The Love of Collecting Books

Author: Edward Newton (USA)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-11-18
Features:
Newton's Quotations:
Books possess all the advantages of other hobbies without their disadvantages. Any hobby, of course, can bring pleasure; but owning books does not impose too heavy a burden. At most, all you need is a sturdy, dry cabinet for storage.
—From "Notes on Acquiring Books Abroad"
Many more capable people than I have also parted ways with books—note that I say "more capable people." If it comes to loving books, there may be none better than me. Fortune fears no book's wear and tear.
Books are our best friends, whether you are serious and reserved or lively and outgoing, and you can always make them shut their mouths.
—A slogan for selling books: "It's not hard to sell books."
Edward Newton was one of the most important book collectors in 20th-century Europe and America. He pioneered a new era in Western bibliophilic writing and set a new standard for collectors writing about their own passion. This book is a collection of his extensive, humorous, and engaging insights into book collecting. Owning this book is like holding the golden key to the realm of bibliophilia!
Edward Newton is one of the most famous old book collectors in the United States and one of the representatives of "bibliography" writing. However, the "bibliography" of the British and Americans is not as academic as that of Zheng Zhenduo or Huang Changsheng. Their "bibliography" is more everyday and personal. As Yang Zhao said in the preface to "The Love of Collecting Books," it means "they love the appearance of books, the traces of time on books, the wandering process of books, the fluctuations in their prices, and the records of their transactions. In other words, they love the parts that others consider unimportant. They are almost all eccentric creatures who 'see the small but not the big.' They are not fascinated by the details of book forms that others ignore; they would not become 'Book-collectors.'"
The hardcover masterpiece "The Love of Collecting Books" is a product of the joint effort of mainland publishers and Taiwanese translators,. Of course, it slightly disappoints me that the titles and names of people in the translation have not been converted according to the mainland's conventions, and I believe our readers will find it a bit awkward to look at.