Tom Biro of Collectable Books |
AbeBooks’ Victoria Chater recently caught up with Tom Biro of Collectable Books based in London. Members of the ABA and ILAB, Tom and his wife Sue have been selling on AbeBooks since September 2003. Collectable Books ABA ILAB specialize in books published before 1800, including antiquarian Bibles, early cookery books and manuscripts, travel, topography, the arts, architecture, the classics and miniature books. Discover some of their gems.
Abe - Where are you located?
TB - “We work from home, on the very South-Eastern edge of London about five minutes from Mottingham, our local station. Trains from Charing Cross, London Bridge or Canon Street take 20 to 25 minutes to reach us. The A20, one of the main roads heading out of London towards the Kent coast, is just over 100 yards away.”
Abe - Do you have a bricks and mortar shop?
TB - “We don’t have a shop - or any staff - but bibliophiles are most welcome to visit us by prior appointment. (The advance warning ensures we are at home and that coffee and tea are ready to serve.)”
Abe - How did you become a rare bookseller?
TB - “Sue and I fell into the world of the book trade almost by accident. Sue was offered the job of assistant to the publicity manager of Heinemann Educational Books on the grounds, she discovered later, that she was the only applicant who was younger than the manager. The package included luncheon vouchers and access to the Thomas Tilling canteen, a great bonus in those pecuniary days. Ultimately, Sue took over as publicity manager and then, some years later, left Heinemann to become a mum, a freelance editor and writer.
“For me, I suppose, the first seed was planted when I was 16. My first job was in Mr Stark’s specialist bookshop which occupied a few rooms several floors up in an office block in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The shop had the strangest mix of imported stock, including dictionaries and encyclopaedias, books on sailing and radio valve manuals. I can’t imagine who decided on this strange, eclectic mix but I will be forever grateful to Mr Stark for introducing me to book-dealing. On my first day, he steered me to some high, dusty shelves in a back room. An interior decorator needed six metres of books, on a variety of subjects, mainly in red bindings, to furnish a private library. I was to make the selection. The best part of fulfilling this order was searching out the most ancient stock in a bid to clear the shelves. How little life has changed.
A Booke of Christian Praiers
by Richard Day
Publication Date: 1608 |
“Some 20 years ago, after years of distractions by other employment, we agreed to organise an antiques fair for the First Royal Eltham Scout Group. One stall was unsold and we decided to take it ourselves in order to sell some of the surplus bric-a-brac in our home and reduce the number of pretty, mainly Victorian, books we had collected over the years. After this exposure local people approached us saying, ‘We didn’t know you dealt in books, would you like to buy these?’ And we did.”
Abe - Do you specialise in any particular type of rare books?
TB - “We soon realised dealing in low-value, general stock, with bookfairs as our only outlet, involved a great deal of heavy lifting to make anything like a profit. Since our salad days were long gone we decided to specialise in older books, published before 1800, and stock fewer, higher-value items whenever our budget allowed. It took a while but we did, finally, make the change and are now addicted to the crisp, rag paper of early books and the beauty of ancient printing, not to mention the attractive leather and vellum bindings.”
Abe - What book about collecting books do you recommend?
TB - “We don’t recommend books about book collecting. The book collectors we meet are driven people with an irresistible urge to track down the elusive tome. They may seek every title in a series of books; look for every work by a particular author or search for every edition of a particular title. They may concentrate on a subject or a type of binding - fine bindings or prize bindings. Early printing, perhaps, or incunabula; books or pamphlets from a particular printer or place. The thrill of the chase is hard to quell. Those wishing to embark on book collecting but not sure what to concentrate on should consider what interests them. Talking to booksellers is also a good start. Even when a collector has chosen a subject, they will probably find it goes off at other tangents depending upon their interests. Most collectors’ in-depth knowledge of the books within their chosen sphere far exceeds that of almost any bookseller. They don’t need our general recommendations about book collecting; it is indeed a privilege if they teach us a thing or two. They, of course, know where the real treasures are to be found.”
Abe - What’s the most expensive book you are offering for sale?
TB - “The price range of our stock is from a few pounds to several thousand. In general we like to stock antiquarian Bibles, early music and psalmody, early cookery books and manuscripts, travel, topography, the arts and architecture plus the classics. We also like to stock miniature books. Of course, the nature of it all depends upon what we are able to buy.”
Geographiae Universae
by Claudius Ptolomaeus
Publication Date: 1596 |
Abe - What book do you regret selling too cheaply?
TB - “We don’t dwell on having sold any book too cheaply, as long as we made a modest profit on it. We’ve made mistakes on pricing in the past and no doubt will do so in the future. However, one bookseller’s error is another collector’s or bookseller’s bargain. Word travels fast in the book trade, especially at book fairs, and one soon becomes aware of one’s under-pricing errors. We’ve also over-paid for books on occasion and have sold them, years on, for less than we paid. There have been a few wonderful books that we regret having sold at all. These we should have kept and treasured.”
Abe - Is there a rare book you have always craved to own?
TB - “We would have liked to keep many of the books which have passed through our hands over the years. However, our finances didn’t allow us to do this and we had to remind ourselves that we are dealers, not collectors. It is an enormous privilege to live with beautiful old books and manuscripts for a short while, before packing them to send off to a new home.
“Part of the pleasure of selling fascinating and rare old books is the delight they bring to the people who buy them from us. One satisfied customer visits us every year at the June fairs in London to express, yet again, his delight in the book he purchased from us some five years ago. It is always a joy to see him, as it is to hear from Internet customers who have unpacked one of our books to find that it is an even nicer copy than they expected.”
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