We definitely want more of this! Such insight into what you get onto apart from your really enjoyable little shorts about interesting books you've acquired. More! Please!

Very interesting and nice to see in detail how is done. The admin work is daunting. And yes, would be nice to see more vlogs like this, bookfairs, auctions maybe. Thank you for sharing your time with us!

As a book dealer in the UK myself, it’s fun to see a glimpse of other book dealer’s lives. The shop I manage does sell rare books but we’re more broadly a secondhand shop with 82,000 in stock currently, with around 30 orders a day on average. It’s intriguing to see the similarities and differences to rare book specialists like you (aside from simple quantity differences). The buying, whether auctions or elsewhere, collating and describing each book is all very familiar, but it seems like more work goes into promoting your stock and creating a customer base whereas we sell on the major online marketplaces and don’t need to self-promote. My main curiosity is how you go about pricing, especially if there are no other comparable copies on the market at the time. Maybe a future video? I often notice rare book specialists price higher than I would in my shop - perhaps because of reputation and building that customer base?

Just found this channel by pure chance and enjoying it immensely.

My grandfather collected old fairy tales and had about 800 books on his collection when he died. My father started collecting books by G.K. Chesterton in the 1980s. I once accompanied him on a book hunt in Hay-on-Wye. I'd never seen so many antiquarian bookshops in one town before. When he retired, he moved to a new house and had a library custom-built, with moving shelves to fit more books. He's now stopped acquiring more books and is looking into selling his collection, because he would like to pass it on to someone who is as enthusiastic about these books as himself. I love his library, but I'm not the collector that he is. I know this may seem quite off-topic to your video, but the bookshelves and talking about antiquarian books reminded me of my dad's library and book hunts. I'm feeling quite nostalgic. I love your enthusiasm.

Wonderful video .. Would love to see more like this .... Hope green soon exceeds red !

Tom, the highlight of a Sunday

Amazing video idea!! Great work Tom.

Fun to watch and get an insight into the work!

Yes please, I'd like more behind the scenes videos like this one :) Very interesting

More of this please. I found it absolutely fascinating to see your day-to-day life. Thank you!

Very interesting! I recently started buying original paintings from auctions - almost all for under £100 and many dating back over 100 years. I find that fascinating and choosing where to hang them in the house. Now I've stumbled upon your wonderful channel I feel tempted to get into books as well. In the case of books though, I wouldn't have a clue what value they would have.

Honestly I loved this video, please make some more in this style in the future.

Ahhh I belive I have found my new comfort channel

Don't think I could see enough of watching your work and your knowledge and passion at work. More, please!

As a dyed in the wool Tolkien fan, I hadn’t realised that my early editions of the Silmarillion, unfinished tales etc. would be considered rare. I live in Melbourne, Australia, and because of our population and distance from the centre of gravity that is Europe, we have remarkably few antiquarian booksellers for a city of more than 5 million. I know of only one in the centre of the city - Kay Craddocks, which has often been a refuge to browse in. I too would like to see this sort of video every once in awhile, a fascinating insight into the mechanisms of an antiquarian bookseller

Tom, these day-in-the-life videos are always a joy to watch! Curious to know how important social media is when selling books or generating interest for them. Also, I would love to know the biggest difference between going solo and working in an established bookstore.

Nice to know that the Unfinished Tales I picked off of a remainder shelf is worth something. Unfortunately that is offset by the realization that Poems and Stories exists in a deluxe edition.

This is such a fun peek behind the curtain. I'd love more like this!

Have you ever been to Wigtown (scotlands book town)? Would love to see a vlog of you visiting there!

Excellent video. Enjoyed the 'day in the life' aspect. Bravo!

Oh I really liked this video. Getting to see how much you spend against earnings is fascinating. I cheer you on the whole way! I hope all your books sell!

It was so cool being able to get a "behind the scenes" look at your work. Keep it up! This is great content 👍

I'm curious as to whether you've ever had the Lord of the Rings Danish edition illustrated by the Queen of Denmark, Margrethe II. Apparently she was very interested in the books and in archaeology, and Tolkien was very interested in Bronze Age Eastern Jutland, and they even became friends over it! I've been looking for a copy (first edition is desirable, but quite rare), but they come up so rarely these days...😓

Fascinating. Well done.

Very cool. Just returned from Dallas on a non-rare book buying mission for our used bookstore, but I didn't find anything extraordinary this time. That bookstore you visited on your trip is on my "to-do" list, but I won't have time to head over there on my trip to London and Oxford next month. But best of luck on ending up in the black with the new purchases, and let's see more behind-the-scenes videos when you get the time.

Yes enjoyed this breakdown of your trading in books. You look so young yet so knowledgeable, it would be interesting regarding your journey into the rare books world. You have a nice speaking voice and think you could do audio books - if you found the time in your busy schedule.

Loved the quick look inside the bookshop, I could spend a week in there!

Your Kipling purchase caught my attention because Rudyard Kipling’s home in southern Vermont, "Naulakha", is only about an hour from my home. A nice little Venn overlap!

Loved your video and I have to add, what a fantastic life you lead. As a book lover myself, i do so much envy your life with books. brilliant.

Yes, more of this please. I'd be interested to know more about trends and speculation. You could possibly ease up on the background music a bit.

I'm sure it's work to vlog in this way, but the earnest mix of business done with enthusiasm and your general excitement to share your knowledge is very watchable. Also, I have absolutely missed out on that Quran, I'm miffed I was too slow to see it because that is such an incredible object. I've been looking for a copy of the India paper version of the lord of the rings you mentioned in a previous video as well. I cannot get over the fineness of the paper and how tidy and small they are comparatively. It's too cool.

This is giving me a feeling of all those auction tv programs, just better, cause I know it's real. 😆 I will gladly see more of this, even if I'm definetely not a potential customer - my library contains about 1500 mass printed books, you wouldn't even consider touching 😂

Our local bookfair have just called their twice yearly effort to a halt as the council have kicked them out of their storage space. So 20,000 + assorted volumes have gone by skip to the landfill. ( Council wouldn't even give them a hall hire to do a come and take what you want. )

What fabulous post, Tom. I wish I had known about the Arabic poetry gem you had fir sale. I live in Riyadh and slowly building up my collection of regional books and maps.

What an incredible journey, thanks for taking us along :)

I love this type of video Tom. We definitely need more in the future!

Yes! More please! So peaceful.

Thanks so much Tom!

Great video. Please do more of this. Maybe as a weekly behind the scenes series?

I love behind-the-scenes videos, so please do keep making them! Very enjoyable. Thank you.

Very interesting video, and I hope to see more content like this!

Bravo! Amazing video. I enjoy the behind the scenes glimpse into your world

Would absolutely love to see more videos like this !

Thank you for sharing a “behind the scenes” perspective. One of my collecting passions years ago was miniature Bibles. I was told that they were sometimes put in coat pockets along with the owner’s hands on the way to church in horse-drawn buggies. Winters in the Northeast USA can be very cold.

Very nice score. The only version of the Hobbit I have is the gold 50th anniversary edition still in the plastic. It has never been opened. It's not the most valuable but I can't bring myself to unwrap it.

I enjoyed this post very much and hope you share more of them. On my few visits to the UK so far, I've always visited bookshops, especially used and antiquarian, and never come away without books I could not possibly find in the US. I'm more a voracious reader (including of old books!) than a true collector....most people who see the book covered walls in our house insist I have "too many" books (no such thing is possible!!) If I ever have another chance to visit the UK, I hope to find where you are and visit your shop.

Wonderful video!

Liked the video,can you keep as updated on the sales.

i love it, please more this kind of content

Yes, I would very much like to see more videos like this in the future. Tom

Brilliant. Absolutely fascinating.

Really enjoyed this Tom. so interesting to see some of the back office work!

Interesting video, Tom. Seeing The Silmarillion made me smile as Canadian Guy Gavriel Kay assisted in the editing of the book. I've been crossing paths with Guy since the 1995 when I interviewed him for an article (grin - the things one does for a free book, in this case The Lions of Al-Rassan ). Looking forward to future videos. More on your career as an antiquarian bookseller would be lovely. Cheers from Toronto, Canada.

would love to see more of you sourcing books

Tom, your videos are truly wonderful, it makes me want to purchase old books for my collection. like, get more expensive book then whzt i usually find in flea markets

Really interesting video Tom!

Very good video and very informative in what you do. Thank you for bringing us along

This was really great! I would love to see more behind-the-scenes on book purchasing! I'm new to collecting. Any tips for keeping up with book selling events in the London area?

Now this is how social media is rightfully used for business and I hope you'll have the financial success and the best recognition that you deserve for this industry. Also, don't push yourself too much and do get some rest and sleep.

This was so interesting! Would love to see more behind the scenes content.

Great video.

What fun to follow your journey and process! I appreciate all the other books, but you had me at P. G. Wodehouse - I'm a huge fan. What I would like, if you haven't done it already, is a video about how you handle, rate, and grade books that have some damage. A few books you showed us have spots and blotches, and I wonder what you do in those cases. If you have already done this, perhaps you could share a link?

perhaps you have shown how to clean books, or should you clean them? I just use a super soft brush, but should I even be doing that. What would one do to clean a stain that might truly need to be cleaned?

One of your best. I’m so tempted by the TY Hobbit, I have a first ed. deluxe of the hobbit. Could make a great shelf buddy.

Oh yes, I would love to see more of this content.

Hi Tom, great content. It would help if you add a link to your website in the description box 😊

Tom, fascinating behind the scenes video - really hope we see more of these from you. A question for you: are you seeing younger people at the book fairs? I'm in my late 50s and when attending book fairs, antiquarian paper shows, antique shows etc. I try to see who is in attendance. I see a lot of older people but always hope to see younger people who have interest as without them the future for antique books and antiques in general isn't bright.

I really enjoyed this video. Thanks.

Thanks for the Adam Smyth clip - I've now ordered it - sounds fascinating.

Fascinating!

Fantastic video thank you. I would love to see a video where you discuss the contrast between a book collector and a book seller. I'm not convinced the two can co-exist?

Have you got a copy of Landor's Imaginary Conversations? I think there are several volumes. I want the one with the Greek conversations. If it contains a dialogue between Aesop and Rhodope, that will be the volume I want.

Really interesting look at what you do. I always really enjoy your videos. I've got a few questions that I hope are not too invasive or ignorant. 1] How do you price a given book? 2] What books do you keep in your own collection, and do not sell? 3] How many languages do you read? Again, appreciations for your posts.

Years ago I found a small book biography of Cardinal Mazaran of France in french in our small local library. It was over 100 years old and had never been read. I knew that because the pages had never been cut and it would have been impossible to read the book like that.

Man, I think you're actually doing the one job in the world that I'd actively enjoy. Also, it was quite jarring to see you drive a normal, sensible car and not some kind of coal-powered vaulted carriage.

This is a great channel!

I would absolutely love to own a copy of Tove Jansson’s Hobbit. ❤️🇸🇪 Jag pratar svenska men jag kan bara hitta den boken på finska (modern kopia). Thanks for the BTS - always fun to see behind the curtain!

Outstanding. I’m going to enjoy this.

Interesting auction process. Can you go into detail about your routing number and account numbers? And maybe your passwords? HE HE HE j/k Very interesting video.

Great video 😊 Very interesting. I would like to see more. I really enjoy your channel. Thank you. As an afterthought, anything about children’s books?

Great watch. Really enjoyed it. The only thing that concerns me is your exhaustion and do you ever get to see your spouse?

Loved seeing this! Are there any books that you've found yourself not wishing to part with given their personal appeal to you?

Keep the videos coming! And please don't feel like a sell-out if you accept any sponsorship to finance this channel.

I recently found out Goodwill sells more books than just about anybody in America. I was wondering how they could sell so cheap. Free inventory, no tax.

I really enjoyed this!!

That was a lopsided week. I hope next week has a bit more in the green column.

Watching from the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains in North Carolina USA. Like the "behind the scenes video." Perhaps it is difficult to estimate, but approximately how long does a book stay in your inventory.

Oh my god! I second guess myself when I buy second hand books on eBay for £38!!

Just come back from 'Firsts', some a m a z i n g odds 'n ends for sale. Look forward to next year!

how do you get rid of the dust inside books? I have an aggressive allergy to dust, Sometimes it prevents me from reading my older books, I stuff them on boxes with probably does not help, I guess I'll buy shelves when I have my own place, or just leave then in piles on the middle of the living room

For hands-free cataloguing you might like dictation software.

Loved that

The world of book antiquarianism is so fascinating

I've only just started watching your videos so maybe you're fine with this or you're filming from a shop or something, but you showed a map on your phone with houses behind you, which could give away where you live if someone is dedicated enough... if your collection is at home, I'd imagine that it'd be devastating if someone tried to break in. Just thought that might be a bit risky since your collection looks very expensive.

Just bought Adam Smyth's book off the back of this video haha.

Thanking you

More please!

The Swedish versions of Tolkiens writing would be amazing for me. I have some Swedish emigrant books av Vilhelm Moberg. If the Swedish Tolkien books aren't that expensive. Redigera: Oj 1750 GBP? I just looked up on your website how expensive that was. Thats not too crazy but a bit crazy for right now. I'd need to save up for that. But less expensive ones like around 500 pounds would still be expensive but more affordable. Maybe if there are some modern printings of this book or lord of the rings in Svenish they would be much cheaper

Is 26% a normal buyer's premium at book auctions? My corner of the collecting world typically ranges from 10 - 15%.