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The Pope's Bookbinder: A Memoir
Entertaining, moving, informative, intelligently I know of few other books like this one to warm the cockles of a booklover's heart." Alberto Manguel
"For anyone who loves books too wellwho lusts after them, lives in them, mainlines themDavid Mason s memoir will be a fix from heaven. Heartful, cantankerous, droll, his tales of honour and obsession in the trade gratify the very book-love they portray. An irresistible read." Dennis Lee
"An atmospheric, informative memoir by a Canadian seller of used and rare books ... Gossipy, rambling and enchanting, alive with Mason s love for books of every variety."Kirkus Reviews
From his drug-hazy, book-happy years near the Beat Hotel in Paris and throughout his career as antiquarian book dealer, David Mason brings us a storied life. He discovers his love of literature in a bathtub at age eleven, thumbing through stacks of lurid Signet paperbacks. At fifteen he s expelled from school. For the next decade and a half, he will work odd jobs, buck all authority, buy books more often than food, and float around Europe. He ll help gild a volume in white morocco for Pope John XXIII. And then, at the age of 30, after returning home to Canada and apprenticing with Joseph Patrick Books, David Mason will find his calling.
Over the course of what is now a legendary international career, Mason shows unerring instincts for the logic of the trade. He makes good money from Canadian editions, both legitimate and pirated (turns out Canadian piracies so incensed Mark Twain that he moved to Montreal for six months to gain copyright protection). He outfoxes the cousins of L.M. Montgomery at auction and blackmails the head of the Royal Ontario Museum. He excoriates the bureaucratic pettiness that obstructs public acquisitions, he trumpets the ingenuity of collectors and scouts, and in archives around the world he appraises history in its unsifted and most moving forms. Above all, however, David Mason boldly campaigns for what he feels is the moral duty of the antiquarian to preserve the history and traditions of all nations, and to assert without compromise that such histories have value.
Sly, sparkling, and endearingly gruff, "The Pope's Bookbinder" is an engrossing memoir by a giant in the book tradewhose infectious enthusiasm, human insight, commercial shrewdness, and deadpan humour will delight bibliophiles for decades to come.
"For anyone who loves books too wellwho lusts after them, lives in them, mainlines themDavid Mason s memoir will be a fix from heaven. Heartful, cantankerous, droll, his tales of honour and obsession in the trade gratify the very book-love they portray. An irresistible read." Dennis Lee
"An atmospheric, informative memoir by a Canadian seller of used and rare books ... Gossipy, rambling and enchanting, alive with Mason s love for books of every variety."Kirkus Reviews
From his drug-hazy, book-happy years near the Beat Hotel in Paris and throughout his career as antiquarian book dealer, David Mason brings us a storied life. He discovers his love of literature in a bathtub at age eleven, thumbing through stacks of lurid Signet paperbacks. At fifteen he s expelled from school. For the next decade and a half, he will work odd jobs, buck all authority, buy books more often than food, and float around Europe. He ll help gild a volume in white morocco for Pope John XXIII. And then, at the age of 30, after returning home to Canada and apprenticing with Joseph Patrick Books, David Mason will find his calling.
Over the course of what is now a legendary international career, Mason shows unerring instincts for the logic of the trade. He makes good money from Canadian editions, both legitimate and pirated (turns out Canadian piracies so incensed Mark Twain that he moved to Montreal for six months to gain copyright protection). He outfoxes the cousins of L.M. Montgomery at auction and blackmails the head of the Royal Ontario Museum. He excoriates the bureaucratic pettiness that obstructs public acquisitions, he trumpets the ingenuity of collectors and scouts, and in archives around the world he appraises history in its unsifted and most moving forms. Above all, however, David Mason boldly campaigns for what he feels is the moral duty of the antiquarian to preserve the history and traditions of all nations, and to assert without compromise that such histories have value.
Sly, sparkling, and endearingly gruff, "The Pope's Bookbinder" is an engrossing memoir by a giant in the book tradewhose infectious enthusiasm, human insight, commercial shrewdness, and deadpan humour will delight bibliophiles for decades to come.
400 pages, Unknown Binding
First published January 1, 2013
5 people are currently reading
156 people want to read
About the author
David Mason
245 books17 followersLibrarian Note:
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There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name
This profile may contain books from multiple authors of this name
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
August 27, 2015
After reading the Washington Post’s review of this book, I decided to get it from our local library. Flush with a gift card, I bought my own copy. I wish I had waited to get it from the library, and also wish that the library had lost it before I got to pick it up. I found that David Mason’s memoir had some very good advice and some fun stories, but these were outweighed by his arrogance, sexism and elitism. While reviewing my notes before writing this review, I felt a little bad at having given the book two stars. But, by the time I finished, I am happy with my choosing the “It’s ok” level.
To start with the positives, Mason absolutely nailed it with a quote from British novelist J. Cowper Powys: “Wisest are they who read old books– drink old wine– converse with old friends– and let the rest of the world go.” So true. Mason also has a special place in his heart for librarians, who started him on his path at a very young age. Also, as someone who has personally collected Modern Library editions, I was pleased that the first two books he bought with money he earned were Modern Library books. His memoir is filled with stories of his career, from a young reader, apprenticing in various bookstores, to finally owning his own stores. There are stories that make you smile, cry and laugh, sometimes all at the same time.
But then, many of the stories and his actions are replete with sexism, sleaziness, elitism and egotism. If I had to summarize his memoir in one sentence, it could be: ‘if everyone would just do as I say, all will be well.’ He mocks or deprecates anyone who doesn’t see things his way.
He refers to a woman’s place as being in the home, or at the minimum, doing all the household chores. He relates a story when he and a friend pulled into a self-serve gas station. Mason hadn’t learned to drive at the time and his friend asked if he knew how to work the pump. His reply: “No, I don’t, Reg. But we’re grown men, surely we can figure it out. I see women doing it all the time.” Seriously?
Turning to sleaze, he talks about how he’s had great finds. He haughtily told off a competitor how much money the competitor lost by marking a book Mason bought too low. He often finds books from friends, fellow booksellers and even a mentor that are priced far below their value. Instead of informing his friends, he buys them and then pats himself on the back. You could say that’s business, and he does, but, to me, it seems sleazy, especially to one’s friends or someone who taught you the business. He often says booksellers are a community and they need to help each other out. He seems to like that advice when they’re helping him, but it goes away when he wants to help himself.
At auctions, he said he decides what price a book lot will go for, even if he isn’t interested in it. “I cross out [from his notes] any book I don’t want at any price and, using my code, I note the minimum under which I will not allow anyone else to buy that lot.” He even says he has and will continue to drive up a price against a perceived enemy, just out of spite.
Mason writes that sometimes people store cash in books or use a bill as a bookmark. Mason has purchased libraries that have such books. In one instance, he bought the library of a deceased woman from her son. He despised this son, thinking him uncouth and not deserving of anything gained from the sale of the books. Interesting, Mason dissed this person’s appearance, after noting in previous chapters that he was thankful he wasn’t discriminated against as a young bookseller in jeans and sometimes ratty clothes. But, back to the story. Going through the books back at his shop, he found this woman’s stash of cash, $200 worth of it. Mason kept the money, justifying it by saying the son didn’t deserve it. Remember, this is a person he only met once.
In conclusion, I should say that the book read quickly and the topic was interesting. As a story teller, Mason succeeded. But as a human being, I couldn’t find him sympathetic.
To start with the positives, Mason absolutely nailed it with a quote from British novelist J. Cowper Powys: “Wisest are they who read old books– drink old wine– converse with old friends– and let the rest of the world go.” So true. Mason also has a special place in his heart for librarians, who started him on his path at a very young age. Also, as someone who has personally collected Modern Library editions, I was pleased that the first two books he bought with money he earned were Modern Library books. His memoir is filled with stories of his career, from a young reader, apprenticing in various bookstores, to finally owning his own stores. There are stories that make you smile, cry and laugh, sometimes all at the same time.
But then, many of the stories and his actions are replete with sexism, sleaziness, elitism and egotism. If I had to summarize his memoir in one sentence, it could be: ‘if everyone would just do as I say, all will be well.’ He mocks or deprecates anyone who doesn’t see things his way.
He refers to a woman’s place as being in the home, or at the minimum, doing all the household chores. He relates a story when he and a friend pulled into a self-serve gas station. Mason hadn’t learned to drive at the time and his friend asked if he knew how to work the pump. His reply: “No, I don’t, Reg. But we’re grown men, surely we can figure it out. I see women doing it all the time.” Seriously?
Turning to sleaze, he talks about how he’s had great finds. He haughtily told off a competitor how much money the competitor lost by marking a book Mason bought too low. He often finds books from friends, fellow booksellers and even a mentor that are priced far below their value. Instead of informing his friends, he buys them and then pats himself on the back. You could say that’s business, and he does, but, to me, it seems sleazy, especially to one’s friends or someone who taught you the business. He often says booksellers are a community and they need to help each other out. He seems to like that advice when they’re helping him, but it goes away when he wants to help himself.
At auctions, he said he decides what price a book lot will go for, even if he isn’t interested in it. “I cross out [from his notes] any book I don’t want at any price and, using my code, I note the minimum under which I will not allow anyone else to buy that lot.” He even says he has and will continue to drive up a price against a perceived enemy, just out of spite.
Mason writes that sometimes people store cash in books or use a bill as a bookmark. Mason has purchased libraries that have such books. In one instance, he bought the library of a deceased woman from her son. He despised this son, thinking him uncouth and not deserving of anything gained from the sale of the books. Interesting, Mason dissed this person’s appearance, after noting in previous chapters that he was thankful he wasn’t discriminated against as a young bookseller in jeans and sometimes ratty clothes. But, back to the story. Going through the books back at his shop, he found this woman’s stash of cash, $200 worth of it. Mason kept the money, justifying it by saying the son didn’t deserve it. Remember, this is a person he only met once.
In conclusion, I should say that the book read quickly and the topic was interesting. As a story teller, Mason succeeded. But as a human being, I couldn’t find him sympathetic.
July 25, 2017
First, I should say that Biblioasis (the publisher) has been putting out really great books for several years now. Secondly, I should acknowledge that, like many other links in the great chain of reading, I wouldn't have got onto this great little treasure if I hadn't read "Bookshops - A Cultural History" by Jorge Carrion (and another Biblioasis book), who mentioned it in his book and made it sound as tantalizing as it is.
David Mason is a lifelong reader and book person who, despite starting life as something of a juvenile delinquent (dropping out of school at fifteen), became one of Canada's finest antiquarian booksellers, after stops along the way as a used bookseller, apprentice to a used bookseller, world traveler, lots of odd jobs, a short stint at The Beat Hotel when William S. Burroughs was there, and, yes, a brief spell as the Pope's bookbinder (read the book to find out about that). It's a lovely, entertaining, frequently funny memoir about the importance of books and booksellers in the great scheme of life, with great stories about all the odd characters, strange incidents, peak moments of collecting, the importance of preserving history, and all the other moments which make up a meaningful life.
It's a really delightful read that had me laughing out loud and many times deeply moved by its intelligence and humanity. Anyone with an interest in books, reading, or collecting will find a treasure trove of great stories herein. Lastly, I'd like to thank my friend Natalie Hamilton for doing her job and pointing out Biblioasis to me in the first place and introducing me to so many hours of good reading. - BH.
David Mason is a lifelong reader and book person who, despite starting life as something of a juvenile delinquent (dropping out of school at fifteen), became one of Canada's finest antiquarian booksellers, after stops along the way as a used bookseller, apprentice to a used bookseller, world traveler, lots of odd jobs, a short stint at The Beat Hotel when William S. Burroughs was there, and, yes, a brief spell as the Pope's bookbinder (read the book to find out about that). It's a lovely, entertaining, frequently funny memoir about the importance of books and booksellers in the great scheme of life, with great stories about all the odd characters, strange incidents, peak moments of collecting, the importance of preserving history, and all the other moments which make up a meaningful life.
It's a really delightful read that had me laughing out loud and many times deeply moved by its intelligence and humanity. Anyone with an interest in books, reading, or collecting will find a treasure trove of great stories herein. Lastly, I'd like to thank my friend Natalie Hamilton for doing her job and pointing out Biblioasis to me in the first place and introducing me to so many hours of good reading. - BH.
September 5, 2013
There has been plenty of times that a book lover has gone into a bookstore and wondered about the individual that is sitting behind the till. Is that person the owner of this wonderful location the owner or just a clerk? Is that person a fellow book lover or and cankerous individual out to make a buck? Is that person minding with trepidation what we are doing between their shelves or are they quietly welcoming the company to this magical realm? For those of us who spent time shopping for books in Toronto will recognize the name "David Mason" and his memoir The Pope's Book Binder gives wonderful insight into the world of the book trade.
Page 421- Chapter 21- What Does it all Mean?
I don't think myself as an old man.
My body is indeed crumbling, my age unavoidably bringing me to the edge of the abyss, but I still retain the same two gifts which set my life on its course and continue to fuel everything I do: curiosity and enthusiasm. And they are as strong and as compelling now as they ever were. I know now that they will only die with me.
So I must still worship the book, which game me almost everything I have most treasured.
And as I think of all the books I haven't read, I see that they are like all my sins of omission - the deeds I was too cowardly or too cautious to attempt; or the women I was too timid to pursue. I deeply regret the books I haven't yet read, the dialogues I haven't yet engaged in, the dreams of those dreamers I haven't yet shared. And it is only those unread books that make me a bit sad about the lack of time left. And every day another obsessed dreamer finishes yet another book that I know I will want to read.
But there is still some time left.
Mason is a regular fixture on the book scene in Canada. His many years of experience - both his success and failures - make for an interesting read here.
my complete review on my blog
Page 421- Chapter 21- What Does it all Mean?
I don't think myself as an old man.
My body is indeed crumbling, my age unavoidably bringing me to the edge of the abyss, but I still retain the same two gifts which set my life on its course and continue to fuel everything I do: curiosity and enthusiasm. And they are as strong and as compelling now as they ever were. I know now that they will only die with me.
So I must still worship the book, which game me almost everything I have most treasured.
And as I think of all the books I haven't read, I see that they are like all my sins of omission - the deeds I was too cowardly or too cautious to attempt; or the women I was too timid to pursue. I deeply regret the books I haven't yet read, the dialogues I haven't yet engaged in, the dreams of those dreamers I haven't yet shared. And it is only those unread books that make me a bit sad about the lack of time left. And every day another obsessed dreamer finishes yet another book that I know I will want to read.
But there is still some time left.
Mason is a regular fixture on the book scene in Canada. His many years of experience - both his success and failures - make for an interesting read here.
my complete review on my blog
August 3, 2013
I happily closed this book with the feeling I'd learned something about a business I'd never thought about, or cared to know.
While Mason sometimes comes off to me a bit self-righteous, his stories and anecdotes made me smile more than once. Again, he reminds me how sad it is that independent bookstores are closing rapidly, and even the giants must sell giftware, accessories and housewares to turn a profit.
The writing could use a bit more polishing, and there is one instance in which he describes book theft, the colour of skin of only his worst suspect is mentioned (which bothered me)
Also, he reminds me of my own passion, while less focused than his, that I only recently realized had been lifelong. So many of my childhood memories include a book in my hand, and now that I realize and fuel this passion, I believe I'll live the rest of my life with memories of a book in hand.
Next time I'm in Toronto, I'm going to visit his store.
While Mason sometimes comes off to me a bit self-righteous, his stories and anecdotes made me smile more than once. Again, he reminds me how sad it is that independent bookstores are closing rapidly, and even the giants must sell giftware, accessories and housewares to turn a profit.
The writing could use a bit more polishing, and there is one instance in which he describes book theft, the colour of skin of only his worst suspect is mentioned (which bothered me)
Also, he reminds me of my own passion, while less focused than his, that I only recently realized had been lifelong. So many of my childhood memories include a book in my hand, and now that I realize and fuel this passion, I believe I'll live the rest of my life with memories of a book in hand.
Next time I'm in Toronto, I'm going to visit his store.
March 24, 2021
[4.5/5] A sometimes cantankerous old elitist, Mason can nonetheless tell a fascinating and worthwhile story. I still think about the time I visited his Adelaide store in 2018. He sat down with me (unprompted) and we had a discussion about bookselling. I appreciated then but moreso now his frankness and generosity with a young kid who was just beginning to fully explore a lifelong passion.
April 23, 2021
Wonderfully, my copy was misbound.
February 8, 2023
Title is misleading and it is slow in places but fascinating history of antiquarian book business.
October 16, 2016
If you ever wanted to learn what life in the antiquarian book trade is all about, this is your book.
December 28, 2013
In spite of the title, the book is really the memoirs of a used (or antiquarian) bookseller, based in Toronto for many years. I read bookseller memoirs as a genre, and this one is pretty good. The author outlines his early life, making the reader wonder whether he will ever straighten himself out and become a bookseller, as promised on the jacket. It is interesting to see how a ne'er do well turned himself around and became a successful businessperson. He emphasizes how little he knew at the beginning of his career, and his learning experiences become the reader's.
The book explains a lot about how used booksellers work, their codes, their camaraderie, their competitions, and the occasional fights. Mason seems to have had his share of all of them. Indeed, a few hobbyhorses or prejudices appear, in his dislike of academics, politicians, and other undesirables, based primarily on his bad experiences with a few of them. I didn't necessarily agree with his views, but he writes evocatively of those episodes.
My strongest sense after reading the book was sadness, knowing that this is a culture that is dying out, with the speedy decline (but not death) of the printed word. Although the internet has made it possible to buy used books much more efficiently than before, this has had the result of hastening the demise of experts like Mason, by undercutting their business model. The result is that it is much harder than before to walk into a bookstore and get a tip of a book one would like or advice on the pluses or minuses of any given edition. On the internet, it's strictly caveat emptor and you'd better know what you're doing.
Anyway, this is a good read for lovers of books and bookstores. Perhaps future readers will have to read such books to find out what bookstores in grandad's day were really like.
The book explains a lot about how used booksellers work, their codes, their camaraderie, their competitions, and the occasional fights. Mason seems to have had his share of all of them. Indeed, a few hobbyhorses or prejudices appear, in his dislike of academics, politicians, and other undesirables, based primarily on his bad experiences with a few of them. I didn't necessarily agree with his views, but he writes evocatively of those episodes.
My strongest sense after reading the book was sadness, knowing that this is a culture that is dying out, with the speedy decline (but not death) of the printed word. Although the internet has made it possible to buy used books much more efficiently than before, this has had the result of hastening the demise of experts like Mason, by undercutting their business model. The result is that it is much harder than before to walk into a bookstore and get a tip of a book one would like or advice on the pluses or minuses of any given edition. On the internet, it's strictly caveat emptor and you'd better know what you're doing.
Anyway, this is a good read for lovers of books and bookstores. Perhaps future readers will have to read such books to find out what bookstores in grandad's day were really like.
August 20, 2013
I gladly bought Mason's memoir from having read his immensely entertaining columns in Canadian Notes and Queries (many of which are reprinted or revised). While the transition to a full length work could have used some editing, especially as my interest waned by the end, it's a highly engaging and realistic look into the dramatic world of antiquarian bookselling in Canada. Don't let the jacket copy fool you, however - there's very limited mention of the Pope, drugs or William Burroughs. Rather, the combination of Mason's clearly defined bookselling theory and practice, iron-clad principles, and tales of customers and other sellers makes it worth the read for anyone who has ever haunted a proper used book store.
June 13, 2013
Just finished reading a trade cloth version of the book, and once my review is live on citybookreview.com I will share it here. This book will make a fascinating, one-of-a-kind read for students of literature and book collection. Not only is it educating in and of itself, it is packed with fascinating stories of the antiquarian book trade and the bookselling underground.
I gave it three stars because the writing was not as fully polished as I would have liked; this may have been because it was a pre-print edition.
I gave it three stars because the writing was not as fully polished as I would have liked; this may have been because it was a pre-print edition.
July 9, 2013
Don’t be misled by the title: These aren’t the reflections of a devout Benedictine who has spent decades creating blind-stamped vellum missals for his Holiness. David Mason is, in fact, one of Canada’s most respected antiquarian booksellers. His absorbing memoir might be summed up by a button I recently acquired: “Life? Of course I have a life. It’s a life filled with books.”
Read
September 6, 2014Very interesting book with some wonderful and colourful anecdotes. Mason's passion for the bookselling trade and the profession of book collecting was palpable; unfortunately, I was also left with the impression (I hope it is false) that he was somewhat of a misogynist.
April 26, 2014
Lots of fun. Reveals many stories of life in the book trade in Toronto. Informative and useful for those "in the business".
Want to read
December 9, 2015only put this on my list after looking up the name of a guy who wrote a beautiful article about Australia....which I saw on FB. No urgency to read it but it may fit a reading challenge category?
Read
April 10, 2017Meh.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews