An interview with Michael's Pride and Joys
Biblio checks in with Michael's Pride and Joys to learn more about their book business, collecting interests and more! To view and shop their inventory, click here.
When did you get started in bookselling?
Just now
What drew you to bookselling?
I am not drawn to bookselling. I have been dragged kicking and screaming to let all my treasures wander off to other bibliophiles before I go off to join the great library in the sky.
Did you have any mentors in becoming a bookseller?
No, and I probably need some.
What are your specialties as a dealer?
I know a lot about my books and their authors and aim to impart this knowledge in my descriptions. I am too late to learn how to grade "fine" or "very good" and instead describe every defect. You won't see blather like 'may contain traces of coffee and marmalade on some pages."
What's the most amazing book you've ever sold?
A Geneva bible of 1580, printed in the reign of that other Queen Elizabeth, the one rumoured to have been a boy substituted for the murdered daughter of Henry the Fat
What is your favorite part of being a bookseller?
I hate it
Do you have an open storefront or have you in the past?
No
If so, do/did you have any bookstore pets?
No
What is the funniest / strangest / scariest thing that ever happened in your store?
no store
What is your favorite bookshop (other than your own)?
Russell's in Victoria. Nice people.
What do you personally like to read? Collect?
History
What's your favorite book you personally own? Would you sell it, if the price were right?
The bible. Anson's Voyages. My 1846 atlas. I have no choice. Sell I must within whatever time is left for me to care for my wife
What one book would you buy if price were no object?
Never happen
If you were stranded on a desert island and could bring three books, what would they be?
One above all: the King James for it's beautiful language.