Once upon a tome : the misadventures of a rare bookseller
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Available copies
- 1 of 2 copies available at LARL/NWRL Consortium.
- 1 of 2 copies available at Lake Agassiz Regional Library. (Show preferred library)
Current holds
1 current hold with 2 total copies.
| Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Status | Due Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moorhead Public Library | 921 DAR (Text) | 33500013760111 | New | Checked out | 09/28/2023 |
| Moorhead Public Library | 921 DAR (Text) | 33500013765540 | New | Available | - |
Record details
- ISBN: 1324092076
- ISBN: 9781324092070
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Physical Description:
ix, 244 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm
print - Edition: First American edition.
- Publisher: New York, NY : W.W. Norton & Company, 2023.
Content descriptions
| Summary, etc.: | "Some years ago, Oliver Darkshire stepped into the hushed interior of Henry Sotheran Ltd (est. 1761) to apply for a job. Allured by the smell of old books and the temptation of a management-approved afternoon nap, Darkshire was soon unteetering stacks of first editions and placating the store's resident ghost (the late Mr. Sotheran, hit by a tram). By turns unhinged and earnest, Once Upon a Tome is the colorful story of life in one of the world's oldest bookshops and a love letter to the benign, unruly world of antiquarian bookselling, where to be uncommon or strange is the best possible compliment"-- |
Reviews
- Booklist Reviews : Booklist Reviews 2023 February #2
Though in possession of a name befitting a Dickens character, Oliver Darkshire's path to the hallowed halls of antiquaria was by no means prescribed. Rather, the self-described introvert with narcoleptic tendencies and misanthropic inclinations was without promising prospects until a grant-funded apprenticeship landed him a tiny desk just inside the door of the iconic antiquarian London bookseller, Sotheran's. Reader, he found his calling. Our amiable Virgil guides us through the many vagaries of antiquarian bookselling, including eccentric customers identified as either Smaugs, Draculas, or Cryptids by the staff. Some individual specimens earn specific monikers, such as the Spindelman and the Ancient. We are also introduced to Darkshire's quirky colleagues, affectionately portrayed in all of their eccentricities in descriptions that read like The Office penned by the same hand as The Pickwick Papers, while the accounting department is straight out of Bleak House. Anecdotes abound, and myriad misadventures are afoot, often resembling Indiana Jones' more than Tom Jones'. Darkshire is a charming and witty guide in this biblio-bildungsroman of finding one's tribe. Copyright 2023 Booklist Reviews.
Search for related items by subject
| Subject: | Darkshire, Oliver Henry Sotheran Ltd. Antiquarian booksellers Great Britain Biography Booksellers and bookselling Great Britain Biography |
| Genre: | Autobiographies. |
