Yeoman's in the Fork Blog

     After over a decade in the rare book business, I believe that I have only scratched the surface of the thought processes that are behind the distinction of a book as art. It is easy to say that a book with a particularly fine leather binding, scroll work or tooled details is art, but what other factors come into play? I believe that the perception of a book as more than a book has more to do with the person than with the pages and binding in most instances.
     My wife Katie teaches second grade in the suburbs of Nashville. She is a graduate of Vanderbilt University with a masters degree in reading education. For the most part, she really doesn’t understand why or how a person is able to make a living selling old books or bits of junk as she calls the antiques that inevitably come along with the books. This perception was shattered when I happened to present her with a rugged copy of Harry Potter a few years back. In the world of rare book hoarding, condition is paramount! No surprise that when I came across a copy of Harry Potter that had been written in, scribbled on, and colored up, I knew I had to get rid of it… Thinking that a child in her class might appreciate this hand me down no matter the condition, I brought it home. The sight of this book was enough to bring her to tears. Her eyes welled up and in an instant it was as if someone else on the planet Earth had really grasped what she had believed all of her life. Words are to be shared and they are instrumental in teaching the youth of all nations. I could not believe that she could be so stirred by the torn up copy of Mr. Potter that I had just handed over to her. At first I thought that she was upset with me for bringing another book to the house (even a reading specialist can reach her limit apparently), but then she smiled and began to speak.
     She spent the rest of that evening with her face glued to the pages only stopping long enough to laugh and give me the minute by minute account of what she was finding throughout the book. It seems that this book had been given as gift to a very special granddaughter by a loving grandmother. She had spent what must have been weeks marking up the interior! Little drawings and notes filled the pages. “The one and only annotated edition by Grandma S.” written in the margins on the title page. “Harry Potter looks a whole lot like you did!” on another page… This was no book; it was a time capsule. To date, the book resides on one of our special book homage cases and is used more than any other book in the house I’m sure. This was the way that books were supposed to be used. This book represents the hope that reading and family traditions of sharing and passing on the written word are not dead. The beat up copy has now been seen and used by dozens of teachers and booksellers. It has traveled the roads and has seen many a rainy afternoon. Saved from the abyss, it is a family treasure with a new family. Why was this book sold off as if it were a recyclable tin can? I guess it goes to show that one man’s trash really is another man’s treasure. A book that is torn up, scribbled in, written on and basically abused can be an amazing treasure. This book is a beautiful piece of art to us! It brings the best of family, business, teaching, reading and sharing together. It has stirred the souls of many… Is this book with notes from the mysterious Grandmother S. more important or valuable than a Picasso? Don’t ask my wife!

Mike Cotter, Director of Operations Yeoman’s in the Fork

PS. If Grandmother S. happens to read this, give me a call – I have something that belongs to you and Dalton!

Categoried under:  Modern Literature