Books that last ‘a dozen lifetimes’

By Catherine Amos

Published: June 12, 2008

What makes a book valuable is not its monetary worth, but its meaning to its owner. At least that’s what book lover and antiquarian book dealer Russell Steer says.
Steer, 34, will be on hand at Culpeper County Library today at 5 p.m. for a talk on the value of old books as the Friends of the Library host a special old books sale today and tomorrow.

“People should be looking for that which makes them happy,” Steer said, “for books that really and truly should appeal to them.

Collecting book solely for value as an investment really is a thing of the past.”

The books for sale date from the mid 1800s through the 1960s and include volumes of interest and value. Friend of the library Celine Siira, who organized the event, said the books have accumulated in the back room of the library from donations — some from old family libraries — and wanted to save them from getting tossed.

“We just want these books to get somewhere other than the dump,” Siira said.

She personally took the boxes of books home and researched prices for each online, finding some surprises. For example, a first edition of a novel by Virginian Ellen Glasgow, who won the Pulitzer Prize and other literary awards in the early 1900s, was priced at $70.

Other books for sale include a pictorial history of the United States for school and families from 1854 and other early school books, classics by popular authors from Charles Dickens to Alexandre Dumas to Emile Zola, an early edition of “Dracula,” rare children’s books and a signed copy of a Lincoln biography by Carl Sandburg.
Many of the books will be sold at the bookstore price of 25 cents for a paperback and 50 cents for a hardcover, though Siira priced the more rare books or out of print publications — that have value — based on Internet sources.

“If you wish to get into collecting, you should collect what you love,” Steer said. “Either through their aesthetic, their tactile sensation, or if they cover a subject matter that is close to your heart. This is the secret for collecting for a long time and enjoying it.”

Originally from England, Steer moved to Virginia with his wife after years of research and managing a bookshop on the famed Charing Cross Road in London.

His personal collection spans more than 3,000 titles, many of military and defense-related books. Steer now works as a military specialist at an antiquarian bookstore in McLean, with many rare volumes going back to the 1600s and earlier.

“Books — if you take care of them — will last a dozen lifetimes,” he said. “Books endure; they are a permanent link to the past… I’m an absolutely book lover. It’s not a business; it’s a vocation, like a pastor in a church. My congregation is my bookshelves and I listen to them.”

Catherine Amos can be reached at 825-0771 ext. 138 or .

Want to go?
What: Special Old Books Sale
Where: Culpeper County Library in the community room
When: Today from 5 to 8 p.m. with a special talk by antiquarian book dealer Russell Steer at 5 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.