^ thanks Gis, it certainly is a picturesque city.

I love libraries and wish I could live in one.  :)

I hope you can answer this question. We just picked up a box of OLD books but a lot of them are damaged.  :\'(  After doing some research, we think some of them are rare. Most of the ones we think are rare mainly have binding problems. (The ones that have water damage were not as rare which we are grateful for) We would like to sell them but we are wondering if it would be benefical to have some of them rebound before trying to sell them or sell them as is?



Cat

I hope you can answer this question. We just picked up a box of OLD books but a lot of them are damaged.  :\'(  After doing some research, we think some of them are rare. Most of the ones we think are rare mainly have binding problems. (The ones that have water damage were not as rare which we are grateful for) We would like to sell them but we are wondering if it would be benefical to have some of them rebound before trying to sell them or sell them as is?



Cat
To be honest the only person who could tell you is a specialist in antiquarian books. I'm afraid I don't know the monetary value/ rarity of old books as I'm not trained in that field.
If you have a reputable auction house nearby they should be able to recommend a good specialist to you who should give you an honest opinion as to whether it's worthwhile having the books restored.
On a side note, I am interested in old prints and it occurs to me you may find if the water damaged books have good prints in them that aren't damaged themselves they may be worth selling for those alone. There is often more money than you would expect from selling old prints from a book that might at first glance appear worthless. Even selling them yourself on Ebay might be an idea.
I hope that was of some help and sorry not to have been of more help. :-\\ 

I bought a watercolor in an antique store.  There is a bit of a story behind it but all boiled down it was painted by a fellow named William Pearson in 1810.  It is of the Henley Vicarage in Henley Suffolk. I have all sorts of information on the Vicarage thanks to the very nice people there, but there is very little information on this William Pearson except that his son was John Loughborough Pearson who went on to be a very famous church architect, and is now buried at Westminster.  I do hate to impose, but the question of biographical info on William Pearson is one that has been dogging me, and since he was such a minor
character we don't have anything over here.  Is there anything you could find out about him? I would truly appreciate it and anything I could do to reciprocate would gladly be done?

I bought a watercolor in an antique store.  There is a bit of a story behind it but all boiled down it was painted by a fellow named William Pearson in 1810.  It is of the Henley Vicarage in Henley Suffolk. I have all sorts of information on the Vicarage thanks to the very nice people there, but there is very little information on this William Pearson except that his son was John Loughborough Pearson who went on to be a very famous church architect, and is now buried at Westminster.  I do hate to impose, but the question of biographical info on William Pearson is one that has been dogging me, and since he was such a minor
character we don't have anything over here.  Is there anything you could find out about him? I would truly appreciate it and anything I could do to reciprocate would gladly be done?
Found out a little bit I'll PM it to you.  :) 

I have two types of questions, if that's okay.



1. Have you read The Defense (also known as The Luzhin Defense) by Vlavimir Nabokov? If so, did you understand the end of it? Because I sure didn't. It was rather disappointed.

2. Have you read Watership Down? It's one of my friend's favourite books, and that's kinda why I'm reading it. I'm at the part where Cowslip invited the wandering rabbits to stay with him in his warren, and the book's beginning to..... not be as appealing to me as it once was. If I finish this book, will I be satisfied?



Weird questions, I know. <3

I have two types of questions, if that's okay.



1. Have you read The Defense (also known as The Luzhin Defense) by Vlavimir Nabokov? If so, did you understand the end of it? Because I sure didn't. It was rather disappointed.

2. Have you read Watership Down? It's one of my friend's favourite books, and that's kinda why I'm reading it. I'm at the part where Cowslip invited the wandering rabbits to stay with him in his warren, and the book's beginning to..... not be as appealing to me as it once was. If I finish this book, will I be satisfied?



Weird questions, I know. <3
Hi,
Sorry, no I haven't read 'The Defence' so I  can't help you there.
I did read Watership Down many, many years ago and found the book and the film very upsetting and bawled my eyes out, in my defence I was only about 12 at the time !! Bizarrely I cried more at the ending than I did at some of the dramas throughout the story. I won't tell you what happens and give it away.  ;)
I am kind of cautious about telling people they will love a book because peoples tastes are so different. I the past I've raved about books to npeople and they have hated them which is a bit embarassing. 

Can you really catch a disease or a viral infection from an infected book that has previously been in the hands of someone not so well?

It depends on the type of disease but yes you can ! Much in the same way as if someone with 'flu has sneezed all over a public phone and then you use it next.  :P
Sadly enough I have pondered over the fact that the Smallpox virus can live for hundreds of years, and what if someone had been reading one of our really old books and then carked it from said smallpox and by sheer fluke I happened to be the next person to touch that book.......... I can't say I have researched that in depth, or at all infact, but I comfort myself with the thought that smallpox probably doesn't work like that !

It depends on the type of disease but yes you can ! Much in the same way as if someone with 'flu has sneezed all over a public phone and then you use it next.  :P
Sadly enough I have pondered over the fact that the Smallpox virus can live for hundreds of years, and what if someone had been reading one of our really old books and then carked it from said smallpox and by sheer fluke I happened to be the next person to touch that book.......... I can't say I have researched that in depth, or at all infact, but I comfort myself with the thought that smallpox probably doesn't work like that !
To cherish the thought for the day, I have picked up a library book today, perhaps I should have gone to Boots (the Chemists) and brought surgical gloves and masks.

To cherish the thought for the day, I have picked up a library book today, perhaps I should have gone to Boots (the Chemists) and brought surgical gloves and masks.
Don't let me put you off, I just think too much sometimes ! Enjoy your book I'm sure the last person to read it and the staff who stamped it are in the best of health.  ;D

Don't let me put you off, I just think too much sometimes ! Enjoy your book I'm sure the last person to read it and the staff who stamped it are in the best of health.  ;D
The librarian did smile at me and wish me a good day.

Didn't C.S. Lewis teach at Oxford for some time? Or am I thinking of Cambridge? Or is Oxford in Cambridge? (ahh, bloody hell  ;D )

Didn't C.S. Lewis teach at Oxford for some time? Or am I thinking of Cambridge? Or is Oxford in Cambridge? (ahh, bloody hell  ;D )
Yes C.S Lewis is from Oxford, and no Oxford is not in Cambridge. Both have big universities and there is a great rivalry between the two hence the boat race etc ! 

What's the most valuable/rarest book in your vast collection?

What's the most valuable/rarest book in your vast collection?
I could tell you but then I'd have to kill you.  ;)

Seriously though, I don't know which single book is the most valuable. We have lots of rare books/manuscripts etc on various different subjects. Also personal books that have been annotated by the author or famous owner in their own hand. Or handwirtten manuscripts and letters that belonged to famous people. We have a Guttenberg bible which is worth a few quid, and some of Queen Elizabeth the 1st's books but as you can imagine they are kept securely locked away from the likes of me !

I could tell you but then I'd have to kill you.  ;)

Seriously though, I don't know which single book is the most valuable. We have lots of rare books/manuscripts etc on various different subjects. Also personal books that have been annotated by the author or famous owner in their own hand. Or handwirtten manuscripts and letters that belonged to famous people. We have a Guttenberg bible which is worth a few quid, and some of Queen Elizabeth the 1st's books but as you can imagine they are kept securely locked away from the likes of me !


Aww, I was just about to send in my application to be a librarian at Oxford...

Do you have any secret books in the library that are always kept unfer the counter?

Do you have any secret books in the library that are always kept unfer the counter?
Umm, if you are refering to books of an illicit nature, yes we do and they are stored in a securely locked area.They did used to be kept in the bookstack with everything else but strangely enough they kept disappearing........
They can be ordered but the reader has to consult them in a seperate room and is invigilated at all times !