james weatherups great find
in very poor form & had been for some time in fact so poorly that Helen had to assist me to the Cable O Y ce. I could hardly make up my mind as to what price I would ask, but had previously decided that it should be worth £ 400 to me. However, being in the state of health that I felt anything might happen suddenly & that it would be best to get rid of the book at any substantial price, rather than leaving it among the other books for in that case if I dropped o V it would not realise one penny – the amount I paid for it – consequently after debating in my mind as to the amount I should ask as to make sure of a sale, I cabled “One hundred and fifty pounds”. Rosenbach lost no time in clinching the bargain as in less than hour I had his reply – “O V er £ 150 accepted will arrange pay- ment for your daughter” … I’m sure the compensation is something that I should be ashamed of but because of my general weakness rheumatic fingers, & failing eyesight I have not the energy to do better. This family correspondence, and in particular the letter to Arthur Weatherup, also bring us to the crux of the matter concerning the relationship between amateur book collector and professional book dealer. Rosenbach’s manipulation of the situation – his initial telegram regretting the book’s condition and the swiftness and ease of his subsequent actions show how he was able to control the deal when purchasing a book. The seller of the book would not, if it were a rare or unusual item, be aware of the current or potential market price for such an item. Dr. Rosenbach, on the other hand, made his profits by understanding which book he could sell and, equally importantly, to whom. His clients included multi-million- aire American collectors, and once Rosenbach sold the idea to them that they needed a specific book for their collection, the amount he charged them became of secondary importance to such wealthy and competitive individuals. Thus James Weatherup, who clearly had little idea as to the true worth of the book to rich American collec- tors, was always fated to come out second best in the deal. Today one can surf the internet and find copies of a book o V ered for sale in a variety of conditions and prices su Y cient to give the potential seller an indication of its worth. But even this enlightened environment is unable to cope with extremely rare items to which the concept of a ‘standard market price’ does not apply. George Brinley’s published library catalogue entry for his copy of the Bay Psalm Book included the opening statement that ‘To o V er any re-
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