BOOK COLLECTING

the exercise of taste, judgment, and connoisseurship in the formation of a special kind of library. The collector's library is formed not merely for his own reference, current reading, or entertainment (though it may include all these) but rather for comprehensiveness and quality within the area it covers. Private collections have provided the cornerstones of many of the world's great libraries. Oxford's famous library, for example, bears the name of its benefactor, Sir Thomas Bodley, and the collection formed by Charles V, king of France in the 14th century, lies at the heart of the Bibliothque Nationale of France. Through the efforts of book collectors, basic sources of history and priceless monuments of art and literature have survived that might otherwise have been irretrievably lost. Only in very recent times have governments and institutions assumed some of the functions of preservation; and institutional collections can seldom afford the flexibility of a private library. Much of the attraction of book collecting lies in the search and pursuit of rare copies. Yet rarity is not necessarily reflected in price. Many books are far more uncommon than Gutenberg Bibles or first folios of Shakespeare, but, when they can be found at all, they may sell for a small fraction of the price of the famous rarities. While many collectors specialize in first editions, the approaches to collecting are varied. In general, there are three types: the author collection, the subject collection, and the cabinet collection. For an author collection, the collector sets out to gather the works of his chosen author in all the forms in which they have appeared before the public, or he may concentrate on only one phase of his career or even on only one or two of his works. The subject collection can range from a field as sweeping as a collection of classics or of American literature to books on Chess, coffee, prizefighting, detective fiction, or the development of nuclear energy. The third kind of collector limits his library to a small group, or cabinet, of choice specimens, each the best obtainable of its type, although a particular author or subject may form the basis of his collection. Illuminated manuscripts, bookbindings, publishing styles, fine printing, book illustration, and many other topics lend themselves to this approach. Condition is an important consideration in all types of collecting: a very great difference in value separates a superlative copy of a book from a poor or even an average one. Association is another important factora book annotated or otherwise inscribed by its author or containing the markings of some other prominent or interesting person who has owned and used it is particularly desirable to the collector. The collector must know how books are produced. There are points, or distinctive variations or marks that distinguish one printing or edition from another, which must be learned.