To Catalog is Human

While perusing Paper Cuts, The New York Times Book Blog a few days ago, I came across a post by Rachel Donadio entitled "The Great Bruccoli."

Ms. Donadio recalled the recently-deceased Matthew J. Bruccoli as "a scholar of 20th-century American literature, rare book dealer and one of the most vivid characters in the literary marketplace." That certainly got my attention.

She continued, "I thought of him as a kind of Sydney Greenstreet character, someone who knew where to find precious literary gems -- and knew who might want to buy them." I'm hooked -- tell me more.

Here's the paragraph that really got my attention: "Although a life-long academic, Bruccoli had a collector's skepticism about what universities could actually teach you about literature, about the overt and covert conversations between writers, their echoes and influences. "Before the Web became the principal venue for bookselling, dealers sold their books through catalogs," Bruccoli said. "And I learned more through book dealers' catalogs than I learned at Yale, at U.V.A., than I learned in class. I got my education through reading book dealers' catalogs."

Even in the digital age, catalogs remain an invaluable tool for book collectors and dealers -- never underestimate the difference between information and knowledge. In the ever-expanding absence of second-hand bookstores, catalogs provide historical documentation, impeccable research and prices realized; I would be hard-pressed to last a week without access to my catalog collection. According to Det. Shakima Greggs from THE WIRE, "Police only as good as their CIs." Same thing for book collectors and dealers -- we're only as good as our catalogs.



I am very fortunate to have an extensive catalog collection issued by Ex-Libris, Arthur and Elaine Lustig Cohen's legendary bookstore. She was a graphic designer of no small renown, and he was a theologian, novelist, art and literary critic, who wrote extensively on Modern Art. The couple dealt in important and rare printed material and graphic documentation of International 20th-Century art, covering all the bases: Bauhaus, Futurism, Dada & Surrealism, Avant-Garde, Graphic Design, Architecture, Theater, Poster Design, Expressionism, Modern American and European Art Movements, and any other ISM that might tickle your fancy. Their catalogs remain exceptional research tools overflowing with important objects and information, include scholarly listings, descriptions, photographs and (1980s) prices of all kinds of early 20th-Century ephemera including posters, letterheads, magazines, reviews, brochures, books, stationery, correspondence, posters, advertisements and much more.

As a specialist in Design Books, I place great emphasis on faithful color reproduction and obsessive historical context for the books I sell. I knew from the outset that it would be problematic for me to issue catalogs of recent acquisitions. The costs of carefully-proofed 4-color presswork, postal charges and address database management were all challenges I chose to ignore by designing my website to function as a virtual catalog.

I truly regret I never had the opportunity to show Matthew J. Bruccoli my website. No doubt his critique would have been worth its weight in gold.