Slightly Chipped: Footnotes in Booklore

by Lawrence Goldstone, Nancy Goldstone

book data

93 ratings, 3.73 average rating, 10 reviews (more data...)

rating	frequency	%
5		20%
4		45%
3		24%
2		6%
1		3%

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published

May 5th 2000 by St. Martin's Griffin (first published 1999)

details

Paperback, 224 pages

isbn

0312263953 (isbn13: 9780312263959)

description

Who would have guessed that an innocent search for an inexpensive edition of War and Peace could lead to an all-consuming obsession? Nancy and Lawrenc…more

[close] Who would have guessed that an innocent search for an inexpensive edition of War and Peace could lead to an all-consuming obsession? Nancy and Lawrence Goldstone's romance with rare books arose from just such a search and led them to a world they had never encountered before: the world of antiquarian books. They quickly found themselves infatuated with this quaint and curious world, and scoured the East Coast in search of first editions and rare books. This search, and the curious people they met along the way, is chronicled in their book Used and Rare. Their second book, Slightly Chipped, continues this exploration, taking us on tours of book fairs, libraries, and auctions. No longer the wide-eyed innocents, the Goldstones delve a little deeper into the book world: they explore facets such as fine printing and literary movements, pour over Bram Stoker's notes for Dracula, and puzzle over the incredible markup of hypermoderns. (Never heard of hypermoderns? They are collectible books recently published. A first edition of Sue Grafton's A Is for Alibi sold for $1,250 in 1998. Better check your shelves.)

Both the avid bibliophile and the casual reader will find things to enjoy in Slightly Chipped. For the collector, the Goldstones' discussion of the Internet's impact on collecting is illuminating, and their look at the hypermodern market is positively eye-opening. Plus, visits to such places as the Rosenbach Museum in Philadelphia and the Pequot Library in Connecticut will get any bibliophile's salivary glands going. For the casual reader, Slightly Chipped is as warm and engaging as Used and Rare; although the Goldstones have become sophisticated book collectors, there is still plenty of the ingenuous surprise and delight that made Used and Rare such a joy to read. They balance out the serious aspects of book collecting with a liberal peppering of literary anecdotes, ranging from William Morris's tyrannical leadership of the Kelmscott Press to the sexual proclivities of Virginia Woolf and the Bloomsbury Group, keeping the tone light and the pace lively. All this packed into one volume makes Slightly Chipped a rare treat for book lovers of all types. --Perry Atterberry

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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 147)

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Jul 16, 2007

Gary rated it:

(review of isbn 0312205872)

bookshelves: crap

Read in January, 1999

recommends it for: nobody

The content of this book has little to do with book collecting and more to do with name-dropping. Unfortunately, Lawrence and Nancy Goldstone come off as pretentious and boring. They spend a considerable amount of time discussing what people wear and how much they spend on dinner, but very little time talking about... books. After reading all their books about books, I can only conclude that they have learned very little about the book world and they remain book-collector-wannabes. Worse,...more

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Jan 11, 2009

Sarah rated it:

bookshelves: books-on-books, own, read-2009

Read in January, 2009

I loved reading this book and the Goldstones' earlier book titled "Used and Rare". Both books are set in New England and focus on the Goldstones' adventures hunting for books in used and rare bookstores, learning about first editions and becoming collectors, attending book fairs and auctions, museums and libraries, etc. Every once in a while they throw in a history lesson about a book or manuscript they come across, making it a fun, easy read for anyone interested in becoming a book ...more

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Nov 15, 2008

Eric_W rated it:

Read in January, 2002

The Goldstones, apparently on their way to a trilogy, successfully followed their first book with this one. It’s another delight. Becoming more accomplished as rare book aficionados, they are able to provide even more enlightening and amusing anecdotes of the book trade. They are informative as well about many of the authors whose books are collected. I had never heard of "Bloomsbury" members, being literature-challenged, but it seems the august members of that strange cote...more The Goldstones, apparently on their way to a trilogy, successfully followed their first book with this one. It’s another delight. Becoming more accomplished as rare book aficionados, they are able to provide even more enlightening and amusing anecdotes of the book trade. They are informative as well about many of the authors whose books are collected. I had never heard of "Bloomsbury" members, being literature-challenged, but it seems the august members of that strange coterie are very collectible, not just because many were good writers, but also because they were prolific and lived lives (there are more than twenty-five 900- page biographies of the members) that would be unbelievable on most soap operas.

The group consisted of Lytton Strachey, Virginia and Leonard Woolf, Clive Bell, Roger Fry, Duncan Grant, and John Maynard Keynes, although there is some dispute about others. The group had a unique ethos "which can be summed up by the sort of incisive comment the group and Lytton Strachey in particular were known for. Upon arriving at Clive and Vanessa Bell's apartment one evening, Lytton noticed a stain on Vanessa's dress, 'Semen?' he inquired." Another interesting story of the Bloomsbury folks is that Virginia Woolf and her husband, Leonard had often spoken of starting their own press. One day, while walking by a small printing supply company, they saw a hand press for sale in the window. They bought it, took it home, and taught themselves how to set type.

Thus began Hogarth Press. It reflected their ineptitude visually. Virginia routinely confused the h’s with the n’s. They had trouble with the ink, and the woodcuts they used for illustrations never inked up just right. These volumes are, of course, quite valuable today, especially because their print runs were so small (the first was 134 copies, which sold out, making them a small profit). One of the delights of the Goldstones’ books is learning about many authors of years ago with whom I was completely unfamiliar, for example, William Mcfee (nautical stuff) and Josephine Tey (British mystery writer who died in 1952).

No stranger to book signings, having traveled along to many of Sheila’s, not to mention many at ALA and ABA, I got a huge kick out of an anecdote they relate that happened to a friend of theirs. This author was sitting at the table in the bookstore with lots of his books but hadn’t been aproached by anyone for over an hour when a woman and child came over. “Are your the author of these books?” she asked. He assured her he was. “You wrote them,” she inquired again, “and you’ll be here for a while.” He answered again in the affirmative. She then asked if he would watch her child while she went shopping. The Goldstones don’t relate his response.

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Nov 11, 2009

Kate rated it:

This was fun for all the trivia -- it's amazing, all the well-researched tangents they explored. Reminded me a bit of reading AJ Jacobs.

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Jul 12, 2008

AM rated it:

The Goldstones will make you want to collect books if you don't and pay more attention to your collection if you already do. There is pleasure in reading about people who love books as much if not more so then you do.

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Aug 21, 2008

Catherine rated it:

bookshelves: read---nonfiction

I found this to be an enjoyable, informative read.The authors' enthusiasm for both collecting and reading is infectious (in a good way) and made for a fun ride.

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