Browsing Books in Boise

I’m over due for a posting here!  But my bird hunting passion (wild turkeys in this case) has been highly indulged over the last 6 weeks and it is now time to get back to book hunting.  But what a superb time spent sitting quietly in the woods at dawn for so many mornings.  Even when there are no encounters with the wily turkey, one gets to see so much of nature by sitting stock still for extended period and just watching.  A bit of a spiritual renewal for me over that time and some reconnecting with good friends!

In March, before I started my extended run at chasing the turkeys, I was up in Boise for a few days for a Board Meeting and North American Rendezvous gathering for the Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, a group for whom I serve on the national Board of Directors.  I went up early so that I might check out the area used booksellers and it was a proved a good plan!

My first day of looking I hit two great stores in the old town of Nampa, a community about 20 miles or so west of Boise.  Pearson’s Twice Sold Tales and the Yesteryear Shoppe are located on the same block, just a couple of stores apart in Nampa’s old town section.  A colorful area full of character, this old town section had many interesting shops aside from these two but being a man on a mission, I held firm to my purpose and saved all those other non-book stores for another day.

Pearson’s Twice Sold tales is a very well organized and well stocked used book seller.  They had an excellent selection of natural history books, including several in my library now, but did not have any that were on my radar, or any that were not but that I discovered and could not live without!  But since they buy actively, it is a store to check back into the next time I am in the vicinity.  

 Pearson's Twice Sold Tales with my trusty road warrior Prius in front!

 The Yesteryear Shoppe was a wonderful old musty store with ton of books in every nook and cranny.  The shelves had lots of books, there were boxes of books on the aisles that were waiting to be placed on shelves and in some places just piles of books in bins that were not yet organized or shelved.  

They have an excellent rare book section and have many well know classics among the cases.  They had a voluminous natural history/nature section and while perusing through them, I found one of those books I was not looking for but knew I had to added to my collection.  Funny how that seems to happen often!  It was a mint copy with an outstanding dust jacket in mylar of James B. Trefethen’s An American Crusade for Wildlife.  In this book of wildlife restoration history, he covers the decline of many iconic American species like the bison, the beaver, large carnivores and many other species and the long road of awakening to conservation and their recovery to healthy sustainable populations.  I had, from time to time, previously seen this book in my wanderings but never in anywhere near this fine of condition.  So home it went!

Over the next couple of days, I worked around meetings and events and managed to make it to two stores in Boise.  The first was Rainbow Books, a smaller store that had largely paperback books but still a fair collection of hardbound.  They did have a small nature/outdoors section and while searching through the books, I came upon a most serendipitous find!  A copy of a book I did not even know existed, 

Backtracking By Foot, Canoe, and Subaru Along the Lewis and Clark Trail.  What made this of note for me personally is that it was written my friend and the Co-Chair of Board of Directors for the Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, Ben Long.  Knowing I would be sitting at the table with the author the next morning, I jumped on it!  Of course when I saw Ben the next morning,  I had to make a joke about finding it in some box at a garage sale before I let on that I had really found it at a legitimate used bookseller!  A fine inscription on the frontispiece by my buddy Ben and this one too was ready to come home to the shelves at Casa Jay.

Unbeknownst to me, the store I had unwittingly saved for last in my visit to area used booksellers turn out to be one of those “once in a while” gold mines!  Located in downtown Boise, Trip Taylor Bookseller was tucked away among several high rise motels and office centers.  But once inside and going through the stacks in the natural history section I found the score of a book that I have been looking to collect for several years!  Spying the copy of Marybeth Lorbiecki’s A Fierce Green Fire, I pulled it off the shelf and said, apparently a bit vociferously, “Ah ha!”, much to the amusement of the lady who was tending the store.  When she looked at me and smiled I said “This alone would have made my trip to Boise worthwhile!”  I’ve found this wonderful biography of my personal conservation muse Aldo Leopold several times before but only in trade paper, something I don’t get for my personal collection.  Only the first edition of this tome was done in hardbound and now it was in my hands!

Continuing to look through the shelves, I came across a fine and clean copy of Henry Thoreau’s The Maine Woods. I’m not as big of a Thoreau fan as many are but what the heck, it was only 8 bucks and it is certainly a worthy addition to any natural history library so it too went into my happy hands.

Looking through the nature section further, I came across yet another book that I was not looking for but knew the minute I saw it that was coming home to live at my house.  Teaching A Stone to Talk: Expeditions and Encounters is by the very gifted and popular American natural history writer Annie Dillard.  Many are familiar with her great classic Pilgrim at Tinker Creek.  I knew nothing of this book but having read Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, I was confident it would be an excellent read and addition to my collection.

So my hand were filling with books but I kept going through the selections and lo and behold what to my wandering eyes did appear but a fine trade paper copy of Aldo Leopold’s extraordinary classic, A Sand County Almanac.  I unabashedly refer to this book as the greatest conservation book ever written and when I find good used copies for a fair price in my travels, I pick them up so I can gift them later and share the timeless conservation wisdom it holds with others.  It is a great pleasure for an old wildlifer and classic natural history literature fan to give this fine book to someone who I know will also find it extraordinary.  I’ve handed out perhaps 20 during my days of collecting and will continue to do so as long as I live.

So there you have the fine used book sellers of the greater Boise area.  Some fine store worth your time!  If I ended up with six books, just think how many you might find!  Get after it people!

Pearson's Twice Sold Tales:  1215 1st St. So.  Nampa ID (208)467-3329  www.twicesoldtalesnampa.com  Hours: Mon-Sat 10:30-6

Yesteryear Shoppe:  1211 1st St. So. Nampa, ID  (208)467-3581  www.yesteryearshoppe.com  Hours: Mon-Sat  11-5:30

Rainbow Books: 1310 West State St.  Boise, ID (208) 336-2230   http://www.rainbowbooksidaho.com    Hours:  Mon-Sat  10-5:30

Trip Taylor Bookseller:  210 N. 10th St.  Boise, ID  (208)344-3311  taylorbooks@earthlink.net  Hours:  Mon-Sat  10-6

Back of Beyond Books. A biblio heaven!

Earlier this week, when I had occasion to attend a meeting of conservation groups in Moab, I left a bit early so that I might make an opportunity to make a first time visit to Moab’s bookstore of renown, Back of Beyond Books.  If you are an outdoorsy kind of bibliophile like me, you have to love that name!  There are many places not far out of this incredible red rock tourist destination that truly are just that.  The area has inspired many of our greatest Utah authors, not the least of which would include the irascible Edward Abbey and the eloquent Terry Tempest Williams.

Located on Moab’s main street in the heart of the old town shops, Back of Beyond has a great mixture of new and used books on the shelves.  I headed straight for the natural history/nature/science section and found a great selection in that genera.   And there in the stacks was a find!  A first edition copy of Aldo Leopold’s classic Game Management!   I first purchased this notable tome during my years as a struggling wildlife student in the mid 1970s.  I still have that tattered paperback copy and noted in looking at it recently, that is sold for a whopping $5:95!  A quick check on Amazon shows the same book in paperback is nearly $22.  Guess between inflation and aging, that is how it is!

So wanting a hardbound copy of this timeless natural history, published in 1937 as the first comprehensive text on the emerging science of wildlife management, I clutched it while continuing to peruse the shelves.   As I looked, I found a number of books already in my collection but nothing else there that I coveted.

I had opportunity to spend some time visiting with store owner Andy Nettell and it became quickly obvious that he is a very knowledgeable and passionate book seller.   We spend a bit of time in his rare book section looking at a number of treasures.  One that had caught my eye was a volume of Alexander Wilson’s American Ornithology.  Wilson, American first true ornithologist published nine volumes of this first ever landscape level treatment of American birds between 1802 and his death in 1814.  This particular volume had all of the artwork in black and white, unlike Wilson’s original effort which has colored plates from his talented hand.  I drooled a bit over it and then it went back on the shelf.  Ah to be rich!

The Rare Book section

 

We also looked at a very rare edition of one of Wallace Stegner’s harder to find books.   Fire and Ice, a Stegner work of fiction, was his third book.  I inherited a first edition and my research indicated that there was only a first edition and that it was never re-printed.  But lo and behold, here was a second edition.  Andy indicated that a second edition copy was very rare and this one, also being in very good condition and endorsed by the author, has a hefty price of $4,400.  I think I’ll be sure to be kind to my copy, which while it is certainly not anywhere near that value, does list on the rare booksellers for a minimum of $400.

After leaving Back of Beyond, I cruised down the street about a block to visit their sister store, ABC and Beyond Books.  This store has only used books and is located in the collection of small retail store in the Eddie McStiff Brewery center.   The selection in the store is about equally divided between hardbound and paperback books.  I hit the nature sections and found a good variety.  One book which caught my eye (and ultimately my pocketbooks as well!) was entitled Faces of the Wilderness.  I sometime collect books on wilderness but it was the listing on the front of the book author and who the forward was by that clinched the deal.  The book was written by Harvey Broome.  Those familiar with the wilderness movement in our country might recognize that name.  Harvey Broome was one of eight men of great vision who gathered in 1935 to organize the Wilderness Society.  He served on its governing council for over 20 years and was President of that organization in 1957.  The forward was written by one of the most notable wilderness advocates in the 20^th century, Supreme Court of the United States Justice William O. Douglas, himself the author of three books on wilderness.

 

Back of Beyond Books is a member of the Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America (ABBA) and is an active buyer of fine used books as well as having an outstanding selection of used books in all generas.   If you have a bit of time when visiting the glorious red rock country in this spectacular portion of southeast Utah, be sure to stop in.  Introduce yourself to owner Andy Nettell and peruse the well stocked shelves for a biblio treasure.  It will, I promise you, be a highlight in a location filled with many highlights.

From the window at ABC and Beyond Books!

Back of Beyond Books

83 N. Main St., Moab, UT  84532

(435)259.5154/(800)700.2859

backofbeyondbooks.com

Hours:  The hours the store is open can vary seasonally so check the website.  Currently the store is open from 9am to 8 pm every day of the week!

ABC and Beyond Books

59 S. Main Street, Suite #6, Moab, UT 84532

435-259-3330

Summer Hours: 9am-9pm, 7 days a week
Winter Hours: 10am-6pm, 7 days a week (November& December)
10am-6pm, Tuesday - Saturday (January & February)

Going to Gallaghers!

On my recent book hunting foray in the Denver metro area, I found my way to a second wonderful used bookseller.  Gallagher Books was tucked in a section of older commercial stores in an antique sellers zone on Denver’s South Broadway Street.  I was coming from a different section of the Denver metro area but depended on the trusty GPS navigation in my “semi” smart phone to get me there!  And a good job I must of done because I never once was subject to a “recalculating!!” admonition!

Gallagher Books is a very well organized store which is owned and operated by two of the nicest folks you could meet anywhere.  Don and Sue Gallagher were very friendly and helpful from the minute I walked in the door.  Don was busy negotiating a buy from some folks but Sue took me right back to the nature and science sections and answered all of my questions about where certain types might be shelved.

So I began perusing the selection and what to my wondering eye should appear?  A very hard to find treatment on the writings of the great natural historian and conservationist Aldo Leopold!  Thinking Like a Mountain by Susan Flader was a book I had on my list of “Aldo’s to collect” but over the last three years and at least 50 used bookstores, had never seen in any condition.  And this copy was in fine condition with a dust jacket in fine condition and a mylar cover!  When I opened it up and saw that it was $40, I winced but kept it in my hands while I continued to search the nature section and thought about whether or not “the market would bear it.”

Then, not much further down the stack, what jumps up but a copy of Leopold’s Round River.  The book was in very good condition and had a decent dust jacket on it will just a minimum of wear.   I racked my brain but simply could not remember for certain if I had this book in the cases back home.   So it became necessary to go out to the car and consult the master list of “BOLO” books!  I went up to the counter and set the copy of Thinking Like a Mountain down and told Don, “Well this one is really 'dear' but I don’t know when I’ll see it again.  There is another one there that I am considering but I need to go look at my master list in the car.”  He laughed and said “Well how much is the “dear one?”  “Forty bucks” I replied.  He laughed again and said “Well go check your list and when you come back in we will see what we can do.”

So I went out and checked the list.  Round River was not on there but I still wasn’t sure that I had it.  I guess when you buy enough books in too short of a time frame you are bound to have less than stellar recall.  At least that’s how I convince myself that it is not age-related forgetfulness!   I decided I would get both and if I ended up already having a copy of Round River that I would donate it to the silent auction of an organization I am part of.

Returning to the store, I went back to the stack and brought the second Leopold up and got ready to check out.  Don considered both and said “How about $45 for both?”  How could a natural history bibliophile retired wildlifer guy pass that up?  I normally will not try to negotiate price with a used bookseller unless there is a condition issue that I think renders a pricing too high.  But I appreciated Don’s willingness to give me a bit of a break.  Especially since I had just come from the Hermitage Book Shop where I had dropped $40 for another tome!

Gallagher Books has quite a large number of books and is still selectively an active buyer.    They also have a good stock of rare prints, posters, and library antiques.  They are members of both the Antiquarian Book Sellers Association (ABBA) and the Rocky Mountain Antiquarian Booksellers Association (RMABA). Their book complement is online and can be wandered through from the convenience of your computer.  But doing so will lessen the serendipitous finding of a treasure like I did and you won’t get to directly interact with Don or Sue!  And that is part of the true pleasure of wandering into and around such a fine store.

Gallagher Books

1428 South Broadway

Denver, CO 80210

(303)756-5821 or 1-866-425-5225

http://www.gcbooks.com/

Hours:  Mon-Sat: 10:30 am -5:30 pm.  Sun: noon-5 pm.  Jan-May: Tues by appointment only

Hail the Hermitage!

On a recent trip to the Denver metro area, I scheduled a bit of time for checking out some of the used booksellers in the area.  Denver, I must say, was from a weather point of view, a real pleasure after the pretty brutal run of low temperatures we have had in southern Utah.  One of the days I was there the high temp was 57 degrees!  Caused me to have occasional daydreams of summer again!

One of the highlight of my book hunting there was a delightful used bookstore that is, I think, rather interestingly named The Hermitage Bookshop.  I’m not sure if that is a parallel to the famous museum of the same name in St. Petersburg or if it is, perhaps,  more a reference to a location like Casa Jay where I live alone like a hermit with all of my books! The store is located in a basement location commercial spot and I thought it was somewhat like going into a “book cave” and I liked it!

The store is stocked full of a great variety of excellent quality used books.  I didn’t see any books when I was perusing the natural history, science, or biography sections that did not at least meet the industry standard of “good” and most were better than that.  I found an excellent selection of books in the generas that I collect and it was of note that they had no less than a half of dozen books for sale that were already part of my personal natural history collection.  That tells me that this is a store worth maintaining a contact with as they clearly buy the very books I hunt for.

I did find a true treasure while looking over their shelves and it now sits on my new bookshelf waiting for me to begin a new adventure.  The Natural History of Selborne, by Gilbert White, is one of the most legendary books in the history of nature writing.  No less than the likes of John Burroughs and W.H. Hudson identify White’s book, first published in 1789, as the very first true book of what is accepted today as “nature writing.”  Gilbert White was not a scientist but was, rather, a commoner who perceptive powers to see the nature around him was extraordinary.  He would write about these often “everyday” type observations in a delightful style that would bring an appreciation of the nature that surrounded his rural world to readers.  This book has been on my “to find” list for some time and it was quite the score!

The owner and the staff of this store were very helpful during my visit.  If you are a collector of first editions and very rare editions, the store has many such books that are not necessarily on display so be sure to ask.  Their inventory is cataloged and can also be searched online from their web page.  If you have a few volumes that you might be in search of, if you leave a list of those titles and your contact info with the store, should one of them come in they will contact you.  They actively buy books every day so the selection constantly is updated.

So should you find yourself in Denver with a bit of time to spare, head to the Hermitage Bookshop.  While you might not find any outrageous “bargains” there, you will find shelves packed with a wide range of used books in excellent condition and offered at a fair price.  I’ll make it point to go back the next time I’m in town!

The Hermitage Bookshop:  290 Fillmore St.  Denver, CO  (303)388-6811   http://www.hermitagebooks.com    Hours:  M-F 10am-5:30pm  Saturday-10am-5pm