People collect for the sake of collecting. From seashells to space memorabilia, anything goes.
Collecting is fun, but the sad thing is that collectors can be insane.
I can understand why Gutenberg's bible is an extremely valuable book.
But, paying thousands and thousands for a first edition of a so-so James Bond book is somewhat stupid, imho.
In the hand of these insane collectors, books lose their value as tools to transmit ideas and become only objects. It does not matter anymore what is between the covers, as long as it is a rare object.
The whole thing does not make sense. I believe that most of the collectors
who buy these rare books never read them.
They could have made a show about collecting Barbie dolls. The end result would be the same.
Review of The Booksellers
