Diane & I had an excellent and productive time shopping for books on a recent trip to Colorado. I stopped at antiquarian stores in Colorado Springs and Boulder as well as an indie shop in Boulder that sold new and used books. The last place, Boulder Bookstore, was a place we’d hit back in 2009, and I picked up Jane Bowles only novel,just reprinted. The two other used and rare stores were new to us, partly since I only got the serious collecting bug in 2012.

Doug Clausen runs Clausen Books in Colorado Springs. He’d been trained in the business by his father and opened the place I visited in 2000, I believe. It’s a small store along the road, but on the inside, there are wonderful shelves of pre-loved books from all segments of the Dewey Decimal system. I gravitated to his literature section (two cases), then almost a whole case of Modern Library books. I came close to picking up another Modern Library copy of Steinbeck’s In Dubious Battle with original dust jacket, but I passed since I have a copy, plus several other versions of that fabulous book. In an enclosed case I found some of the pricier items, all beautiful but nothing that was on my list. Toward the back was a miscellaneous section of antiquarian books. Beautiful bindings vied for my attention and I peeked at about a dozen of them. This is the section from where I selected my treasure, a full off-white leather bound, 1841 edition of Chapters on Churchyards by Caroline Southey. The author inscribed it to her cousin. Bliss.

Finding a beautiful book is one thing, but having the opportunity to chat with the owner about other books and our interests is something I treasure. I had a chance to talk with Doug about my collecting interests, his store and his background. We didn’t talk for long but it’s a memory I’ll treasure and recall whenever I pick up the book I purchased from him.

To me, my books are not just valuable for their contents and bindings, but also for how I acquired them. Whether it was a great interaction, stumbling upon a treasure, or finally finding something I’ve been looking for, that makes these bound wonders all the more special to me.

In Boulder, I visited Red Letter Second Hand Books on three successive days. The first two times I picked up great volumes. On my first visit, I bought a first edition of Paul Bowles short story collection, The Delicate Prey and Other Stories. I also saw a beautifully bound edition of Longfellow’s Tale of Miles Standish. I picked it up, put it down, picked it up and put it down. The exquisite binding tempted me but it was just eye candy. I didn’t want the poetry contained within. I only collect what I really want and will use (i.e. play with and read). On my next visit, I did find something that was both nice and on my list. It was a 1949 reprint of Boccaccio’s Decameron, with a slew of full page illustrations by Rockwell Kent. I also found the Golden Book of Coleridge, an Everyman Library collection of Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poetry. It has the three pieces I had been seeking: The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Christabel, and Kubla Khan (???). I would love to have found it in an older binding, but it was in good shape and only $10. I’m so happy to add it to my collection. On the final visit, I looked quickly since we were headed out of town. I didn’t see anything I could justify. Like with Clausen Books, we spoke with the people who worked at Red Letter. I think one was the owner, but they were all really friendly, especially after we said we’d come back and actually did, twice!

So, all in all, a wonderfully productive trip for my collection and two new stores and people with whom to keep in touch.