Dukedom large enough [by] David A. Randall

by David A. Randall

After nearly a decade of apprenticeship with various bookmen and in his own shop, David Randall was appointed head of Scribner's Rare Book Department, a position he held for 21 years before becoming, in 1956, Librarian of the famous Lilly Collection at Indiana University. From the great wealth of those 30 years of experience, which brought him to the top of his profession, Mr. Randall has chosen some of his most exciting and amusing adventures for presentation in this highly entertaining memoir.During his career, not only Gutenberg Bibles (of which he handled the last two copies sold, one of the twice) but the high priced manuscripts and first editions of great writers and prominent political figures passed through his hands. Usually, though not always, there was a profit; a dealer in rarities, even when he knows values and the potential market, is still required to take changes and make quick decisions; many transactions do not turn out exactly as planned.Though this is not a book on how to become a rare book dealer or collector, Mr. Randall provides an intimate and instructive picture of this fascinating occupation.

Genres: Books About Books, Nonfiction

Unknown Binding

First published August 28, 1969

About the author

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Reviews

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was only slightly more engaging than the Rosenbach biography, but I'm giving it an extra star for the interesting insight it provides into the changing scene of book collecting in the mid-twentieth century. David Randall, the former head of the Lilly Collection at Indiana University began his career in the Rare Books department of Scribner's. His reminiscences are tinged with the love of a true archivist, and his dedication to the cataloging and storing thousands of author's manuscripts, agents' letters, and other related materials is at least partially responsible for many of the great research troves in America today. His relationships with various collectors are also of note, as he does a good job of categorizing their varying tastes and explaining how their particular personalities flavor their collections. This book is also remarkable for its inclusion of actual catalog copy, which not only reflects the changing tastes of book collectors (Randall, in part, attempted to direct these in creating his specialty catalogs around topics of personal interest) but also illuminates the exactitude and knowledge Randall brought to his work.