may have a difficult decision to make.”) If this soon transforms into a panic that it may slip through my hands and go into someone else’s collection – well, then, I definitely know it’s the right item for me.
Pullman, Philip. The Amber Spyglass. London: 2000.
Quite simply, this is the ultimate copy of a book cherished not only by myself, but by my whole family. It was inscribed by Pullman for the Christie’s sale, “First Editions, Second Thoughts,” and Pullman was generous with his lengthy inscription. An author revealing what he was thinking while writing the book? It doesn’t get much better than that.
E.B. White. Typed Letter Signed on Charlotte’s Web. New York:June 12, 1953.
When we are children and fall in love with a book, a part of us—perhaps a large part—believes the story is real, even if it features (as in the case of Charlotte’s Web) talking animals and one very wise spider. How wonderful, then, to see E.B. White keeping the magic alive in this letter to a child, writing about the “real” Charlotte, whose great-grandchildren are currently living in his barn.
Margaret Bourke-White. Manuscript Diary. Bound Brook, NJ: 1922.
I have long admired the photographer Margaret Bourke-White for her groundbreaking career and fearless personality, so imagine my near-disbelief when someone offered me this manuscript diary from her teenage years. Mixed in with the struggles of early adulthood is her obsession with photography, as she lugs her camera on dates and reports spending hours at home trying to compose perfect images.
