Anodyne
Monday, May 31, 2004
 
From Marvin Mondlin, Book Row - An Anecdotal and Pictorial History of the Antiquarian Book Trade:

"David A. Randall, a rare book dealer whose reminiscences are recorded in Dukedom Large Enough, discovered Book Row as a boy and began there as a book scout rummaging and rooting for cheap finds to sell for a profit at posh Uptown bookstores. One of his discoveries in the 25-cent bin was a nondescript work by Whittier with a verse in Whittier’s hand on the back flyleaf. The store owner, cantankerous Peter Stammer, going through hundreds of books had understandably missed the fact it was a valuable presentation copy. There and then young Randall learned the wisdom of not impetuously bragging in the victim’s presence. When he showed Stammer the inscription he had missed, the bookman seized the book, tore out the flyleaf, and handed back what was then legitimately a 25-cent buy. Stammer, famous for his warm heart as well as his impulsive temper, repented by giving Randall a part-time job and furthering the education of an eminent American bookman."
- posted by cjb @ 9:36 AM


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