Rebecca Romney
@rebeccaromney
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Rare book dealer @typepunchmatrix; author, JANE AUSTEN’S BOOKSHELF; the book specialist @PawnStars; co-founder, Honey & Wax Book Collecting Prize.
Joined April 2009
So appreciative of this perceptive and engaged review of JANE AUSTEN’S BOOKSHELF in the NEW YORK TIMES. As I say in the book: the process is the point.
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My hot take on all the Odyssey discourse is that you shouldn’t be embarrassed to admit you haven’t heard of or read a book yet — but you •should• be embarrassed if you then get mad and defensive about it, rather than curious and excited to learn of it.
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Brightening your TL this morning with first edition books from Virginia Woolf’s own Hogarth Press, in jackets designed by her sister, Vanessa Bell.
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This is the oldest extant manuscript of a work every Latin student will recognize: Caesar’s Gallic Wars. It’s also the oldest book in Amsterdam, made by Benedictine monks in Fleury circa 850-900CE. Held by the magnificent Allard Pierson Museum.
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My surprised/grateful/joyous/exhausted face as I learned during a 2-hour flight delay that Emma Straub recommended my book this morning on the TODAY Show:
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Since rare book twitter is on the subject -- a White Gloves Conversation in Three Acts, from a DM I received a few months ago:
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Just remember, when you post something stupid on social media, somewhere a 22nd century historian is laughing at you.
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@RealGDT “the material nature of a handmade piece of animation” - the way you talk about materiality’s effect upon aesthetics here is so great.
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After years of working on this, I’ve finally collected every title issued by Odyssey Books, the Black owned small press founded by Leticia Peoples to publish Black romances in the era before Arabesque.
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Can't get over this 1667 natural history work, which discusses and categorizes demons and witches as well as giraffes and armadillos.
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A word on readers and collectors: . Book lovers who are big readers and book lovers who collect books are two different demographics. They can often overlap, but they don’t necessarily.
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One problem about my field is that sometimes you get REALLY EXCITED about a thing — but you can’t talk about it yet because it’s up at auction and you don’t want to encourage competition 🤐.
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One of my favorite items in the new @typepunchmatrix catalogue is an elaborate Victorian scrapbook in the form of a sequential tour of a house. Literally every one of us here fell in love with this book.
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It's official: I've sold my second book, JANE AUSTEN'S BOOKSHELF, to Simon & Schuster. It's featured as the "Deal of the Day" on Publisher's Marketplace today, & obviously I couldn't be more thrilled. I can't wait to tell you about my journey getting to know these authors.
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This account of an English high society scandal was printed in 1810, just before the Regency era — and someone has quite literally spilled the tea on it. I am in love.
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Hot take: we can celebrate Gutenberg’s specific invention and contributions to the history of print without erasing or minimizing the hundreds of years of earlier print history in East Asia. Let’s do that.
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This Saturday:. I’m speaking at Baltimore’s Enoch Pratt Free Library on all the interesting ways Gen Z is getting into book collecting. Event is 1pm EST, co-hosted by the Baltimore Bibliophiles. Event link in subsequent tweet.
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Today’s rare book cataloguing involves the coolest folding frontispiece I’ve run across in some time:
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Doing a final inventory before sending this collection of the first 1500 titles in Harlequin Presents to its new institutional home. This is my third time counting all 1500 to make sure I didn’t miss any…
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Sometimes when I photograph a rare book, I can feel it giving all its attitude to the camera. Case in point, this first edition of The History of Tom Jones by Henry Fielding, 1749.
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I’ve seen plenty of tree calf bindings in my day — that’s the design here, where the boards are stained in a tree-like pattern — but I have never seen a RED ONE before!
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Feeling punchy so I’ll divulge one of my pet peeves that’s regularly done even by people I respect: referring to famous literary men by their last name while referring to famous literary women by their first.
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Glad I woke up early to bid at a London auction and lose on everything. Everything!!. You are all my enemies.
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Since Twitter is structured to be ephemeral, my new pinned tweet will be a thread of threads, gathering many of my previous tweets about rare book collecting, working with rare book dealers, and other FAQs. Here we go:
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Interested in the history of romance, or in romance collecting? My catalogue on the Romance Novel in English is now available for free online:. It contains 100 lots of romances from 1769 to 1999, forming a collection earmarked for an institution.
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Our rare book company is a bit different from what you normally see in that, of the six of us here, only one is a man. And on our About page, I am listed first as co-founder. So when you send us an email addressed by name to the only man at this company, we see you.
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Today I’m thinking about one of the most important skills a rare book dealer can possess: knowing the difference between what’s new/unusual to them and what’s legitimately rare.
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I should have given a warning in the @FatedMates episode about collecting romance — collecting is addictive! In it I talk about $10 as my spending limit for adding to my Ace gothic romances collection. I’d been very good about that… Until I found the original cover art for one.
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Sigh. I’m tired of the narrative that the internet was “cataclysmic” for the rare book trade. Yes, it changed everything dramatically. But many of the changes have been positive. For one, it’s easier than it has ever been to become a collector. This isn’t so black and white.
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Romancelandia: I’ve decided. This is happening. Do you collect vintage and rare romance books? . I’ve made a dedicated mailing list just for all the great romance first editions that are passing through the shop @typepunchmatrix. (Signup link in next tweet)
Romancelandia: if I were to create a special mailing list at my rare book company @typepunchmatrix just for announcing the availability of newly acquired vintage and rare romance books, you would sign up? . Emails would be once a month at most. Price points prolly $15 and up.
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It’s finally pub date for JANE AUSTEN’S BOOKSHELF! My most heartfelt thanks to @MSRBooks @simonschuster @SimonAudio for making it real. (Links in next post.)
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Still life of a rare book dealer’s desk — working from home with young kids around.
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One of the best parts of being an adult for me has been learning to embrace unabashedly the things I like — regardless of whether they seem “boring” to someone else.
as you approach your 30s it’s very very important that you acquire a “boring” interest that will develop into an obsession as you age. local water policy, shipping containers, composting, amateur geology, metal detectors, collecting old coins.
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Turned in the final draft of my manuscript today — yay — too tired to celebrate — sigh.
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Recently I’ve had a handful of conversations with rare book people at institutions that have made me realize that the culture and etiquette of the rare book trade isn’t always well communicated to others. Here are a couple helpful tidbits to know for book fairs.
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Lap swimming when it’s cold outdoors in a heated pool is one of my new favorite things. No one is more surprised by this than I am.
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The first time readers in English saw Don Quixote tilting at windmills: this is the 1687 first illustrated edition of Cervantes’s book in English. #OnMyDeskToday (and on its way to a new home)
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This . this snowman from 1920 is wielding a knife. Vintage children’s books, man. Illustrated by Grace Drayton.
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Telling another rare book dealer your price code is like telling someone in Earthsea your true name.
fun fact, a lot of rare booksellers will pencil their books with the price they bought it for in a personal cipher so that they can check their margin at a glance but so no-one else will be able to figure out how much profit they are making.
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A recurring internal conflict I have on here is when a stranger posts their excitement about finding a first edition — but the pictures reveal it’s definitively not a first. I want to tell them, but who wants a rando in their mentions being like “actually no ♥️”?.
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A surprising number of angry responses on a TikTok of mine that spoiled part of the ending for an 1820 gothic novel and, ok, my bad — but I must say that it’s fun to see people getting worked up about a book they hadn’t heard of until 2 min earlier.
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Red flags when working with a rare book dealer you don’t know, especially for an expensive books, a thread.
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Oof. It’s one of my favorite things when a book gets a stranglehold on me. Rushing home from work to read it. Sneaking in five more minutes over coffee. I will not be free until I finish it.
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When people wear white gloves to handle rare books. Not actually best practice for printed books, friends.
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There’s a librarian I follow on here who consistently asks for recs with very specific parameters — and every time, inevitably, the responses are filled with suggestions that patently do not meet those parameters. I have so much respect for that level of endurance.
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Just LOOK at this great headpiece illustrating the first chapter of a 1964 gothic romance. No credited illustrator, which means time for some digging.
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Doc: So why are you interested in LASIK?. Me, in my head: Because otherwise I’ll be even more screwed if I accidentally time travel…. Me, out loud: Oh, because I’m sick of the maintenance of contacts.
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If you’re a book collector (or thinking about becoming one) and you’re concerned about safe home storage and handling, I’ve made an informational page just for you: .
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Delighted by this 1909 proto-steampunk science fiction novella by Kipling, set in a dirigible-filled year 2000. The binding design is spectacular, but what really does it for me are the FAKE ADS at the rear for sf tech and futuristic book titles. #sff #steampunk
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Their excitement about this is giving me LIFE — and the gasp of happiness I gave when they correctly explained that white gloves aren’t best practice!.
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Cotton Mather’s account of the Salem witch trials, first London edition, 1693. #OnMyDeskToday
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After the pre-holiday move, we are finally starting to feel a bit settled in our new offices @typepunchmatrix. The transformation isn’t yet complete, but at least we are beginning to resemble a bookshop again. (Also, that’s Mary Mapes Dodge presiding on the coffee table there.)
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Nothing beats browsing in a general antiquarian/secondhand bookshop.
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Cycles of rare book social media:. - Random people yell at professionals for not using white gloves . - The internet discovers fore-edge paintings (again). - New, wrong interpretation of the Voynich ms. - Anglophone internet has to be reminded that Gutenberg didn’t invent print.
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Ok, this is a first for me. This romance cover features a hero on it who is… yawning?
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On my desk this morning: a 1932 science fiction short story by a Polish woman, Józefa Maria Burdecka, about a trip to Mars. Great Art Deco cover design by Hanna Kędzierska.
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Have been on TikTok less than 48 hours and have already received my first “shouldn’t you be wearing gloves?!” comment.
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Portrait of a rare book dealer’s desk. Database open on the right. Pencil, magic rub eraser, & ruler at the front. 4-volume 1769 novel waiting to be collated. Pile of science fiction, mostly paperback originals. And a 1561 medical book in limp vellum on top, with intake sheet.
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Turns out moving a company with 10,000+ rare and collectible books is a lot of work. @BookstoreMovers living up to their name helping us in this multi-day move 😅
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Well this feels seasonably appropriate. I was going through a box of early 19th century children’s books we acquired and came across … a skeleton praying? #OnMyDeskToday
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To the person who outbid me at auction today for Maria Edgeworth’s copy of Burney’s Camilla: . please identify yourself so that I can properly attribute my grudging respect and undying enmity, thx 💙.
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The horse from this 1850s chapbook is giving some serious side eye.
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One of the biggest failures of that recent piece calling people “smug” for keeping their books is that it falls short of asking any interesting questions. Sure, some people brag using books. But •why•? What might that tell us about how we see books’ role in our larger culture?.
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Today I want to give you a tool to check the accuracy of many modern rare book listings. In book collecting today, one of the most common mistakes I see in the listings of inexperienced or avocational rare book dealers is a misunderstanding of what “first edition” means.
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Snapshot of the bookshelf of a 19th century woman of letters: books inscribed to or owned by author and editor Mary Mapes Dodge. I’ve been putting off dealing with this because I know it’s going to be a deep rabbit hole.
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Romance collection in progress. It’s not going to stay this way, I promise. Only for a few minutes. This is pre- final organization — had to document the last moment of true chaos.
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Just got back the manuscript for my upcoming book, JANE AUSTEN’S BOOKSHELF, after copy editing. I have to say: I love copy editors. Who doesn’t want a grammar badass to have your back when you’re working to put a book into the world? Out there saving me from myself!.
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Was searching for a past lecture & newly reminded of this. A new one is like “was she FIRED?! No official statements have been made!” . Except on my official website, where I say I’m still on the show, & in the latest season, where I appear multiple times. What a weird industry.
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French science fiction author and illustrator Albert Robida imagines a future New York City in 1925. #OnMyDeskToday
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This uncorrected proof of Samuel R. Delany’s 1984 novel comes with an internal Bantam letter to the sales force from editor Lou Aronica: “please pass this along to a bookseller who loves science fiction or majestically lyrical prose” #OnMyDeskToday
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Scene upon opening a package from a secondhand bookseller, no changes. Difficult to be a condition-sensitive collector of category romances when a bulk order is shipped like this. I miss shop browsing.
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A dealer posts about books in ‘30s jackets being “fine” — then blocks my biz partner for pointing out they didn’t mention the incredibly salient fact that at least one of them is restored. FYI: it’s unethical not to mention restoration, especially when bragging about condition.
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GUESS WHO designed the dust jacket for this stellar 1957 “neo-Gothic” novel? You’ll never guess. (Unless you cheat. Don’t cheat.)
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@PublishersWkly Don’t care about Fabio’s opinion even a little bit; do care that not a single cover artist is credited in the article, like Elaine Duillo, who created the cover art for the book shown and captioned as Fabio’s debut.
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I’ve decided that my reward for turning in my manuscript to my editor at the end of this month is going to be a replay of Chrono Trigger.
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I have complicated feelings about Anne Rice and her work. But right now all I want to say is that her books broke open my mind as a teenager in a way that was not only formative but — to have become who I am today — absolutely necessary. May she rest in peace.
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Sometimes being a working parent means bidding at auction on an 18th c. Italian book on Newton’s theories while sitting in your parked car because the lot came up minutes after dropping your kid off at school.
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Of all the rare books to get delivered to the wrong address, a first edition of Chris Kraus’s I Love Dick is not ideal.
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For my mutuals who teach: please know that I’m always open to invitations to Zoom with your class if the topic is related to one of my areas of expertise (eg book collecting). As long as it doesn’t require significant advance prep from me, I love doing this!.
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Had something of a rough day, so I’m about to sit down to one of my Break Glass In Case Of Emergency books — Alyssa Cole’s How To Find a Princess. Sometimes you gotta put off reading a book you’re excited about so that you have it ready for days like this.
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Let’s talk about sentimental value vs. market value in rare books. When I tell people that a book they’ve offered me won’t fetch much money on the collectible market, they are often disappointed. Understandable! But I want to praise sentimental value today, not market value.
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Another day; another round of emails destroying people’s dreams.
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Check out this first edition of Ray Bradbury's Illustrated Man in a tattooed binding. We specially commissioned it from artist A. von Hemmersbach. (This one has already sold, but I had to share it as another favorite item from the new @typepunchmatrix catalogue.) #SFF
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If you’ve spent much time looking at descriptions of rare books for sale, you’ve probably noticed that the most complicated part is the condition summary. Here’s an insider overview of condition, the most subjective part of a rare book listing.
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A thread about rare book appraisals, which are much thornier than you might think.
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Rare book research today went from Renaissance editions of Dante, to Margaret Wise Brown, to editions of the AA Big Book, to colonial women printers. I am a wee bit tired.
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Another small snowstorm last night. Here, have some sad snowman endpapers from a 1912 German children’s book.
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Had the rare book dealer version of an anxiety dream last night: “Is that a tape repair I overlooked on that dust jacket?!”.
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My controversial book collecting take: inscribed books are better than simply signed books. 1. You have more data to look for signs of forgery. 2. Books don’t often have a clear chain of provenance the way that, say, rare art does. Knowing a bit of a previous owner is great!.
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In preparing for the first major rare book event I’ve attended since March 2020, I’m realizing how atrophied my in-person social skills are. So apologies in advance for when I inevitably say something weird or awkward….
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An ABC of dragons, created by a pretender to the Stuart royal line! . Last week the Curious Objects podcast indulged my obsession with an odd 19th century manuscript we have at @typepunchmatrix —. Listen on Apple or Spotify (links below)
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Sherlockians! We’re starting to catalogue this material & there is a HUGE range. Not just high spots, but every nook & cranny of Sherlockiana. We are creating an email list just for this. Contact @typepunchmatrix if you’d like to be added & hear about material as it’s processed.
These boxes represent my whole life as a collector of Sherlock Holmes/Doyle/vintage Baker Street Irregulars material. 1st editions, Strands in original parts to pb pastiches and more. Now in the capable hands of @rebeccaromney: Sherlockians contact @typepunchmatrix for updates.
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Another addition to my Jane Austen Bookshelf collection: this 1903 edition of Frances Burney’s EVELINA. My book is finished but I can’t stop collecting 😭
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One of the funniest comments on my IG post about a gothic novel:
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Romance readers! Interested in beginning a rare book collection, but not sure how to go about it? On October 15 I’m doing a virtual class on romance collecting basics hosted by @oldtownbooks. Join us:.
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Finished this early Arabesque novel (1994) & it was bonkers in the best way. Newlyweds are parted when the wife has to go into the Witness Protection Program — and the husband thinks she died. She has plastic surgery & 5 years later they meet again without him recognizing her
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