A Mild Case of Bibliomania
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- Опубликовано: 4 окт 2024
- Raymond Russell tells the story of his bibliomania, how his book collection has grown and changed over the years, and how it led to the founding of the Tartarus Press, which has published rare work by some of the writers he collects, including Arthur Machen, Sylvia Townsend Warner and Robert Aickman.
www.tartaruspress.com 
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"The bibliophile is the master of his books, the bibliomaniac their slave."-
Hanns Bohatta (1864-1947)
@Musa Crosby, I DEFINITELY DON'T GIVE A SHIT ABOUT INSTAGRAM.
I too have many books, but I am not a "collector". I am mainly a reader. I believe if a book is worth reading , it is worth keeping. So my collection has grown into several thousand volumes in 60 years. There are three problems book maniacs face: money to buy books, time to read, and space to keep. The first problem I solved by reducing other expenditure: I don't go to movies, I don't go to expensive restaurants, I resort to public transport. I have not seen movies in 40 years. I do not wear expensive branded clothes or shoes. So money is found for books. My chief pleasure is reading books. I do not read newspapers, do not watchTV., so I have at least 4-5 hours daily for serious reading. Space- i cannot find , as I live in an apartment complex where nothing can be added or expanded. So my books are lying everywhere in my place. My collection is essentially non-fiction, apart from the old Classics. I do not like modern fiction or poetry. I have not read a modern novel in 40 years. My last favourite authors were Nevil Shute, A.J.Cronin, Harper Lee, Louis L'Amour. Even then my collection has grown.
It was difficult to get hardbacks here in India till some time ago. Now we get used books on line though shipping costs quite a bit. We do get bargains on Amazon, or in some used book shops. Books are exalted company.
I am an enemy of paperbacks, especially glued paperbacks like Penguins. I only buy them when there is no alternative in essential cases as in the translations from the Greek by Robin Waterfield. I do not touch mass market stuff. But of late, the quality of so called new hardcovers is also not uniformly good so one has to be careful.
I’m the same….hardbacks only, non -fiction. Learning is my goal. Difficult works included. I’m trying to find people to do a mini book club for this sort of material but it’s hard to find anyone.
You have a good taste !!
You know what you're talking about clearly, I also took a pledge years ago to never purchase a 'paperback' book, specifically those 'perfect-bind' ones that do not last more than a couple years before falling apart. And I've also noticed newer books trying to cheat by having hardback covers yet being equally poor quality on the inside: Cheap glue, no sewn binding, fragile spines, and often the hardback covers are cloth-bound in a type of cloth that lasts very little as well. It seems today if you want a book to last more than 10 years you have to buy books that are at least 20 years old
Can I please come and take a look at your collection, I am willing to come to where ever your home is...
It seems like you have created a temple of sorts 😊 and I would love have a look at it.
I stay in Bangalore, Mr nanjappa and I imagine you do too, I'm excited to meet you sir and see the book collection.
I'm happy to see other people share my love & fascination with books.
Beautiful.
I love books. Always have and always will.
I am not a collector. I simply want to have my little friends always at my side and they bring endless hours of enjoyment and learning.
I absolutely agree with you!
In this universe we are all given an unprecedented lifespan. If collecting books by the hundreds, thousands, hundreds of thousands, is what brings a person the utmost joy in life, that person has the right to enjoy their lifespan.
Good lord, I just discovered this channel, and I'm amazed at the similarity as to how we got started collecting. And I imagine that many others watching this can relate as well. It's a wonderful hobby, the biggest obstacle to which is space. I stopped collecting as such about 20 years ago, when it became obvious that I would soon cross the line into "hoarding" if I didn't. Now, I only purchase and keep books I actually read, and even so, space in my house is dwindling, despite putting up more shelves. If money were no object, I'd still be collecting, and I would have a separate building built just to house my library. It would be furnished with nice tables and chairs which visitors could use when perusing my collection, and everything would be neatly arranged and organized. Hats off to you, Mr. Russell, for starting your publishing company to keep the spirit alive.
Q
Your commentary is appealing to both eyes and ears, sir.
I have watched this video many times over the past few years and I think it is by far my favorite video on all of RUclips. I can identify with this on so many levels.
Me too I don't know maybe its his wonderful narration
+Nasha Naufal - He does have a very nice voice for narration. Maybe he could have his own radio show some day, in which these books could be discussed. Oh, wait. A quick look at the RUclips recommendations to my right seem to show that he is already doing that here. Well, I know what I'll be doing tonight!
This must strike a chord with many collectors. I like the calm wisdom here, and the non-prescriptive approach. This is true knowledge, and a world away from prissy perfectionism.
I wouldn't go to the extent of calling myself a bibliophile. In spite of that however, I can't help but appreciate this video enough. There's something about the narrator's voice and the manner in which the video has been shot that keeps pulling me back to this video.
You've expressed, more elegantly than I, that special thrill of meeting a book and deciding to make a place in my home for it. I often wonder where my books have been and what their previous owners have thought of them along the way. Thanks for the video. If I am book-mad, at least I'm not alone.
coffeemachtspass Don't confuse harmless desire to read and collect books with the obsession with collecting books because of the delusion that every book has value. I my experience people put a kind of double value on books. One is that the book "may contain valuable literature" and second, "it has value just because it is printed". And since "all reading is good" all books must have value. Result: vey unhelathy hoarding of books.
I have known a couple of people whose collecting has "got out of hand", but not because they were collecting books "just because it is printed." Both were very careful about what books they accumulated and both had reasonable justifications for their ownership of each book. However, one could not afford his collecting habits, and another found that they physically had problems keeping them in the house.
StopFear That every book has value certainly betrays a delusional attitude. That some are worth owning is just as certain. That some very few merit real obsession is incontrovertible and is the measure of taste.
R.B. Russell Personally, I have sometimes waited years to acquire an item. I wouldn't place blame on the book lust that compels, but on the temperament of self-control that lacks.
First half is bit like hearing myself explain my way of amazing books to people when they exclaim surprise at how many I have and why I enjoy it so much
There is nothing more beautiful than a book beautifully bound and illustrated
This was such a relaxing video to listen to and watch. really did enjoy this
A visual ode to the book. An autobiography presented through books.
One of the best narrations on RUclips I've ever heard. Excellent job!
Beautiful video.
I'm in the process of relocating 1,500 collectable (some very rare and scarce) books and am inspired by your remarks.
We have such stories to tell, do we not !
What a pleasant video. I completely understand this mania, having personally suffered from it for many years.
This is extremely enlightening and beautiful. Thank you for sharing your experiences as a reader and collector. I, too, second the vote below. Please keep up your great stream of books; it does not go unnoticed.
This is certainly a fantastic RUclips channel.
I found this by accident, having last night finished the Sylvia -David letters. I felt rather sad as I hear my aunt Janet's voice when I read those letters and miss her still , then there was her distintive signature on one of your books. Im glad that you like Arthur and Sylvia . The video was very moving , I will look out for your books. Andrea Machen
very enjoyable video,I sometimes worry too that I am collecting too many books....but there is always another one that I have to have!
hats off, you have the most amaizing library I have seen. I'm going to favorite this video, when I'm done reading the books that I bought I'm going to look for the authors you showed us. thank you so much!
Lovely & cockle-warming...as someone who has loved books & pursued literary obsessions throughout my life it is good to know there are others out there...good man!
I may be an odd hybrid: I would probably be considered a minimalist but I love books; there are so many in different categories and genres that I want to read; I'm hungry for stories and for information--and I have too books for my efficiency apartment! I volunteer for book sales and can get some books for free but I'm also a slow reader: this is not a good combination! I've had the pleasure of discovering authors through 2nd-hand sales and I enjoy passing some of those books to others.
Your voice is so calming.
Appreciation from a decade or more later 😁
Very happy to find both your website and this video. Your book bindings are both appealing and in a fading style. Thank you for the video.
A wonderful personal story!
Thank you! :-)
Loved this. Fascinating content and gorgeous relaxing voice.
Lovely. Truly. What a pleasant video. I enjoyed your narration tremendously. And I admire your book collection.
Early dust jackets appear to have been quite plain and were intended purely as protection for books (and were therefore usually discarded.) But then somebody realised that a nice design, a splash of colour, and a blurb made a book more marketable... Because they are fragile and easily damaged (unlike books themselves), jackets now assume a value for collectors out of all proportion to their intrinsic importance...
This was fantastic! Thank you for a walk down your literary lane!
love all you do all very well produced from the dustjacket binding through to the last page, i have many favourite authors but robert aickman comes tops, my friend richard dalby put me on to your press and ash tree press, who are now in canada i believe, thank you for bringing sunshine in to a very rainy day here in north devon.
I used to love getting the Scholastic catalogs in school.
Hi Andrea - although I have Arthur and Sylvia's signatures in several books, it's Janet's inscription that I treasure most. She meant so much to so many people, and I still miss her.
And without Janet there would have been no Tartarus Press!
Beautiful collection of books.
This must strike a chord with many collectors. I like the calm wisdom here, and the non-precriptive approach. This true knowledge, and a world away from prissy perfectionism.
I find your voice soothing; worthy of an ASMR channel. I think if you read a half hour story in your voice and video style you might find success on RUclips.
The deep beauty of sincere thoughts, thanks for sharing this content (:^D)
Wow very interesting video I enjoyed hearing about your collection and hearing about authors etc 🙂☺🤗👍👍
I am wondering if you are still checking your channel. It is really interesting to hear about book collectors and to listen to you about your own collection. Would love to know more about how you got started. But thank you for the videos you have with other collectors. I spent a wonderful afternoon watching them (while a new carpet was being fitted in one of the rooms of our house).
Yes, I do check :-) I wish I had more time to make further videos--I will in due course.
@@RBRussellTartarus Why did RUclips not tell me you had replied, thank you so much, I hadn't expected a response.
@@RBRussellTartarus I was in London at the weekend (I live in Sussex) and looked in the windows of a couple of antique book shops (in Cecil Court, near Soho) and was tempted to go in - but refrained from doing so.
I also browsed the First Editions that Hatchards had in stock (£75 for a FE of the "Collins Guide to English Parish Churches" - I didn't purchase it.)
And all this from watching your videos. Admittedly, hardly ground breaking, but before seeing your videos, I wouldn't have even looked in the windows or at the FE shelves.
@@ashleyp.4932 It is a potentially dangerous addiction, but a rewarding one :-) I admire your self control!
I love PG Tips ... discarded them by accident, now it's the only black tea I drink. I also collect Folio Society and Easton Press limited editions of the great works of literature that I've read (usually on paper back) but I keep the handsome leather bound works of art on my shelves for as much of an aesthetic as a love for their content.
Thanks for this video I've never heard of Machen or Warner or Allen but they sure sound interesting - found some books on amazon by Machen and Warner and will order them but nothing by Allen.
Yes, I have a copy of Mark's The Man Who Collected Machen. I'm not sure how many years ago I first met the author, but it was through the old Arthur Machen Society :-) Ligotti's Teatro Grottesco was a very generous gift from the publisher...
I agree; the advent of the internet has caused us all to re-evaluate the meaning of "rare". A lot of the fun has gone out of collecting since it is no longer about availability, but affordability.
As Lord Henry Wotton once said: "Nowadays people know the price of everything and the value of nothing."
Over the years I have learned that a book's value rests not in the amount of money it may or may not fetch on the second-hand market but in the value (significance) it has for me personally; i.e. who gave it to me, or when and where I bought it. Therefore, my most valuable book is a tatty copy of Enid Blyton's Brer Rabbit Book, a childhood Christmas present from my parents in 1967.
10 years later and I get recommended this haha. Nice collection btw.
I've watched a couple of your films now. They really are excellent and very suited to my interest. More bibliophilic videos would be much appreciated. Perhaps tours of your favourite bookshops?
I have 10,000 books. I'm really proud of myself
WAR
Sri Lanka
Nice. Our house has, I think, 7 or 8,000. We are always adding to, organizing, and refining the collection. 10,000 is the inventory of a small bookstore, impressive!
Lovely work. Glad to have discovered your story and press.
Vídeo incrível. É interessante ouvir alguém falar sobre seu amor aos livros, só quem também é bibliófilo compreende
Am I the only american who finds English accents soothing.when I have trouble sleeping I pop in one of my BBC dvds.does the job
Wonderful video Ray! Thanks for sharing it.
every person should be allowed to acquire all the books they can and it either gets passed on to another curator or donated to a Museum or another family who wants them , unwanted books should go to a re seller store :) QC
I collect the Knoph Yellow edition Machens... you are right about how the internet ruined the hunt....
This is art i feel contented
Amazing voice.
I'm really pleased you like them. This was the first of the videos, done as a trial run before interviewing Mark Valentine, Reggie Oliver and others. A new video should be ready to upload pretty soon...
Enjoyable! thanks
Wonderful video. very, very, interesting
Hey, I got my copy of The Rebel by Camus. I've had it since '84. Did you understand it? I've never met anyone to discuss this philosophical thought book with.
It is many years since I read The Rebel and I'm not sure I could comment on it now. His various writings left an emotional feeling as much as an intellectual legacy--a sense of nihilism that I found fascinating, but which I was never really attunded to. I always found Hesse easier to read (apart from The Glass Bead Game) because his characters and situations were somehow more real and relateable.
@@RBRussellTartarus thank you for the reply. I shall re visit this book. All those years ago and to this day I have a interest in more existential thought including nihilism, and dialectics etc. I must re read to see if it makes more sense to me and see if it resonates or not philosophically speaking. Thank you once again.
Fantastic!!
I can say easily that I really enjoyed it. Thanks
This is awesome.
My life story.
At the turn of the 19th/20th century nobody cared about jackets, which is why they are often incredibly rare, and some experts dispute whether many books had jackets then. Collectors have valued them for a long time since, though, and it is simply a case of supply and demand -- older jackets in fine condition are rare, and collectors will pay extra for such examples, regardless of the quality of the illustrations, blurbs etc. Collecting habits don't necessarily make sense to non-collectors ;-)
Wonderful.
Amazing video. If you've collected Machen you might wanna take a look at the collection "The Man Who Collected Machen and Other Weird Tales" by Mark Samuels. =) Breathtaking to see such a rare edition of Ligotti's Teatro Grottesco, it must have cost a bundle.
The old grey green Penguin Moderns. You either get it or you don't.
Excellent video, I should do something similar to illustrate my descent into bibliomania.
wow - great video!!!!
The two authors I would like to own a copy of all there work is Jack Kerouac and Yukio Mishima(all the books which have been translated into English at least).
Thank's for introducing me to new authors here, really love learning about authors I'v yet to read. :)
Oh my god id kill for enid blyton original copies?? I was embarrassed before because the copy i have looks so childish, i enjoy the mystery series so much.
Space is the issue and the final frontier.
Wow
Currently possess 489 books. Probably do need to slim down that number a bit.
Why is your voice so familiar? Do you read books for Audible?
yes!!! I know messy American..but I've been trying to let go of some. So do you think bibliomania is hereditary?
+melissa solt I'm not sure that it is. I don't know where mine came from as there were not many books in the house when I grew up, and my grandparents never collected books. Perhaps I am compensating for them--making up for their lack of books :-)
+melissa solt I think the COLLECTING impulse may be hereditary. It may have something to do with a preternatural anxiety to simultaneously accumulate and then protect things of interest. Possessing something valuable in a protective way may be a neurological impulse genetically determined. But the objects themselves will vary. My own bibliophilia is definitely protective: I fear for something scarce or uncommon being discarded, abandoned, or left to the elements.
My collecting impulse is definitely books. I try not to. Also dolls.. apparently that creeps people out. Not so much now. But still stuck on mckays.
Theomite who are you
melissa solt
Just a bibliophile and a hypochondriac who knows lots of useless information and infers what he can from what he learns.
Amazing collection and a very fine hobby. Did u read them or mostly just collect due to lack of time of course? I mean it's impossible as a collector to read every page of every book, but did u say read say over 50% by pages?
I've read most of the books in my collection, but there should always be a few books on anybody's shelves that are just waiting their turn to be read...
@@RBRussellTartarus U are very well read. One trade-off of having a very sizeable collection is that u won't necessarily have the time to get very familiar with every one of them. There should be a soft limit to one's recall capacity to make reading useful. But this is probably a wonderful trade off than having too small a database. If reading a book is like eating a meal, then most people are fine with enjoying the meal than remembering the taste. I suppose that's true to reading books.
Please read audiobooks my god sir your voice is like butter
A room full of books in my own house is why I want to earn money😂
I wish you would re issue A Grave For A Dolphin by Alberto Denti Di Pirajno.
Wow, does Thomas Ligotti do much signing??
Very little - is quite a private person and doesn't attend conventions, events etc., which is a shame because in correspondence he is entertaining and thoughtful. My signed copies of his books have all come courtesy of his publishers.
I try to read the majority of books I buy
Can you recommend the best Arthur Machen stories, apart from The White People, and The Great God Pan.
The stories in the portmanteau novel The House of Souls are all worth reading. The best later story is possibly "N", and I would recommend trying his novels--The Hill of Dreams is wonderful.
The Great God Pan creeped me out, and assails me whenever i think about it. And am looking for another fix of that. I shall be checking those out right now, thanks for the swift reply.
a pretty nice commercial
I have to break it to you, i faintly regret, though this may indeed be a fourth or fortieth opinion, you have acute biblioenthusiasms of the highborn kinsman. Incurable, i'm so sorry.
This guy sounds like Brian May!
Mania is an incorrect and offensive term, all those books are perfectly normal and healthy
you're killing me. ouch.
I buy only what I read carefully. The book is not on the paper.
Actually, while you describe book collecting as a harmless hobby based on a desire to read but bibliomania is a disorder and as other manias it can be destructive or destructive. I am not trying to diagnose whether it a a disorder in your case. I don't know enough details of your life or enough about the symptoms but I do know people who have take obsession with reading and collecting books to very unhealthy levels. Some people attribute an unfounded value to every book they see. I mean like every paperback they saw put outside the curb they'd take them home and store them. These persons wouldn't ever get to reading the books they picked up while at the same time they ran out of most space at home. I mean these people literally had boxes of books in their bathroom and hallways. I used their bathroom a few times and, it's kind of funny, I realized how the books as an object were taking over tenor lives. They didn't have space to put toilet paper supplies.
I take your point. I called the video a "mild" case of bibliomania because I am aware that my desire to acquire books is often for reasons that go beyond a simple desire to read. It is something I try not to give in to. The accumulation of books is generally pretty harmless, but, as with all manias, of course it can be destructive if extreme.
R.B. Russell ok. Thanks for not taking my comment too personally.
I've spent 50+ years despairingly writing the largest illustrated book since Leonardo and-or Henry Darger called The Autobiography of God Almighty [= someone had to take the dare]. It's stored in my art-gallery [see RUclips Dolcedo Art of the Thunderbolt Ground-floor & Mezzanine + the BBC film The Lose Genius likewise on RUclips]. We've just purchased 2 medieval rooms above my galleria to decant huge amounts of books & artworks, because my villa is choccablock. My volume deals with maths, logic, philosophy, literature, theology, religion, foundations of languages ETC & given I was outed by UK Mil Intel as the highest IQ ever in HM Armed Forces & equated with William James Sidis IQ 250-300, I assure you there's nothing remotely like this Manual of Deification ever written [see RUclips Jim Overbeck goes to hell + RUclips Jim Overbeck explains his art 1, 2 & 3. I watched your page because of a vague memory 60+ yrs ago that Arthur Machen got slammed by Jack Johnson. Jesus, I've just noticed your 2011 date - you might well be gone.
I am still confused sorry..
Still confused about what?
@@RBRussellTartarus about everything tbh
@@sharpnelshots Your honesty does you credit! If you can articulate your confusion, maybe you can be helped!
@@RBRussellTartarus Well I was mostly confused with how from a collector of books to being a co-founder and wondering how it could help many new people who are into reading these books will appreciate the work done
@@sharpnelshots It wasn't intended to be a guide or suggestion of how to go about collecting or publishing. It is more a personal story, showing how important books have been in my life.
why do you cover your beautiful books with such plain dustjackets? why bother with the jacket at all?
Hi Aidan -- Our dustjackets are intended to perform the same task that jackets have always done - to protect the book. They also enable us to offer potential readers a description of the book, price, ISBN etc (without printing that on the boards). I am aware of some collectors who take the jackets from off our books so as to display them on their shelves (and this makes my heart glad :-) ). But collectors are in an odd situation today where the jacket itself is fetishised, and for many rare and collectable books the value is all in the condition of the jacket and the book itself accounts for only a tenth of the price.