In today’s episode we’re talking about past appraisal customers who ended up being dramatically, confidently, and sometimes abrasively wrong about their signed books. Anyone can look at an inscribed title page and get excited—you want to believe that your book’s former owner was that A. Lincoln, and not just a Lincoln. This is why booksellers and appraisers have to be cautious, do their research, and consult with colleagues, especially when it comes to big, thrilling items. Occasionally your appraisee’s belief in their impossible inscription will persist in the face of pretty compelling evidence—that the signed book in question was printed decades after the death of United States President Abraham Lincoln, for example—and they’ll storm out or hang up on you, hopefully to seek a second opinion. Learn more about the shop’s least likely finds on this farcical new #brattlecast.
Brattlecast #174 - Maps of Old Boston
Today in the studio we have a pair of old Boston maps, from 1803 and 1863. Boston is probably built on more man-made land than any other city in North America, so its maps tell a dramatic story of geographical transformation spurred by prosperity, pollution, technological advances, and social change. The first map is from a Boston Directory—like an 1800’s Yellow Pages where you could look up your innkeeper or ropemaker—and depicts a slender peninsula between the Harbor and the Charles River; Washington Street exists already but becomes an island at high tide. Our second map is from an auction catalog selling plots of land in the newly created, or still in progress, Back Bay neighborhood (formerly a bay). One of Boston’s most desirable areas today, Back Bay was built to seclude affluent families from an increasingly crowded and impoverished downtown—essentially creating a miniature suburb in the heart of the city. Listen to learn more about Boston’s history and cartography on this orienting #brattlecast.
Brattlecast #173 - Trends in Collecting
Today we’re talking about trends in book collecting and the ways that they reflect larger cultural changes. Newly nostalgic millennials aren’t shopping for their parents’ rare books—Horatio Alger is out, and Harry Potter is in. Books on science and space exploration have seen their prices skyrocket thanks to an influx of tech-money collectors. Works of LGBTQ+ history, poetry by Black authors, and environmentalist classics like Silent Spring are becoming more valuable, while the prices of Confederacy-adjacent collectables plummet. Join us for a trendy #brattlecast on what’s new in novels.
Brattlecast #172 - Emotional Attachments
What’s the hardest thing about buying used books? For Ken, it’s not coming to a monetary agreement with the seller, or even moving a large collection—it’s the sentimental bonds that readers form with their libraries. In today’s episode we talk about emotional factors that come up when we look at books: family disputes, estate dramas, and people who, deep in their hearts, aren’t ready to part with the books they’re trying to sell us. Plus, we lighten the mood with a story about Somerset Maugham’s bad friend. Listen for a lesson in bookseller psychology on this priceless #brattlecast.
Brattlecast #17 - Ties That Bind
Father and son build a business together in this very special Brattlecast, as Ken gives Jordan an in-depth look at his relationship with his father, and how George Gloss turned his shop into a destination stop for book lovers from all over the world.
