Antiquarian Book Dealer Kenneth Gloss Interview

Kenneth Gloss is the proprietor along with his wife, Joyce Kosofsky of The Brattle Book Shop in Boston. Ken grew up in the book business, and we talked about his career and collecting old books in the following interview:

ephemera: Tell me about how you started in the book business, Ken.

Gloss: My parents bought The Brattle Book Shop in 1949, I was born 1950. I worked in the store after school while I was in elementary, middle school, high school, and summers during college. I have a BS degree in chemistry from The University of Massachusetts/Amherst. I was enrolled in the doctoral program in Chemistry at The University of Wisconsin, but in 1973, I needed a year off and my father's health was not good, so I returned home. That was 35 years ago. I do not regret that I am in the bookshop and not in a laboratory somewhere.

ephemera: It's a tough business to be in. It must be a labor of love. What are some the challenges you face as an antiquarian book dealer?

Gloss: The Used and Antiquarian book business is in flux. There are many challenges. Probably the most important thing to remember it is a business and needs to be run as a business. Many people view bookstores very romantically. That does not work. It is physically demanding. We have 10-12 employees and own our own building. We pay payroll, taxes, health insurance, utilities, etc.

The large general antiquarian and used bookstore is in a particularly precarious position. Property values have increased dramatically. While space is a precious commodity, old bookstores are usually not the most efficiently run businesses. We bought our property in the early 1980s. That offers security. Decisions and planning can be based on the book business, not what will happen in a few years when the lease needs to be renewed. Another pressure on the open shop is the internet. Books can be easily obtained online. Books that were once thought to be rare were actually just hard to find. Prices have dropped dramatically on many items. You do not need to go to a bookstore to find that hard to get out- of-print book. People still like browsing and the charm of many stores, but if a store loses even 20% of its sales to the internet that can be the difference between success and failure. One store after another is closing. The main purpose of any store, bookstores included, is to bring merchandise together so the customer can buy it conveniently. The internet is very good at this. For a bookstore to survive, it needs to offer a pleasant experience to the customer, constantly getting new and interesting stock, compete on price in both buying and selling, and offer knowledge and experience that adds value. Unfortunately one advantage of many stores closing is that attrition can be a benefit to those still in business. There is something to be said for being one of the last stores standing.

I believe a much larger pending threat to the used book business is also the internet but not the online sellers. It is Open Content Alliance, The Gutenberg Project, and other such projects. Essentially they are scanning every out-of-copyright book in the world to central free databases. This might be great for society but it might not be great for the book business. It is tremendous change and change has its winners and losers. I suspect this is still a number of years off so I will probably be OK but I may have to adjust in the future.
 
ephemera: That is the best summation I've heard of the problems facing the book trade and what the future holds for its continued survival. Let's talk about something more fun. What are your favorite collectible books?

Gloss: My favorite antiquarian books are the ones I just sold and the ones I just bought. A few examples that that I have either owned or appraised are:  
 
The Indian Tribes Of North America by Edward Curtis: 40 volumes, 20 text and 20 portfolios of 721 large photographs. It was a joy taking it home and slowly with my wife looking at each image. We did not let our (then) 8-year-old daughter take a portfolio to school for show and tell.
 
I was called into a small ranch house near Lowell Massachusetts. The young man showed me some interesting books, nothing special. On the kitchen table was a large roll of paper. I looked at it unrolled it a little. It was the original manuscript of On The Road. Kerouac was this man's uncle. I looked at 10 feet of it but it was too fragile to unroll more.
 
I had to appraise a first edition of Isaac Newton's Principia Mathematica. A first edition of this in itself is a very valuable book ($250,00.00-$500,000.00). This particular copy was Isaac Newton's own, with his handwritten notes in the margins.

I viewed a copy of The Declaration of Independence. Not a first edition, this one was printed a year later 1777 in Baltimore. This was the first with the signers names printed. What was really exciting, written in ink across the top was "This is a true and authentic copy," signed "John Hancock". I was holding a copy a copy of the Declaration actually signed by John Hancock. What a thrill!
 
There are many others but I will stop with these.

ephemera: That's why people have romantic notion of the book trade, Kenneth. I mean, unfurling the original manuscript of On the Road; appraising a first edition of Mathematica; viewing a true and authentic copy of the Declaration of Independence. It's little wonder that people fantasize about becoming a book dealer. I'm not going to ask you what advice you have for people wanting to get in the book business, however. But please give us some pointers about starting a book collection and some resources to consider.
 
Gloss: My advice to people starting a collection is find a subject or area you like. Narrow it to that which is manageable in volume and bulk and make sure it is affordable. Also, just because you start with one subject or area does not mean you cannot change and switch later. The real fun of collecting is the hunt, the search, and the people you meet along the way.
 
Resources for collecting include everything you can find. Start at the library, become friends with the owner of your local bookstore, go to sales, auctions, book fairs, meet other collectors, go to online sites:  especially The Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America (abaa.org). If you can find any of the publication called "The Month At Goodspeeds" get them. Read books about book dealers and collectors: Nick Basbanes is a good current author. Read blogs, magazines, old dealer and auction catalogs, etc. Most important ask questions of anybody and everybody. When you ask questions of people who enjoy what they are doing usually it is not a problem to get them to answer but it might be a problem to get them to stop answering.
 
Generally storage of books comes down to this; if you are comfortable, your books are comfortable. They should be stored where it is not too cold, hot, damp, or dry. Avoid direct sunlight. Most of the old books are old and if they are not abused they will last longer than we will. For very rare items again ask specific questions
 
ephemera: Thanks, Kenneth.