Book Auction

[Francis A. Miniter]

A week ago, I went to a book auction in New London, Connecticut. It was
of the type they call a "pick auction". There were thousands of books,
divided up onto separate tables for each source (estate, dealer, etc.)
and the potential buyers put together lots of up to ten items per lot on
which everyone can bid. After the lots are formed (the first round had
215 lots), the buyers examine the lots to decide what they want to bid
on. Then the bidding commences as usual. After the first round, there
is a second round (which had about 150 lots). Then the remaining books
still on the tables are sold by auction where each table is a lot.

Well, I bought six lots of books. But I also bought two of the tables
at the end. It was a very good thing that I took my Jeep Grand Cherokee
to the auction, because I needed every inch of space in it to bring the
books home - and that includes the passenger seat and foot well. I am
guessing that I bought about 700 books.

I have now had a chance to get through them all at least once. One of
the tables, by the way, was mystery and related novels. Among the books
from that table were a number of signed books, including a first of
Peter Benchley's _The Island_ , one by Donald Westlake, and three by
science fiction writer Frederick Pohl.

I still have a lot of work to do and it is clear I simply cannot keep
all the books. Nor would I want to. There are, for instance, a
considerable number of late 19th C. romances. Most of them are by
unknowns, but there are two or three by Marie Corelli, a British writer
whose real name was Mary Mackay. Though she is virtually unknown today,
apparently at the time she wrote her sales were more than the combined
contemporaneous sales of books by Conan Doyle, H. G. Wells and Kipling.
Sic transit gloria mundis. In 2007, by the way, the British film
_Angel_ was a fictionalized biography of Marie Corelli.


Francis A. Miniter

[David Matthews]

It's quite amazing how prolific those nineteenth century authors were when you think how arduous the writing and publication must have been in those days. There are a surprising number of Corelli's books available on Kindle at Amazon. Many of them free:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_0_10?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=marie+corelli&sprefix=Marie+Corr%2Cstripbooks%2C266

or

http://tinyurl.com/agzapf9

Corelli got very poor reviews from critics and fellow writers in her day but the public loved her.

Dave M

[Don Phillipson]

"Francis A. Miniter" <fami...@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:khmahp$ham$1...@dont-email.me...

>A week ago, I went to a book auction in New London, Connecticut. It was of

>the type they call a "pick auction". There were thousands of books . . .

Congratulations! We enjoy your narratives and your later discoveries.
--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)

[1031d...@gmail.com]

Before the auction were you able to find the signed editions or was it catch-as-catch-can? I'd be overjoyed to find a signed Westlake. He and Dortmunder were prizes in their own right.

Thanks for the reports on book finds. I, too, enjoy your experiences as the buyer.

de

[Francis A. Miniter]

I should have come to the pre-auction phase earlier than I did. It
started at 2 PM, but I did not arrive until near 5 PM, so only had about
an hour to look through all the books. Some people had already picked
out lots that they wanted and I first went through those. That is how I
ended up bidding on and getting a Hemingway first of _The Fifth Column
and Other Stories_ . I also put one signed first into a lot that I put
together, but that was all. In the bidding on the tables, I remembered
that one of the organizers had told me that a particular table had a lot
of signed books (and it was a table full of mystery and thrillers). So
I made sure I got that table, and that is how I came to get the Westlake
and the Pohls. There also were other signed first by Morris West
(Harlequin in 1974), by Maeve Binchy, Elizabeth Berg and Michael
Connelly (Trunk Music).


Francis A. Miniter

[1031d...@gmail.com]

What is the title of the Westlake?

de

[Francis A. Miniter]

On 5/11/2013 6:26 PM, 1031d...@gmail.com wrote:
> What is the title of the Westlake?
>
> de
>

_Good Behavior_ (1985)


Francis A. Miniter