As by far the greater portion of rare and desirable books to be had in America from time to time are sent over from England and the Continent by dealers agents, it follows that the amateur collector in this country must depend largely on dealers for his supply of books. Except at auctions, there are comparatively few opportunities of buying at first hand, although rare items of American printed books are sometimes unearthed and, in the old book stores of the larger cities, bargains are not uncommon. These latter, however, are usually limited, at best, to picking up some good first edition of a modern author, worth, perhaps, five dollars, and carelessly marked, with numbers of other books, at about twenty five cents. Better fortune sometimes attends. For example, one may sometimes find a really rare and valuable book which, in dim but inadequate realization of its value, has been marked higher than its neighbors perhaps up to about one tenth of its real value. Such an incident, however, is among the exceptions. In any case, the stories of wonderful finds in years past, along the quays of Paris or in the stalls of London are, for the American at least, almost like romances which could never come true.

In buying from dealers, especially those who specialize in rare books, it is often, unfortunately, necessary that the bibliophile of moderate means, to whom these pages are particularly addressed, is obliged to pause before the price of some much desired volume. His buying problems are much more complex than those of his wealthy fellow collector, to whom price is little object, since he must not only hunt out the volumes he wants, but also copies priced reasonably to be within his reach. Blessed, indeed, is the willing self-denial which produces the ransom of a good book, at the expense of the ephemeral luxuries of life! But under such conditions it is essential that the amateur have a fairly complete knowledge of the value of books, particularly along his own special lines, in order that he may not be driven to unnecessary hardships through paying unjustly high prices for his treasures.

While the prices of books vary greatly, according to condition and binding, they also vary to an astonishing extent with various dealers. The prices marked by some dealers are often high for certain kinds of books and low for others. Bargains often may be secured from the dealer who marks his books, not according to their present market value, but according to the price he himself paid for them, since it follows, naturally, that a bargain for him is a bargain for his customer.

Information of this kind, in respect to particular dealers, is very valuable to the amateur who visits their shops, but he often gains it only after considerable experience.

Cautious buying, so often sneered at, is, nevertheless, essential, and the amateur bibliophile owes to himself not only complete information as to the "right" editions of books, but also a thoroughly developed knowledge and judgment which will enable him to value books with fair accuracy. He must realize that in many cases the dealer is wily and seductive; moreover, his wares plead for themselves to trouble the heart of the hesitating purchaser. He also must develop a certain amount of guile, and must be able to harden his heart, if necessary, against all appeal. This is one of the most difficult of all things to do, and is the triumph of knowledge over ingenuousness and of reason over bibliomania.

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