Bookseller
and writer Anthony Marshall where art thou, kindred spirit? I recently discovered your two books by
chance in an Austin, Texas used bookstore – Trafficking in Old Books (1998)
and Fossicking in Old Books (2004), far from their place of publication
in Australia. There may be copies in
abundance in Australia, but they are pretty scarce here—my excuse for
overlooking them these many years. And
what an oversight! Your adventures running
an antiquarian / used bookstore in Melbourne and ancillary essays are among the
damndest, bestest, funniest biblio-writings I’ve encountered. Your prose enlightens and surprises: creative
skills meeting a worthy subject. I must
simply salute you.
But I’m just late to the party. Some sleuthing revealed you received accolades
upon publication (and just as importantly, brisk sales) primarily in Australia
and the UK, but also a foray into the US where you did a few books signings. Both books sold in the thousands of copies, not
an easy achievement. (You record a sold-out
print run of 5,000 copies for the self-published Trafficking in Old Books.) You even had a fan base and book signings in
Tasmania! Admittedly, that was much
closer to your bookshop in Melbourne than it would be to someone in America,
but it sure sounds exotic and alluring as recorded in your delightful Fossicking
essay, “Et in Tasmania Ego.”
