Miller's Collecting Books (Miller's) [Hardcover]

This book was published in 1995,and reprinted in 1996,1998,2000 and 2001.So there seems to be a demand for this book and thus somewhat of a surprise to me that to date there have been no Customer Reviews posted here at Amazon.This could be for a couple of reasons.Possibly the amount of people who enjoy 'books about books'may be much smaller than one would imagine.I know for sure ,I seldom see any at book sales,book fairs,or in fact,at any second use market.It just came to mind,that I don't recall any mention of this type of book made in this book except for a few books about collecting in the back of the book under the heading, General Introduction.Another reason may be that this book is very heavily slanted to British books,only a slight bit about collecting books in America,and almost nothing about the rest of the world.The book has very little to say about the great enjoyment of the large number of people of modest means who enjoy collecting books or the thrills of finding a book one has been searching for and finding it when and where least expected. I read a lot,own about 6000 books and love bookstores,and any kind of book sale,but must admit I am not a collector as portrayed in this book.I guess that's okay as

i am sure there are astute collectors who have bought expensive "collectible' gems who haven't or don't intend to read them.All that said, I did enjoy the book for the information it gave on the methods and technical details involved over the years pretaining to printing ,binding, illustrating and overall manufacture of books.

Fortunately,the rarity,cost and lack of accessibility of many of the books mentioned and illustrated in this book does not put them out of reach as they are available at low cost in different editions.

There is a Glossary at the back of the book,but there are much more detailed ones elsewhere.

The book is well constructed,on quality paper and nice to spend a couple of hours glancing through ;but hardly a reference that will be consulted very often.

My title came from page 117 and I think it says as much about collecting books as the fact that there is some very rare ,very high priced copy of the same book locked away in some secluded cabinet or vault.When it comes to collecting the adage "To each his own" applies,Thank God.

"Booksellers would like you to believe that book collecting is a game with secret rules. Do not believe them" (p. 114, Eric Korn). While this statement rings rather true-- if you are putting considerable time and effort into your collection it should be nothing less than exactly what you want-- the authors tend to contradict the statement frequently. A major theme I found in the book is: don't collect the high spots since you can't afford it, but here's a list of them anyway. If you're simply trying to get a general idea of the world surrounding book collection, this is an excellent approach. Otherwise, it may be better to skip this book.

A great strength of the book is that there are specialized essays for each subject written by those best qualified for them. This gives you a quick reference if you want to figure out where to start when collecting, say, Children's Books. Unfortunately different essays by numerous authors means that some information is repeated, which can be irritating.

The book is also beautifully illustrated with color images of many valuable collected books, including a caption of bibliographic details and projected cost. This is perhaps the best quality of the book.

A previous reviewer quoted: "Modest treasures await on the path less traveled." That is certainly a point the authors like to stress, but just to clear up any misunderstanding, it is not referring to "finds" in some attic. Just before that it reads: "In all these fields the unfrequented paths are less costly and more rewarding. If you specialize aphids instead of butterflies, earthworms (or even better tapeworms) instead of snakes...you will shake off most of the competition and discover unexpected beauties." In other words, DESIRABILITY drives up prices. If you want something less desirable, maybe a more obscure poet like Herrick, collecting him will cost less than works by Whitman. Moby-Dick costs many times more than Redburn. This is Porter's point.

My biggest disappointment was how lightly the history of printing was covered, especially in relation to the specific titles they mentioned. Usually a sentence of background would set up a list of 10 names to collect. If you're looking for a more in-depth history of printing to apply to your collecting, get The Smithsonian Book of Books.

As the previous reviewer mentioned, the book is Anglo-centric. The prices are in pounds, and are (naturally at this point) out of date. While this is somewhat frustrating, it is valuable to be aware of the English perspective on literature that we often miss, and prices kept in mind with dates are still helpful.

Don't hesitate to pick this book up to peruse the book collecting world, but it is milk, not meat, as far as the content.