blogis librorum. A blog about books. Rare books.

Although renowned as a novelist and screenwriter, Pulitzer Prize-winner Larry McMurtry was above all a passionate book collector. A bookseller for more fifty years, McMurtry began writing as a way to fund his book purchases. He acquired quite a few—his own personal collection contains over thirty thousand volumes and his bookstore holds another 200,000. He said, "The tradition I was born into was essentially nomadic, a herdsmen tradition, following animals across the earth. The bookshops are a form of ranching; instead of herding cattle, I herd books.”

In the second of a two-part interview, Moshe Prigan—an accomplished book collector, freelance writer, and retired teacher of art and history—shares his experience about building his rare book collection and provides guidance for novice book collectors. 

Moshe Prigan is an accomplished book collector, freelance writer, and retired teacher of art and history. He lives in Haifa, Israel but searches globally to make new acquisitions for his collection. While mainly interested in English and Italian volumes of Umberto Eco, he also collects other authors including Alice Munro and Margaret Atwood. Moshe has generously shared his collecting insights with us in the following interview.

If you're new to the world of book collecting, you may have encountered multiple uses of the word "facsimile." It's an important term for collectors to understand in various contexts, as a "facsimile" anything--book, dust jacket, signature, etc.--can substantially impact the true value of a rare book.

Nineteenth-century painter Richard Cosway (1742-1821)  was a renowned painter of miniature portraits. His career began early, when he was only 20 years old. Cosway would eventually paint members of the British royal family, along with many members of nobility. Cosway is the namesake of the eponymous book bindings, even though he had nothing to do with their creation. 

Born on January 5, 1932 in Alessandria, Italy, Umberto Eco is one of the world's most prolific legendary authors. His family name is supposedly an acronym for Ex caelis oblatus ("A gift from heaven,") and was given to Eco's foundling grandfather by a city official. Eco's father was one of thirteen children. He urged his son to pursue a career in law: stable, lucrative, and prestigious. But Eco had other ideas. His career has led him to philosophy, semiotics, and literature. 

Eco is a collector of books himself, and he's built an enviable personal library of over 50,000 books. His philosophy of collecting is, however, a bit different than that of most rare book collectors. Eco views his library as a tool for research and information, and he values it not for the books he's already read, but for those that he has not yet read. To commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the Beinecke Library, he delivered an excellent lecture on the library as a model for culture at Yale University this past fall. 

The year is coming to an end, and it's been quite a busy one here at blogis librorum! Thanks to everyone who has faithfully read, subscribed to, and commented on our blog this year--without you, we wouldn't have such a dynamic, engaging, and downright terrific online community for rare book lovers. 

In case you missed any of the "action," we've compiled a list of the blog articles of 2013 you visted most. Take a gander, click each title and let us know which was your favorite:

"We all have such personal associations with the books--inscribed or uninscribed--that we possess, and in this sense all copies of books are association copies." 

-Thomas Tansell, Other People's Books

Tansell's words ring true with many a bibliophile. But some association copies are more valuable than others, especially in the rare book world. Association copies, books that were owned by authors themselves, someone close to authors, or by an otherwise notable individual, fascinate us because they tell stories beyond the ones printed on their pages. 

Even the earliest recorded tales have elements of horror, fear, and despair, and the archetypes of horror have likely lasted much longer. The vampire archetype, for example, can be traced all the way back to the ancient civilization of Sumer; the vampire-like being Emikku would inhabit the bodies of people who had died violently or who were buried improperly. 

The ILAB Breslauer Prize for Bibliography, given every fourth year to the most outstanding scholarly book about books and worth $10,000, is one of the most prestigious prizes in the field of bibliography.