Dealers Books

This is a nice book if you happen to be in areas where these folks seem to like to travel. Otherwise, you're probably missing some of the greatest shops. Certainly, in my area their listings leave a LOT to be desired. They've missed our best shops and put in some that the local antiquers don't even bother with usually. It's sort of funny how they manage to miss the best and get the rest a lot of times. Anyway, if it's under 5 bucks its worth it. If it's over that... look for a local antique publication at any shop you stop at or just ask people you meet. You'll probably get more info, at least if you're off the beaten path this trio travels.

The accuracy of this book was absolutely amazing! I believe this is the most comprehensive book of its kind on the market--not only did it list antique shops across the country, but also side stories and history about them! I recommend this to everyone thats looking for those hard to find shops while traveling!

You will never feel guilty again when you collect. After reading this book I will pick up anything anywhere that means something to me - no matter what others might think!

Rosamond Purcell's photography class was on a field trip when she and her students first came upon William Buckminster's land. The eccentric antiques / junk dealer of Owls Head, Maine, had eleven acres of stuff piled high, in mounds and mounds, in and around several buildings. At first the artist in Purcell was intrigued; she was moved to photograph individual objects or random groupings of items. Then at various times over 20 years, she continued to stop to buy things and to talk to Buckminster himself. She took the items back to her own studio in Boston, where she arranged and rearranged them into her own special kind of artwork. And we're not talking about "whole" objects here -- rather, they include broken toys, books in varying stages of disintegration, pieces of furniture, old lobster traps, window frames, rusted parts of machinery.

Gradually Buckminster took on a near-mentor role for Purcell, and it's obvious the two vastly different people came to care about each other. She took him to museums and doctor?s appointments, he took her to pool halls. And as they climbed around the junk piles and investigated nooks and crannies in the buildings, Purcell learned more about Buckminster's personal history. The result is a kind of dual biography pressed against the backdrop of both the antique business and the art world, sometimes questioning which is which.

Some of Purcell's b&w photos accompany the text. But only the photo printed on the cover flyleaves gives us a grander perspective, as a wide shot of the property shows a pile of indecipherable objects stretching from one building to the next, one story high. Reading this book could be a nightmare for neat freaks. It can be heartening to those of us who are ordinary pack rats by comparison; for even after just a few pages, we can say to ourselves, "Well, at least I'm not THAT bad."

This is an unusual book, and it's difficult to nail down what audience it might appeal to. Fellow photographers may be interested in Purcell's process and artist's eye. Fans of Maine life might enjoy the depiction of the eccentricity of a real Down Easter. Still others might enjoy a respite from typical genres. You will certainly look at junk yards differently after reading this one.

Every one who wants to take the stockbroker exam (Series 7)should have this manual in their possession. A very thorough guide (reccommended for people who are going to be in the business, and are taking Series 7 classes). This guide is more than what you need for the Series 7. If you want to know about the business, or want a study guide that explains everything crystal clear (step-by-step), you may want to go with Barrons

If you need more than a layman's background in the market, but don't need an MBA, get this book. It is a good reference to have for anybody who has money invested in mutual funds, bonds, stocks and the such. A book like this should sit on just about anyone's book shelf, along with the dictionary and thesaurus. As for a test book, I haven't taken the test, so I can't really tell you if it is any good for that

I like this book (about opening a Chicago bookshop in 1946), because it shows that people who love books often have no business knack at all, and they tend to be idealists, too, they cannot help it:
Quote:
" They bought many books that morning.... It was wonderful- but it was awful when I had to take their money!"
"I am not interested in giving the public what it wants.... I have never had what the public wanted to read, and I lost out because of it.... I felt my job was to get people to jump- to read something, old or new, that could engage them in some real vision of human possibilities..."
Boy, they don't make'em like that anymore. In 2006 no one could run a shop like that. Too bad!

Good books by book sellers are hard to find, and this one is not only good, but definitely a pleasure to read. I wish it had included more details about how to succeed in the business of selling books, but I quickly realized that the author lived in an entirely different era than the one we have now of internet book selling. The author started in business at a time when the world was not sure that television would last and many wiser than he had not survived in the business of selling books.

Originally published in 1962, this book is the autobiography of Brent Stuart, a successful Chicago book seller. His venture into book selling started after World War II, when as a young man fresh out of the Army, he opened a small book and music store. He admits he knew almost nothing about business, and he shares what he learned while struggling to survive. He also shares about the people he knew, many of whom were very helpful to him in his early years. He drops a lot of names, no doubt many of whom were very well-known in that era, among the most famous of whom are Katherine Hepburn, Gore Vidal, and Ernest Hemingway. Unfortunately, the book does not have an Index, which would be helpful when one is looking to find an interesting part that is worth reading aloud to friends.

One of the parts of the book I found most interesting was his account of his business and social dealings with Dr. Lionel Blitzsten, a wealthy psychoanalyst. Dr. Blitzsten encouraged and helped him to develop a current catalog of psychiatric books, and the sales of those books greatly helped his business to prosper. He describes his first impression of Dr. Blitzsten in almost poetic yet graphic details: "What was really arresting (and somewhat terrifying) about this fat, puffing little man was the face. Above the glasses, the skull seemed all forehead; beneath, the clean-shaven skin was baby pink and the mouth shaped like a rosebud and just as red. That was it, the mouth -- and when he spoke, the voice was musical, no longer deep, but rather high in pitch." Dr. Lionel hosted social gatherings which many clamored to attend. The author defines the social atmosphere at Dr. Lionel's home as a coterie, and his eloquent description of it is:

"The machinery of a coterie is simple; the reasons behind its operation and its subtle influence on the lives of those drawn into its orbit are complex almost beyond endurance. Essentially, the coterie consists of a number of people who hold similar views on unimportant things. Everyone admitted must observe a cardinal prohibition: to say nothing fundamental about anything. All must follow the leader, employ a common stock of expressions, adopt the same mannerisms, profess the same prejudices, affect the same bearing, and recognize a common bond of impenetrable superficiality."

The author also provides details about early television in Chicago and his role in a daily TV program titled "Books and Brent," in which he reviewed books. He also briefly gives details about his personal life, the businesses of publishing and writing books, his favorite cabin retreat at Bark Point in Wisconsin, and his adventures in a summer stock theater in suburban Chicago. Some of his secrets about how to succeed in the business of selling books include hosting chamber music parties and author signings at his book store, as well as having the help and support of good friends.

Save this one for a treat on a long winter night. It is an easy and entertaining read, yet very interesting for its portrayal of the author and his era. While the author does not preach or make recommendations about how to succeed in the business of selling books, his philosophy is shared in the telling of his stories. His life is an American success story packed with interesting details about life and business in the 1950s.

This DVD-ROM only contains data file relating to SEC. Most of the SEC contents in this DVD-ROM are available in the internet. However, This DVD-ROM includes a large scope of information that makes it convenient to do research without having to browse the internet all over the places. Most of the files are in the PDF format. Can come in handy if installed in the notebook.

I found this book to be very interesting on many levels. I am from Kennebunkport so it is locally very interesting and my mother was very interested in antiques and dragged me along in her travels. The book is a facinating look at the start of the antique trade and life at that time. I highly recommend it!

This book can be easily confused with the similiarly titled "Art Price Index" - so make sure you know which is which. This auction record index is thorough but it doesn't include buy in prices. Auction prices are listed in british pounds and dollars. The sale date and auction house is included for each record but the media of the work is missing for some of the records - mysterious and annoying.

In the 1st book in the Molly Doyle mystery series, Elaine Flinn introduces us to Molly Doyle, antiques dealer. Previously known as Elizabeth Porter in New York, Molly changes her name and starts a new life in Carmel, California. Running away from a scandal in the tight knit antiques business, Molly decides to lay low for awhile and save money to open her own shop in New Orleans. All of this seemed like a good plan until a dying woman stumbles into her arms and wraps Molly up in murder and antique mayhem. A couple of murders follow, and Molly works closely with the police to stop the murderer in his/her tracks.

This was a great introduction to the series! Molly is sassy, smart, and full of information on antiques. Different than many of the cozies on the market (Molly does smoke, drink, and swear), it has an interesting premise and a great host of characters. They all seem real, and have real emotions and everyday concerns. I will definitely pick up future books in the series.

Enjoy!

Particularly enjoyable for her rather obscure selection of an alphabet by which to write about food. If you want more, I recommend the compendium The Art of Eating, by the same author. This woman really enjoyed food, even the simplest meal, which might even be eaten alone and enjoyed more for the experience.

I liked the story of a woman who goes floating around "from body to body" like the evil spirit in the Denzel washington thriller "Fallen"--except of course she's not evil, just kind of languid and dreamy in an Anais Nin kind of way. The late Susan Sontag gave this novel high praise. and reading it you can see why it would appeal both to Sontag's high intelligence and her love of the sensual and elegant. In a way, the heroine's affair with a married man, and her encounters with his soignee mother, the Princess, are the materials of a Henry James study in contrasting cultures. We warm to the Princess for her beautifully understated way of handling everything, as we did Isak Dinesen. In one amusing episode she has to sit in an uncomfortable chair while listening to a speech. "She sat upright and did not stir. Only towards the end of three hours did I notice a slight shifting in her seat. She said, 'If I find the person who designed this chair, I'll throw it in his face.'" However, her son Hare is pretty innocuous and the heroine's love affair with him is pretty lukewarm compared to her miscellaneous observations about the princess.

The Readers Digest used to have a running feature where you could write in and tell all about "The Most Unforgettable Character You Ever Met." In this book, the unforgettable one is the princess. And yet everyone has a story, an engrossing one.

When the heroine tries to buy an air conditioner, you can see why people think Gini Alhadeff a fine writer. "Reason epople did not quibble over the noise an air conditioner made--one so promisingly named Quietmaster. It must mean, I thought, that other brands were even noisier. sought once again to extract from Mr. Lin an opinion as to which brand might be quieter." Don't you love the concision of that well chosen verb, "extract"? "But he went into his philosophical dissertation once again, starting with 'Every machine different...' and ending with '...not possible to know.' But then he had a sudden illumination. 'Machine very noisy because room very quiet--you writer.'"

Okay, so he sounds a bit like Charlie Chan, still it's interesting, unlike so many novels written today.