james weatherups great find
arrangements between her and Rosenbach: My dear Peggy. I had a cable from Rosenbach on Thursday saying “Book receivd [sic] regret condition. We do not make o V ers so kindly cable your price in pounds” to which I replied “150 pounds Weatherup”. I had their reply (inside 45 minutes) “O V er 150 pounds accepted will arrange with your daughter for payment Rosenbach”. I cabled you next day to Locust Valley – which I hope you received all right – Weatherup Mrs Tulley & Locust Valley Long Island “Rosenbach to pay you 150 pounds”. I hope you recvd [sic] my cable all right. We have not yet had a letter from you, but there is a mail due tomorrow & I shall keep this over until the afternoon in case one should arrive. I am writing Rosenbachs. I’m afraid I shall not get time to re-write this in ink, as my letter to Rosenbach’s is a long one & will take some time to write it. You can call at Rosenbach’s when you have an opportunity, and I think it will be as well to let them get a Bank draft on either a London or Belfast bank. This would save you the charges (bank) on the draft, I hope you are quite well all here as usual. We are looking forward to getting news tomorrow. I did not notice that this sheet was already scribbled on until I had got pretty well through with writing. You will just have to excuse me re-writing. Be careful of crooks in case Rosenbach’s pay you cash. With much love, Your A V ectionate father. 8 Although cables were expensive to send, their brevity as quoted in the above letter clearly exemplifies Rosenbach’s style of never mak- ing an o V er when purchasing books from a member of the public. This avoided any haggling over the selling price, and in most if not all cases resulted in a lower amount being agreed. Normally books in poor condition or with missing leaves were worth significantly less than a complete copy. James’ fear that this was the case was greatly reinforced by Rosenbach’s opening comment in his reply after having inspected the book – that crushing phrase ‘regret con- dition’ which Weatherup repeated in the letters to both his daughter and son. The last sentence, concerning payment in cash, highlights James Weatherup’s preoccupation with the monetary aspect of the deal. Indeed the whole tone of his correspondence suggests his underlying anxiety at possessing such a rare volume. On July 19 1933, only one week after her original visit to 8 . The letter is written in pencil on a sheet of ruled paper the reverse of which is covered in lists of small monetary amounts.
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