As any, even vaguely addicted book collector will have swiftly learned, most booksellers' catalogues are written in a parallel language that can fool anyone but the 'cognoscenti' and which makes the mysteries of the Rosetta stone, or Linear B, look like something out of Enid Blython. Without a smattering of inside information, the baffled but hopelessly-bitten book buyer is drifting unarmed and unprepared into a minefield whose perilous complexities will usually only be made plain when an eagerly awaited parcel of dream volumes arrives and mangled contents are revealed in all their deceptive glory.... But all is not lost. Help is at hand! After a lifetime of avidly scanning the frequently poisonously-tinted pages of innumerable book catalogues, Ronald Searle has become expert in the art of decoding those esoteric, poetic and usually approximate, descriptions of literary come-ons. Now, licking his wounds, he publishes his hard-earned findings in this fully illustrated pioneer guide, designed to foil the devious machinations of scheming and wicked booksellers for ever more. No longer will the innocent book collector need to puzzle over the finer meaning of 'old half road', 'good working copy', blind tooled', or 'tail-edged shaved'. The unvarnished truth is here exposed at last, both in the shocking explicit drawings and in the devastatingly frank glossary whose revelations will startle even the most battle-scarred of bibliophiles. The result is one of the funniest, most entertaining books to have emerged from the brilliantly perceptive pen of the master. No book collector, and certainly no bookseller, can afford to be without it - even the wicked ones.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Treasure for Book Collectors,
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This review is from: Slightly Foxed - Still Desirable: Ronald Searle's Wicked World of Book Collecting (Hardcover)
saw this book a few weeks ago at Shakespeare and Company (Paris) in the 2nd floor display area. Alas it was not for sale, but I sat down in their big comfy chair, read it through and decided I had to have my own copy. It's out of print, but I have a small sub collection of self referential books (ie: The Book on the Bookshelf, This Book Needs No Title) and so a used book on used books was just too appropriate to resist!
The book is a whimsical collection of Ronald Searle cartoons illustrating a somewhat literary if not literal interpretation of terms used by booksellers relating to the condition of their wares. The drawings have a light spidery feel. "Old half roan" shows the front half of a horse, small flies buzzing around his nozzle, the back end transforming into a book suspended in midair, the pages bristling in the breeze. "Evidence of some insect damage" shows two colourful bugs, one chewing on a page, the other tearing at a book and gleefully swinging a mallet at it. In this and in other images small bookworms smile with cartoonish teeth, eating their way through small holes in the book. At the end of the book is a nice little glossary explaining what each of the terms actually do mean, with the odd editorial comment woven in. My own copy was in good condition (ie: pages slighted coloured by age) library binding (intact dust jacket, plastic cover, sewn thread binding, not glue). Though shipped from Chicago it originally came from a small library in Oakville just 30 miles away from where I live. It was neither barked, nor shaved, and it did not come with running titles. Highly recommended if you are the type who likes to prowl old book shelves or are even the slightest perplexed in deciding which amongst the descriptions of several used copies is fit to select while shopping online.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Vintage Searle,
This review is from: Slightly Foxed - Still Desirable: Ronald Searle's Wicked World of Book Collecting (Hardcover)
As delightfully clever as everything else Searle has done - a wonderful treat for Searle fans, as well as for book collectors.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Literary book!,
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This review is from: Slightly Foxed - Still Desirable: Ronald Searle's Wicked World of Book Collecting (Hardcover)
I saw this book years ago and haven't been able to find it anywhere. I was so glad to find it here. It's a great book, bibliophiles will enjoy the humourous drawings and the text that goes with it. Highly recommend
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