Customer Reviews

Slightly Foxed - Still Desirable: Ronald Searle's Wicked World of Book Collecting

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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.

As delightfully clever as everything else Searle has done - a wonderful treat for Searle fans, as well as for book collectors.

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