Yeoman's in the Fork Blog

After a brief conversation this past weekend in the shop, I wanted to take a moment today to update you on a few of the most prominent causes of damage to a book and/or your book collection. My search for a great (and direct) reference guide led me to the Library of Congress and to a site specifically designed to pass on valuable information on the care and protection of books and documents.

A few of the tips on caring for your books:

Care, Handling and Storage of Books

"Damage to a book is cumulative. The repeated incorrect handling and storage of a book can quickly transform a new book into a worn or even an unusable one. Proper handling and storage in a stable, cool, clean, non-humid environment, can prolong its life.

The environment around the book, is a major concern because unacceptable levels of temperature and humidity will accelerate deterioration. For example, the high humidity in an attic or basement can promote mold growth, cockle pages, and attract insects. Extremely low humidity, as found above hot radiators, can dry out leather bindings.

Direct sun-light, with a large ultraviolet (UV) component, will fade leather and cloth. Blue leather fades to dull green and red leather to brown, especially along the spine of the book.

Dust, dirt and grime from handling can adversely effect books as well. Many people shelve their books in closed glass cases away from brightly lit windows or damp exterior walls to minimize the amount of dust and grime that will accumulate.

How we handle and use a book contributes to its longevity. If a book will not lay flat, do not use force to open further. The covers should always be supported when the book is open.

Many books are damaged by the habit of pulling the books off the shelf with the head cap or the top of the spine. It is a much better practice to push the two adjoining books inward and remove the book by grasping the spine.

Place similar sized books, next to each other on the shelf vertically, packing them neither too loosely or tightly. This will help to prevent warping of a tall book next to a short book.

The use of paper clips and marking pens to make notations should be discouraged since clips will rust or crimp the pages and pens often bleed through the pages, obscuring text. The folding down of page corners is also damaging as it will often cause the page corner to break off over time.

The practice of using rubber bands or string to tie-up a book should be avoided because both will cut into brittle pages and damage fragile covers. A flat, soft ribbon (such as cotton twill tape), can be used to tie up the books as an immediate and temporary solution. An excellent way to protect fragile books is with a box that is custom made to the dimensions of the book. Books with dry flaking leather covers can be wrapped in paper or polyester jackets to keep the fragments and dirt from transferring to hands, adjoining books and the rest of the pages. " (from The Library of Congress PRESERVATION SECTION)

For more information: http://www.loc.gov/preserv/careothr.html

Well folks, it seems like every so often I get the urge to snatch up a book on book buying, selling and hunting and one that never seems to disappoint is the modern classic (in my opinion) 'Books' by Larry McMurtry. This book is written in uncharacteristic McMurtry style and is quite possibly the easiest read I have ever encountered. Others tell me that is because I am so enthralled with the topic. McMurtry seems to lay out the adventures and sometimes misadventures of a modern bookman better than I have ever read. Everyone knows that McMurtry was a bookman, but does everyone know that McMurtry lays out his thoughtson the digital revolution in this book that hit the stores a few years back? With ease and simplicity, McMurtry tells the stories of how and why he ended up starting a book revolution with his Archer City, Texas locations... "We always wanted not just books but a shop" is found on page 209... That sentiment rings of familiarity to me and on my part at least, seemed unexplainable. It is great to see that others in the business not only have the same calling (money has to be involved of course), but followed their true passion in the book industry and turned up a gold penny. I read McMurtry and it is like being at a great bookfair, which most of us reading this would at least say is better than the perfectly cooked rib eye with a side of creamed spinach. The names and shops in the book are a who's who in the book world, most of which I grew up admiring...

Thank you, Larry McMurtry. Thank you for your passion, your excellence and for your drive to hunt out treasures passed over by others. Thank you for keeping the used book business a thriving profession and thank you for giving the US a little piece of 'Hay on Wye.'

"It's hard to buck an emerging culture, but pluralism is still possible - one need not really abandon the rich book culture that was there before." Larry McMurtry from 'Books' (page 208)

It’s not every day that we are able to go back in history, and get a closer look at one of our country’s greatest presidents.

Last Saturday night, we hosted “An Evening of Andrew Jackson”, which was given by The Circa History Guild’s Chief Historian, Bill Potter.

Bill explored origins and character of the Scots-Irish and how General and President Andrew Jackson exemplified that character in his personal and public life. Some of the aspects of that character are intense loyalties to kin and friends, readiness to fight and hazard all on victory,resistance to despots, and defending honor to the death.

Bill did a brilliant job, and I came away with a better sense of the true character of Andrew Jackson, and how origin does play a part in our actions and reactions to the situations that present themselves.

We were also pleased to have had New York Times Best Selling Author Robert Hicks hand signing his two books “The Widow of the South” and “A Separate Country”.

We’ll be posting video from Saturday night on our You Tube channel soon. You can access it by clicking the following link: http://www.youtube.com/user/YeomansintheFork

In the mean time, check out the photos we took.

Uses for books that you aren't interested in reading! This article amazed us here at Yeoman's and really lays out the case for the collection & protection of books in a way that we could have never put down on paper... A GREAT READ FOLKS!!

"For $29, Restoration Hardware will sell you an antiqued uncovered book bundle. What appears to be a cubic page clump is described this way: “Liberated from their covers, stitched and bound with jute twine, the foxed and faded pages of old books become objets d’art.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/08/magazine/08fob-consumed-t.html?ref=books

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

An evening of Andrew Jackson

Given by Chief Historian Bill Potter, with special guest New York Times Best Selling author Robert Hicks

Franklin, TN – August 4, 2010 - The Circa History Guild’s Chief Historian, Bill Potter will be giving a fascinating lecture on the life and times of Andrew Jackson on Saturday, August 14th 2010 from 5:30 – 6:30 P.M. at Yeoman’s in the Fork, Rare Book and Document Gallery in historic Leiper’s Fork, located at 4216 Old Hillsboro Road, Franklin, TN 37064.

Also on hand for the evening, there will be an author signing and meet and greet, with Robert Hicks, the New York Time Best Selling author of “The Widow of the South” and the newly released “A Separate Country”. The event is free and open to the public.

“Bill will walk visitors through an oral time machine of Andrew Jackson’s life. Bill is a walking repository of United States history, and we’re honored to have him at Yeoman’s in the Fork once again. And to combine Bill’s event with Robert’s Hicks will surely be fun and educating for everyone who attends” says Mike Cotter, Director of Operations, at Yeoman’s in the Fork.

For more information on this event, please contact Greg Snider at Yeoman’s in the Fork by phone at 615-983-6460, or by email at info@yeomansinthefork.com. You can also visit them online at www.yeomansinthefork.com

About Yeoman’s in the Fork:

Yeoman’s in the Fork is a rare book and document gallery located in historic Leiper’s Fork, TN. Yeoman’s has over 50,000 rare books, documents, maps, and ephemera dating throughout American History. Yeoman’s in the Fork shares the collector’s passion, along with helping educate those new to collecting rare books and documents.

Media Contact:
Greg Snider
Yeoman’s in the Fork
Phone: 615-983-6460
Email: info@yeomansinthefork.com
Website: www.yeomansinthefork.com

Recently, while exhibiting at the 1st Annual Tennessee Antiquarian Book Fair, we sat down with Robert Hicks during a break in the show. While chatting, I pulled a First Edition copy of 'The Widow of the South' from under the table. The book was signed by Robert, but the signature did not look right to me... I decided to take it to the source and ask if the signature was indeed a forgery as I had suspected. To my surprise, Robert was taken aback and immediately began to laugh. Under the watchful eye of the onsite police officer, Robert snatched the book from me and began to examine it with an intensity that I have to assume he would normally only use if examining a period map of the Battlefield at Franklin or a First Edition copy of 'Company Aytch' by Watkins... To my surprise, he claimed that the signature was not a forgery at all! This book was one of the first books signed by Hicks during the early release days of the NY Times Best-Seller. The signature was small, uncharacteristic and absolutely differed from any example that I have ever seen of his autograph! The only thing that I really caught at all was the similarities in the "R" of his first name.

Robert laughed and explained on the first few book signings he attended when the book was brand new, his signature was quite small and that this book represented one of those very early copies. In typical Robert Hicks fashion, he went on to explain that his signature got bigger over the years as both his ego grew and as the duties of signing became a real day to day part of his life. The strokes were simplified and the flow of the autograph lends itself to be easier and quicker to sign. After hearing the story and laughing along with us, Bruce, our new law enforcement friend purchased the book before I even had time to price it and put it out on the table! Check out the photos of the book and the newly acquired dual-signed copy of 'Widow.' A great book with a great story! Thanks to Officer Bruce Smith and Robert for your support and for the great fun...

Well folks, we won't be heading to the northwest in good ole BOOKER (the new van), but we will be heading to Seattle via the air in just a few short weeks to participate in the Seattle Antiquarian Book Fair 2010. This is the first outing for Yeoman's in the Fork in the northwest and I hope to see a few of our clients in the Seattle area at the show... I thought I would do this posting to make sure everyone had the link for this much awaited Rare Book Extravaganza! This promises to be a great new spot for us and will hopefully work out as to become a permanent stop on our yearly show schedule.

http://www.seattlebookfair.com/ Mike Cotter, Director of Operations

A year or so ago, we purchased a Ford Transit Connect van to use when we are doing some book hunting and showing at Book Fairs and Trade Shows. As common practice among men, we usually give our vehicles a name. Our vehicle's name is Booker. Booker has been pretty bare and pale white since we got him, but last week we decided to give old Booker a new look. Check it out below:

As some of you know, I was out of the shop and on a vacation/book-buying jaunt around New England last week. The trip was originally slated as a total and complete vacation, but book hunting is in my blood and I simply cannot pass by a shop or flea market without at least a glance. Two or three days into vacation, the first of a series of rare book hunting glorious moments took place when my wife and I happened upon a library book sale in Falmouth, MASS. It was "Fill Your Bag for $1.00 Day"!!!!!!!!!!!!! My bag was filled with books on southern culture that I suppose nobody else cared about along with a few Clancy, Grisham and King First Edition books. I must say that this stop was very special to me as I have to tell you that I was suffering from book withdrawal... As most find it hard to put down a great book, I feel that same feeling for the hunt - THE THRILL OF THE HUNT!!

My greatest find of the trip has to be a RARE First Edition copy of 'The House of Seven Gables' by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The book itself was published in 1851 by Ticknor and I spotted it on a shelf from at least ten feet away. I made my way past a few stacks of new books and gently pulled the copy (IN THE ORIGINAL BINDING) from the shelf. After a quick call to confirm a few issue points, the book was in my hand and I was set to pay hundreds of dollars for it! In all fairness, the book is a second state copy, but is still part of the original 1,690 First Edition copies. The big issue is that one of the many errors had been corrected in this copy. This does not detract from the importance of the find and I could not have been more excited. This book is WHY still go out and hit the roads in our age of internet overload. A nice addition is that the book has a small previous owner inscription that looks to be from a very early owner of the book from the city in MASS where I found it. This Hawthorne had probably never been farther than 10 miles from Sandwich, MASS since 1851!!! The book enjoyed its first plane ride and now resides in Leiper's Fork, TN.

Mike Cotter, Director of Operations

JANE AUSTEN (Persuasion) AND A BOOKGIRL!

Yes. I admit it. I’m one those girls. The ones that reread those same five novels over and over again. I can quote Kiera Knightley and Matthew McFadyen! Would die if she could put on a Regency gown and dance the night away. As my mother puts it, I was born a century too late on the wrong continent. I am a Janeite cleverly disguised as a practical girl with hardly any romantic inclinations. But that Jane Austen knows her stuff. She was a truly remarkable woman who captured each character so faithfully, you could swear you’ve met each and every one of them.

The heroine I most admire is Anne from Persuasion (coincidentally, my favorite novel). To identify with a character who is scarcely mentioned in the entire first chapter of the book she champions might say something about my ego, or lack thereof, but I hold fast to my assessment. Jane’s other heroines (Lizzie and Emma in particular) are almost flawless, admired women who know (or think they know) what they want out of life. Anne, on the other hand, is an average looking girl who was talked out of marrying the love of her life at a very young age by those who only wanted what is best for her, and has resigned herself to caring for her selfish family that has lived well beyond their means since her mother passed away. This vain family refuses to lose face while retrenching and by chance, throws her long lost beau into her way once more. Of course, this is a story we’ve all heard a million times, but in the hands of Jane Austen it is a tale worth reading and rereading. I encourage you to check it out or check it out AGAIN!

IS IT A GOOD READ OR A GOOD CAKE?

For the past decade, one of the greatest festivals I have ever heard of has slipped under my radar. The International Edible Book Festival is an annual event occurring on or around April 1, which is also known as Edible Book Day (a fact that I was also unaware of…). Since its inception in 2000, the festival has been held in Australia, Brazil, Canada, England,France, Germany,India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico,Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, United States of America, and Russia. The festival pays homage to French gastronome Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (1755-1826), famous for his book Physiologie du goût, a witty meditation on food. Check out their site for updates: http://www.colophon.com/ediblebooks.

Michelle Peppard, Online Sales Lead and Assistant Cataloger