Once upon a tome : the misadventures of a rare bookseller, wherein the theory of the profession is partially explained, with a variety of insufficient examples, / by Oliver Darkshire ; interspersed with several diverting footnotes of a comic nature, ably illustrated by Rohan Eason, published by W.W. Norton, and humbly proposed to the consideration of the public in this year 2023.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Darkshire, Oliver, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Darkshire, Oliver.

Henry Sotheran Ltd.

Antiquarian booksellers--Great Britain--Biography.

Antiquarian booksellers.

Booksellers and bookselling--Great Britain--Biography.

Booksellers and bookselling.

Genre:

Autobiographies.

Biographies.

Physical Description:

ix, 244 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm

Edition:

First American edition.

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : W.W. Norton & Company, 2023.

Summary:

"Some years ago, Oliver Darkshire stepped into the hushed interior of Henry Sotheran Ltd (est. 1761) to apply for a job. Allured by the smell of old books and the temptation of a management-approved afternoon nap, Darkshire was soon unteetering stacks of first editions and placating the store's resident ghost (the late Mr. Sotheran, hit by a tram). By turns unhinged and earnest, Once Upon a Tome is the colorful story of life in one of the world's oldest bookshops and a love letter to the benign, unruly world of antiquarian bookselling, where to be uncommon or strange is the best possible compliment"-- Provided by publisher

Contents:

A note from the author's supervisor

Introduction: The bookseller's apprentice

Antiquarian & general

Art & architecture

Travel & exploration

Natural history

Modern first editions

Appendix: Bookshop: the game.

Local Notes:

Athenaeum copy: In memory of Irvin J. Borowsky from the fund provided by Laurie Wagman.

Other Edition:

Reproduction of: 9781787636040 Darkshire, Oliver. London : Bantam, 2022

ISBN:

9781324092070

1324092076

OCLC:

1371509645