Turner Donovan Books

[David Filsell]

Strangely, I saw an old Turner Donovan catalogue for sale today in supermarket sized British Heart Foundation Charity shop in Kingston upon Thames. I have a shelf full of military book dealers catalogues and had no idea they had any value whatsoever. I keep them for  reference, but I cannot think of the last time I referred to any of them!

[MartH]

6 minutes ago, David Filsell said:

I keep them for  reference, but I cannot think of the last time I referred to any of them!

 

I have Maggs Brothers catalogues back to the 80's for this, and do use them for reference. 

[David Filsell]

I also have a couple of Maggs  - beautiful pieces of work. At one time I sold them a few books now and then found on my travels.

[Dust Jacket Collector]

Some old John  Marrin catalogues have been turning up on eBay, usually for around £3 or £4 each. Interestingly the rather impressive WW1 rarities that appeared in his early catalogues came from David Pritchard when he sold off his first collection.

[dpolglaze]

 

On 27/02/2019 at 03:17, Kimberley John Lindsay said:

Dear All,

I was amused at one of the the TD items on offer: "Fly Papers", by a two-seater RFC pilot.

Kindest regards,

Kim.

The author of Fly Papers is Arthur Illingworth, also author of "A History of 24 Squadron".

Edited 1 March , 2019 by dpolglaze

[MartH]

14 hours ago, Dust Jacket Collector said:

Some old John  Marrin catalogues have been turning up on eBay, usually for around £3 or £4 each. Interestingly the rather impressive WW1 rarities that appeared in his early catalogues came from David Pritchard when he sold off his first collection.

 

Alan was his second collection better or worse than his first?

[Dust Jacket Collector]

1 minute ago, MartH said:

 

Alan was his second collection better or worse than his first?

Not quite as good, although I believe he tried very hard to get them all back again. He was certainly remarkably adept at finding the most elusive titles. I used to suggest to him that he must have had a time machine linked to Hatchards in the 1930s. All I wanted was a set of early Agatha Christie’s to provide a little nest egg for the future.

[MartH]

2 hours ago, Dust Jacket Collector said:

Not quite as good, although I believe he tried very hard to get them all back again. He was certainly remarkably adept at finding the most elusive titles. I used to suggest to him that he must have had a time machine linked to Hatchards in the 1930s. All I wanted was a set of early Agatha Christie’s to provide a little nest egg for the future.

 

Interesting with internet and emails, etc, he got a better collection using catalogues,  wants' lists, book shows, and auctions.

[Guest]

17 minutes ago, MartH said:

 

Interesting with internet and emails, etc, he got a better collection using catalogues,  wants' lists, book shows, and auctions.

 

    If there was one golden source for books, then you and I would both be trampled to death in the rush. But the beasties pop up all over the place. A first-class collection always has more to it than just the application of money-or else collecting would be easy-Just write large cheques with payee "Peter Harrington". The best collectors have a very good feel for how the book trade actually works and put themselves about-and,of course, a collector's knowledge is their greatest tactical advantage.

   Interesting to note that despite the Peter Harrington military expert having a long and distinguished track record at Francis Edwards and then Maggs, that the books are going via Tom Donovan ( a choice with which I entirely agree) -Money ain't everything.  The Donovan route gives collectors with knowledge and true concern for the materials a fair  chance of buying scarce books.  Not just the wave of a fat chequebook and what the company accountant dictates.. Good for Mr. Pritchard.

Edited 1 March , 2019 by Guest

[Kimberley John Lindsay]

Dear All,

I have always enjoyed doing business with Tom.

Unfortunately "Fly Papers" (super Arthur Illingworth title - anybody have an Image of him?) was momentarily beyond my reach...

Kindest regards,

Kim.

Edited 1 March , 2019 by Kimberley John Lindsay

[MartH]

If there was one golden source for books, then you and I would both be trampled to death in the rush. But the beasties pop up all over the place. A first-class collection always has more to it than just the application of money-or else collecting would be easy-Just write large cheques with payee "Peter Harrington". The best collectors have a very good feel for how the book trade actually works and put themselves about-and,of course, a collector's knowledge is their greatest tactical advantage.

   Interesting to note that despite the Peter Harrington military expert having a long and distinguished track record at Francis Edwards and then Maggs, that the books are going via Tom Donovan ( a choice with which I entirely agree) -Money ain't everything.  The Donovan route gives collectors with knowledge and true concern for the materials a fair  chance of buying scarce books.  Not just the wave of a fat chequebook and what the company accountant dictates.. Good for Mr. Pritchard.

I agree, a good collection needs a lot of hard work and knowledge, and knowing when to splash the cash if its a once in a lifetime opportunity.

[barkalotloudly]

19 hours ago, Dave G said:

Years ago, after he had cleaned my clock several times on eBay, I decided to have a look at his buying history (when you could still do that) to see exactly who I was competing against. The results were a combination of rare WWI literature and women's accessories and nothing else. The list was something like Merry Hell, ladies jumper, Storm of Steel, ladies suede jacket, Field Guns in France, ladies high heels, Pillbox 17, pearl ear rings, etc. Their shared eBay account was always a source of amusement and assuaged the loss. A little. I'm sure he's having a laugh at this round about memorial.

thank you i have been wracking my brains to think where i had heard the name from, of course EBay  

[Dust Jacket Collector]

 

   Interesting to note that despite the Peter Harrington military expert having a long and distinguished track record at Francis Edwards and then Maggs, that the books are going via Tom Donovan.

I wonder if Harrington’s are really interested in the Great War any more. If you look at their stock most of it has been there for years. Even when they have their January sale it doesn’t seem to shift. I guess the mega-rich are only interested in what they call ‘Highlights’.

[MartH]

2 hours ago, Dust Jacket Collector said:

I wonder if Harrington’s are really interested in the Great War any more. If you look at their stock most of it has been there for years. Even when they have their January sale it doesn’t seem to shift. I guess the mega-rich are only interested in what they call ‘Highlights’.

 

A very observant point, they don't seem to get the rare stuff into their catalogue. In the old days I used to buy loads of Maggs Bros, and they don't seem to be interested in the Great War or "Naval and Military" as they call it. The man in Brighton has been for many years a supplier of gems.

[Dust Jacket Collector]

15 minutes ago, MartH said:

 

A very observant point, they don't seem to get the rare stuff into their catalogue. In the old days I used to buy loads of Maggs Bros, and they don't seem to be interested in the Great War or "Naval and Military" as they call it. The man in Brighton has been for many years a supplier of gems.

And, inevitably, he’ll get them all back in the end!

[MartH]

7 minutes ago, Dust Jacket Collector said:

And, inevitably, he’ll get them all back in the end!

 

Yes but he will sell yours first!

[Black Maria]

Just noticed that the £245 copy of Prideaux's ' A Soldier's War 1914-17 ' has sold . Two years ago I was watching a copy on e-bay , expecting it to

go for a couple of hundred with at least half a dozen bids . It eventually sold for £22.55 to a single bidder .. funny old game this book collecting lark .

[David Filsell]

On reading this enjoyable thread, I am beginning to think there may be a need to form a group which meets regularly and one  at which one introduces  him/her self  with the words, 

"My name is David, I have a book addiction."

[Guest]

16 minutes ago, David Filsell said:

On reading this enjoyable thread, I am beginning to think there may be a need to form a group which meets regularly and one  at which one introduces  him/her self  with the words, 

"My name is David, I have a book addiction."

 

      Then wait for the next PBFA bookfair in Cambridge and enjoy-you have just missed one.((If you want a ticket, then one can be got for you gratis)  Military bookfairs are usually a problem,as most military booksellers are really collectors trading up copies and funding the mania- used to be good fun to go to a military fair and see every bookseller there with pretty much exactly the same price on the same books- and all eyeing each other like Mafia bosses at a gun sale in case one had a customer the other did not know..

   As a curiosity, Second World War books (in which I have to state I do not deal) seem to be cheap and  I think there may soon be a generation of military book collectors who will knuckle down to serious collecting of the rarities of 1939-45. After all, at 75 years distance, the books of 1939-45 are still much cheaper than the good books of the Great  War were at the equivalent distance of time.

    And, of course, our (very much) esteemed colleagues on GWF who collect Great War books have a very long way before the bibliographic doolally-tap gets them. It's when you get to the stage of unscrewing the side panels of your bath so that you can store even more books underneath, that the Mental Health Act 1959 appears to be required reading

Edited 1 March , 2019 by Guest

[Guest]

4 hours ago, Dust Jacket Collector said:

I wonder if Harrington’s are really interested in the Great War any more. If you look at their stock most of it has been there for years. Even when they have their January sale it doesn’t seem to shift. I guess the mega-rich are only interested in what they call ‘Highlights’.

 

     Harrington is very much customer-led. If one reads the tales of how the first Bernard Quaritch (who was really a bit of crook)  hoovered the ancestral funds of the Earl of Crawford and Balcarres, then one realises that the top booksellers  draw the top collectors and vice versa..An old friend, now departed, - a fine,fine bookseller of Eng.Lit. always used to moan that the best customers always run out of money eventually.

     That said, Pom Harrington is widely regarded as the best antiquarian bookseller of his generation-and he is still a comparative youngster. Blast!!

[Dave66]

As a curiosity, Second World War books (in which I have to state I do not deal) seem to be cheap and  I think there may soon be a generation of military book collectors who will knuckle down to serious collecting of the rarities of 1939-45. After all, at 75 years distance, the books of 1939-45 are still much cheaper than the good books of the Great  War were at the equivalent distance of time.

I have to say I am unintentionally falling into this category, cheaper by far compared to some Great War publications, but some of the regimental or divisional histories can be pricey...according to Mrs B!

[Kimberley John Lindsay]

 

Unscrewing the side panels of the bath to store more books? Now, that's an idea...!

Kindest regards,

Kim.

[MartH]

So how many active proper/serious GW book collectors are there out there?

[Dust Jacket Collector]

1 hour ago, MartH said:

So how many active proper/serious GW book collectors are there out there?

My guess would be a hundred or so, but of total fanatics like ourselves probably no more than a dozen.

[Black Maria]

Every year since I started seriously collecting ( 2002) I have written my wants list out in an A5 book , usually between 25-28 wants . This year is the first year

I have struggled to come up with that number . Some on my list were / still are in the latest catalogue but I can't say I'm too disappointed about the ones that 

sold or desperate to buy the ones that didn't ( very happy about the ones I did buy though! )  . Some of this is down to finances but also part of the joy of collecting

is the hunt for the books , what happens when / if I find them all and do I really want to buy all the books on my list in one go, even if I could afford it ?

 

 

 

 

Edited 2 March , 2019 by Black Maria