https://fisher.library.utoronto.ca/collections/incunabula
I think Ebay was the beginning of the end. Most books in the past ~100 years were printed in substantial press runs, and many had reprints. That meant they were not globally rare, just widely scattered. Ebay revealed their vast numbers and a level marketplace emerged. Books dealers snagged the truly rare and the vast bulk went unwanted and unread. As a Northern claim staker and mine engineer, I often passed by the Highway Bookstore, in Cobalt Ontario
We have also already traversed, unwittingly, into a post-ownership world and the IP issue would need to be dealt with since it was not dealt with to this point and the thieves have gotten away with robbery by default. Books were one of the first steps into a world where you do not own anything you buy, you merely possess it until the IP owner decides to revoke their authority for everything you think you own. I recall the ironic incident in around 2013 where Amazon without permission simply deleted people’s copies of a purchased book from their Kindles due to some IP dispute with a publisher, without even providing notice. The book … 1984, by George Orwell.
It is why in understand if people “pirate” or maybe better put, seize their rights.
Something you cannot share, trade, exchange, gift, pass down, sell, or often even move… is not something you own.
I wish I could get rid of them all; when I want to read one again I just pirate a scan. I've literally thought about tightly wrapping them in plastic and burying them in a concrete vault. After the original texts of all "legacy" writing have been deemed too provocative, somebody could discover them and dig them up, show their friends how they've been changed since everything went digital, and shortly afterwards get arrested as a terrorist pornographer.
Sounds a good price, no?
His worst fear resonates with me: if the collection is separated, all his collecting was basically a waste of time and effort. I share similar thoughts: how to avoid that the collection gets ripped apart upon my departure? How to ascertain continuity (if now growth, at least at the status quo level)? Where should bet books be located so as to maximize utility? And, worst of all, how to stop the decay in people's willingness to read books for curiosity's and knowledge's sake? Move the books somewhere else where knowlege is not taken for granted (e.g. Africa)?
Any library can be described as a second hand store of books and it seems this one is pretty large!
"I wish I could get rid of them all"
You could donate them to the really weird collectors - see OP!
I used to have quite a large collection of CDs (and tapes but they are mostly buggered). It took quite a while to rip them to FLAC but they now take up quite a small amount of disc compared to photos and the rest. A terabyte is not particularly large these days.
"terrorist pornographer" - that is quite a job title.
I managed to save some of the rare works but I could find absolutely no takers for the bulk of the books, at any price or even for free. That generation is leaving behind an enormous amount of paper and it is mostly going to waste. Very frustrating, if I had had the space I would have been happy to take all of it. I would have read some and I would have tried to find a new home for the remainder but that takes time and the housing company only gave us two weeks to vacate the place, which was much too little time even for proper cataloging. Fortunately he had already organized things to the point that it was obvious which ones were the precious ones.
And the violin got a good home. The guy lived like a monk, the whole flat was just paper and shelves, and a tiny spot for a bed. You could have made the pictures in this article in his flat as well (I didn't make any, it was too sad of an occasion).
My own books I keep giving away on the promise that whoever gets the book will read it and pass it on. That way they stay alive for a little bit longer. Some books I keep buying again just so I can have the pleasure of giving them away once more. Douglas Adams' hhgttg is probably the record holder.
We collect because collecting is a hobby - it passes the time and provides enjoyment. 99% of collections have 0 intrinsic value. (Jay Leno's Garage aside.)
I collect Sci Fi books pre 1970. Their objective value is close to zero. Their literary value is zero. When I go they'll go to the recycling. That's fine. It was my hobby, not my sins.
Inheriting collections is not collecting. It's just stuff yo get rid of.
If there's anything valuable in your collection, sell it yourself before you die. Or put it in the "specials case". No one will sift your collection for wheat - it'll just all be thrown out or given away. Indeed that's a good outcome- some other collector will find a valuable tome in the charity shop for a few pennies.
I just went to Chruch street in Bengaluru which is full of bookshops like this (obviously not at this scale). Bookworm (a new gem I found) and all 3 Blossoms bookstore (famous in Bengaluru) shops is what I covered on my recent visit. Morning 11:30 till evening ~6:30 buying 19 books. And happy to report that it was really crowded as well.
The right book at the right time can often be transformative opening up your mind to new ideas/possibilities and leading to better knowledge and wisdom.
For example; reading Bergen Evans' The Natural History of Nonsense (https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.77094) from 1946, one of the earliest books on skepticism w.r.t. people's irrational beliefs/thinking/behaviour teaches you the importance of critical thinking for yourself which is arguably even more important today. A good review from Goodreads here - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2099042654
Another good collection are the excellent science/mathematics books from the erstwhile USSR many of which are now available at https://mirtitles.org/ A subset of those titles are available in hard copy form from low cost publishers on Amazon India. Checkout for example B.N.Ivanov's Fundamentals of Physics (https://mirtitles.org/2018/04/21/fundamentals-of-physics-iva...) and Roman Podolny's Something Called Nothing: Physical Vacuum: What Is It? (https://mirtitles.org/2013/11/24/something-called-nothing-po...) both of which are interesting takes on aspects of Physics.
> "the housing company only gave us two weeks to vacate the place"
It's a very good idea for a collector to own a place to keep the stuff.
The British book collection mentioned in the article is housed in a former youth hostel in the countryside. That kind of place can be surprisingly affordable to buy... But of course it's the renovations and upkeep that truly test the collector's wallet and dedication.
I used to imagine running some kind of second hand book business (non profit) when I retire. Sad that these days it may not be feasible.
I don't know if the fact he's financially successful affects my read though. It's certainly obvious he had money but unfortunately I don't think the money precludes an unhealthy obsession. Infact it might make it worse.
And I do remember a time where there was a dip in visitors on weekends (Or maybe I felt?). But that has definitely changed.
Kind of annoying as well with way too crowded blossoms. Good problems to have. :)
There is also https://www.tumblr.com/overheardatblossoms
Looks like it is not updated anymore.
Perhaps, but even for valuable things like musical instruments the floor space ends up being far more valuable than the objects. Hence the relentless march of waste disposal. It's very sad but a core fact of modern life that land is money.
(the phrase "housing company" implies that the collector did not even own a house for himself, let alone the collection..)
Unless you go deep rural. I've been to a few "bookstores" that were basically somebody's house, but an hour's drive to the nearest town and therefore only getting specialist traffic or people in the area for other tourism.
But what is really the problem with this? (Assuming the paper in the books is recycled, to be clear.)
I disagree with the idea that books are generally precious objects. At this point in time we have many more books than we need, and many of the books in existence simply will never be read again.
I agree. I'm a bit of a used book shop dweller and collector of oddities myself and I'm often struck with this sort of inspired feeling after reading the most random old thing that might otherwise have ended up being recycled. There's so much human experience packed into old books that simply isn't available online at all. Kudos to anyone who makes a serious effort to collect and archive even a slither of it (not me - anything I have will end up in the trash when I die).
So I give them a chance at a new home but having been at the sale on the second weekend I have no doubt that a ton end up pulpled.
In general a collector gets joy from their collection, whilst a hoarder finds it distressing.
From the outside both might look similar, but from the article this person both seemed to enjoy it _and_ make a successful career from it.
Think of collections of fine china that you never use, antique furniture, pianos, artwork, old electronics, personal relationships, etc. You either spent money at some point to get the things or someone in the past spent a lot of money on it. Tossing it becomes a repudiation of that past value, a painful admission the value has decayed away.
That area used to be a cornucopia of book stores generally but that's mostly gone.
Worth noting that the £1.5 million valuation is in the ball park of what the building is worth on it's own.
I think the parent's point is that while the collecting itself can be very rewarding it's far from guaranteed anyone else will find value in the collection. It does feel a shame to dispose of such a piece of work, but the real value is likely more in the collector than the collection.
It is perfectly possible I got the wrong impression here. I don't know him. All I can be sure about is that this was the impression I got reading the article.
I don't know if the US has the concept of "book towns" but there's quite a few over Europe where you'll have used book stores very close to each other and some sort of annual book festival. Wigtown in Scotland is absolutely tiny (under a thousand people and far from any major towns) but has several, as does Hay-on-Wye in Wales. It becomes a bit of a tourist thing.
A recent event raised $300K: https://www.booksandpublishing.com.au/articles/2025/09/02/31...
It always has been. And it's an ongoing scandal that it is not taxed.
Notably, this is literally almost in the exact center of the Yorkshire Dales National Park. This about as far away from "anything" as you can even get in the United Kingdom.
https://www.google.com/maps/place/A684,+United+Kingdom/@54.2...
Echo the sentiment that 10 GBP/book, perpetual storage, sounds good, with the caveat that its in the middle of nowhere.
We have become so complacent that anti-intellectualism has become the norm in popular culture and people see no benefit in learning "knowledge for knowledge's sake". The irony is that in today's world there are myriad avenues for knowledge acquisition and far more easily and cheaply than ever before. Because there is so much to learn the minimum that people should focus on is to get exposed to different types of knowledge i.e. breadth over depth. And both Non-Fiction and Fiction are needed here, the former to deal with Reality and the latter for modulating The Human Condition all with the aim of a well-rounded life.