Coming to a post office near you…
Carol Jones of Turn the Page found this interesting (and a little worrying) post on an eBay forum:
“I learnt today, from our local Postmaster that because of a new computer system being installed in Post Offices, that items that have postage labels i.e not in a satchel, will not have the postcode on the receipt anymore.
When he saw the look of horror on my face he said that he had already emailed the powers-to-be explaining about eBayers in particular, needing the postcode as part of the proof of posting.
He said our Post Office was one of the first to have the new system so I don’t think it is widely known at the moment.”
For many booksellers, the postcode on the receipt is a method of cheap ‘insurance’ : it proves the parcel has indeed been posted off and is out of our hands. The next method is Registered Post and costs a great deal more. Let Australia Post know that leaving the postcodes off receipts is not acceptable. Write AusPost, or talk to your local postmaster.
Biggles!
Capt. W.E. Johns died in 1968 but 40 + years on his books are very much sought after by a new generation of readers and by collectors.
Johns was the creator of not just the Biggles books but also the Gimlet; Worrals; and Steely books along with a series of Science-Fiction books.
This prolific writer of children’s fiction also included a number of adult fiction and non-fiction titles in his prodigious output.
For the collector the books to look out for are at the beginning and at the end of his writing career.
The early books, published by John Hamilton & Oxford University Press are very hard to find as are the books written by Johns towards the end of his lifetime; 1964-1968 and published by Hodder & Stoughton & Brockhampton Press. Such is the demand for these 1960’s works that Norman Wright in the U.K., with the permission of the Johns estate, is re-publishing many of these titles currently in limited editions of 300 copies.
As with all truly collectable books the most keenly sought items are first editions with original dust wrappers. The price for the harder to find titles is continually increasing. However the more common Dean & Sons editions, produced in vast quantities for the U.K. supermarket chains, are so common as to be almost worthless.
The ‘holy grail’ for most Biggles collectors is “The Camels are Coming” (John Hamilton) whilst amongst the last dozen or so titles published between 1964-1970 “Biggles and the Little Green God”; “Biggles and the Deep Blue Sea and “Biggles and the Noble Lord” prove very elusive for most collectors.
One of the reasons why Biggles has cemented himself in the hearts and minds of Australian readers is the long-running Australian produced and immensely popular radio serial,” The Air Adventures of Biggles”. Many a Biggles collector became addicted to the books after being first exposed to our ‘flying hero’ and his chums in the radio serial.
Further information on both the Biggles books and the radio serial can be obtained by contacting bill.mclennan@thebookcollector.com
Australian Classics For Your Bookshelf
Australian Classics For Your Bookshelf
The Sydney Morning Herald’s Literary Editor Susan Wyndham has listed fifteen books that should be part of every Australian’s library. Second hand reprint copies should be readily available from book dealers throughout Australia. Why not aim to collect them all?
- For the Term of His Natural Life (1874) by Marcus Clarke
- My Brilliant Career (1901) by Miles Franklin
- The Man Who Loved Children (1940) by Christina Stead
- The Harp in the South (1948) by Ruth Park
- Voss (1957) by Patrick White
- The Tyranny of Distance (1966) by Geoffrey Blainey
- Johnno (1975) by David Malouf
- A Fortunate Life (1981) by A.B. Facy
- The Children’s Bach (1984) by Helen Garner
- Cloudstreet (1991) by Tim Winton
- Night Letters (1996) by Robert Dessaix
- Eucalyptus (1998) by Murray Ball
- True History of the Kelly Gang (2000) by Peter Carey
- Carpentaria (2006) by Alexis Wright
- The Slap (2008) by Christos Tsiolkas
SMH 29.12.2010
Contribued by Margaret Dunstan of Somerset House Books
While browsing on the web…
A few interesting things brought to us by Carol at Turn the Page…
- For all you Enid Blyton collectors out there, a previously unpublished manuscript has surfaced. Unfortunately there are no plans to publish it yet, but maybe one day you can add the check to your list. Read more here from the Adelaide Now site.
- On a sadder note, an aritlce in the UK written in the Guardian laments the fact that more and more secondhand bookshops are closing. Online shopping, e-books, and charity shops are making what once was a shop in every town become a rarity. A bit depressing, but worth the read…
- And because you should always close on something more upbeat, check out the awesome architecture of the Kansas City Public Library. It’s just the parking structure (and the libray itself is said to be a bit ‘plain jane’, but Missourians and their cars are very lucky!
Man’s Best Friend – Books!
Whatever Floats Your Boat
Sydney has had its share of bibliomaniacs. David Scott Mitchell was legendary. And one, recently-deceased gentleman used to scour the Salvos, the garage sales and the charity book fairs, lug his boxes home on the bus and stack them up in his garden shed and under his eaves.
Read the rest of this entry »
HELP I Have “Inherited A Collection of Books!! What Can I Do?
Assuming you have been through the collection and gathered up those books you are personally interested in, what do you do next?
The first thing to do is to ask any relatives if there is any book they would like. As a bookseller I have often been asked for a book that has been given away when a family collection has been disposed of. So please ask. Someone may have a favourite of which you are unaware.
Once you know for sure you are disposing of a collection of unwanted books ask yourself whether you wish to gain any funds from their sale.
Assuming you are not interested in monetary gain there are two options.
Firstly, if you don’t care where the books end up contact your nearest university or branch of Lifeline and ask about pick-ups for one of their fund-raising fairs. Secondly, here are some suggestions for those wishing to see that the books “go to a good home”. Read the rest of this entry »
Guest Speaker Discusses World Book Market Software
The Bookdealers Guild (NSW)
invities you to find out about
THE WORLD BOOK MARKET’S INNOVATIVE
BOOKSELLER DATABASE
The Guild has booked a quiet room so you can buy your own
a la carte dinner from the Terrace Restaurant Bar & Grill
(your only expense will be your pay-your-own-way dinner & drinks)
@ 6.30pm Wednesday 9 March
and hear
Guy Weller, aka Mr Pickwick,
talking about the klutz-friendly
WORLD BOOK MARKET
@ 7.30pm Wednesday 9 March
THE EPPING CLUB
Rawson Street, Epping Read the rest of this entry »
New Book Selling Software
World Book Market, which has been around for a little while, has recently made their software free. The full version, which will be released at the end of February, has several features that are worth noting :
- a database that can generate invoices (with store logos, and details)
- generation of catalogues
- ISBN verification and lookup
- Will be compliant with Abe, Biblio, Alibris and “dozens of smaller sites”
- AND (the most exciting feature) – drop down menus for condition reports that comes “pre-set with… hundreds of useful and carefully worded standard comments “
Less typing, faster book listing, more places to sell books? What’s not to like, right? Well, only time and a trial will tell. The Trial Version is out now to sample. Anyone game to give it a try? If so, please post your comments and let the rest of us know what you thought about it…
Press release from WBM – https://www.worldbookmarket.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=5831
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Contribued by Carol @ Turn the Page Books
Get your name out there…
Just ran across a nice site – WeSellUsedBooks.com. They have a database of “real” bookstores and by that they mean those sellers that have actual stores (although they will consider those booksellers who are open by appointment only). For the bookshop owners out there, why not list your shop? For the book readers, have a browse of it and find a bookshop near you (or nominate one that isn’t on the site yet).
Other sites to list your shop on:
But what if they drop it…
A survey done in the States finds that “six out of 10 of those between ages 9 and 17 say they’re interested in reading on an electronic device such as the Kindle or the iPad”. This bring up an interesting question – if this is the only way to get kids reading again, will we pay the price? As the mother of a three-month old, I will defintely try to get her interested in reading ahead of time using the ‘old fashioned’ books. If that doesn’t work and she shows interest in a Kindle (or whatever device will be out in a few years) then I’ll be placing that order ASAP. As a bookseller it is a bit depressing, but getting kids to read, no matter the format, is in my mind the bigger picture. Any thoughts?
–Contribued by Jennifer Hechinger @ Parklea Books