R. G.

Taylrr
P. 0. B Ex 7 2 1 + 6 :
Hous t e n , T e x a s 7 7 2 4 8 i
I
i
:.

TT{E BOOKDT.AIM,SCATI ING

B e o k s h e l ve s l l n cd th e u nlls up and clswn fr em thc f our teen- f r s t c ei l l ngs

wlt h a t r a o k l a ,l d o r p r.vl d .l n g the only access to the tsp hnlf or l oft. Onl y

t t r e e l d e r en cl mrrc ta rc b o o ks ocoupled thc uppcr space of the book r @ tm ,

t h e s c f c w b u t o h o l cc l n cu n a b uLa. hng tabl- es sct at r endom thr oughout thc

s h o p p e d . l s p l n ye ct th e u se d .-b ook @r qulck- sale ltcm s, old conlo beok s J uttec l

o u t w e r c l f r o n e b tg p l l c. A Long scctlon to thc r lght- hended. bac k s l c tc ef

t h e s h o p p e h a d a n a re a e d ve rtislng the top- ten best scll- ar s dur ing the w hr l e

prst year cr sc -- offercd the books even fs rcnt: ten ccnts en hour gr a

iloller e iley fco lf taken from thc prcnlscs, e cirouleting renteL llbrnry tr

btbl,lothcoa. Thc front prrt of the stse dlspl,eyed newspepers, perlodleels

ln generrl end pulp negazines, sllcks, llkc a typlcel neyg&ana, n11, in e

threc-rlng-olrcus-typc displey. Revolvlng mctal racks held the current

ln- p r l n t 1 np cr-b ro ks. T h e w tr slc br ck str r e heil e pcr vaslvc sppc er enc c thr t

looked llke a giant pssslonnte brok Jaeket, complete wlth freighed edges,

dlscofurcd to losk older then its actunlly wern ycars: nLL tlneLess fcatures,

y ct o h s o t imcl -y. T h e si g n abeve the ovel gless iloor slnr ply r eei l : T he

UNITL{TlmD-- end thc winclewn slgn bonoeth slmply

NEigssTAND.BO0KI)T',ALERS

stetcd. ?f0?tr\T
FC'RBUSINBSS. FTEASECol,fl$INSIDnn hung ln a slentcd englc llkc

e h a l f - e p e n cd o r h e l f-re ri t foli@ ptge bchlnd the wlcle lr en cover c d s Ql GC r l -

ns c r -
g u a r d d . r o r w n y (n e u rsl vc styl c poster - sign esser tcd tln sheppc sl r gen:

v lc e s r f f c r c d tw cn ty-fo u r h o ur sn) . longer was the eld sheppe Gv or l c ok c d-

Tr ' r e

up o r c v e n cl csci l , th e o e l te g lnte- denend.lng cnvlr lns belng wlr et they w c r c i n

b*
j'.

h*- - lt - ;.";'* ."..*o;Ft

zlz/z/z/z/2 rAYI-oR

thls Ilttlc tenn. Tho anelcnt beokstsrc wts lrceteil ln en rld-fashlcned

un l v e r g l t y trw n n e t fn r fro m Blg D, ole DeIIes town. The nel96tena l ts el f

wa s e l t w t e i l @n th e n e l n stre ct er mnin dr ag net fer fr om the old D c c

Whcetley JcweLry Strre nnd only e fow d@ors ilown the long strect, s. often

cnllcd the lengest street ln Amcrlca, fron the famed Anericen T.eglon l{elL

Nunber L the eld red brick buildlng oomplate with its hlstorlcaL pLrquc
(tnc hlstorlcrl snrker
t o A r m i s t e n c e D e y o r n @ wk n s v m e s V c t o r e n s T n y

r e o o r d e d : n l n t o v l n g n e m @ r yt o R r u c c W l l l l e n s , t h e f l r s t U n l t e d S t a t e s i l o u g h -
rthe-wer-te-end-aLl-wersf dled et Rrestt
bey soldtcr to dle ln rtrorld'r/nr I,

Frenccrr). The correded metel lettcrlng dld not relnte the oomplctc hlstorlc

story; the cavaLlcr townspeople of Connerce, Texes hed h'onered thelr leoel

n o b l a d o u g h b o y rs c l e a t h . n a n e t l o n e l levcl by trgenlzlng thc flrst Americnn

1eglsn HelL Numbar L nnd thcn lnttlelly celebrntcd ln 1918 the very flrst

A rm i s t a n o c D e y i n th e U n l te d Statcs befor e the7Fast of the TT,g. tnd thc w or l d'

)
followeit sult 1n lgrg t h e m e m o r l e l -c n n k c r e d p l a q u e t o l d n tcrse storyt

n4r mcldering, corrodeil rnd ilusty, hldlng tts prlvlnchl elft to the wholc

wo r l i l . A n d th e w h o l e d sw n to wn clty squsr c hed n nr old.er ing, f.r sak c n eni l

c lu s t y l r o k l l ke n L o n g fo rg e tten sleepy vl} Inge. The slcepy Souther n tow n

he 6 e c e s u e l .p p e srrn cc a s though nothlng lnpor tant the wcr ld lvcr hec l ev er

h e p p e n e d h e r e - - n n y n c w o o m c r sh r d f l r s t been feoled by the conventlenrL

Ltzy cavcr of tlttLc C o m m e r c c ,e n e d l c v r l 1 - o o kb y s o n c ( s u o h e t t l t u d n r l - flrst'

ln p r c s g l - r n s b e i n g vo o n L l y e xpr csscd onec by twr pnkee salesmen ti dr aes k nn

141chlg8nr ccent, *This htok tew n s ur c 1g

e ld e r l y c o n n a rg o n l e n l n th e l r shr ill

old.tlner , tyeu twe ar c the flr st buz z r r ds c v c r

ile n d . : b u t ctre w l o d th e l o cn l
The eld tswn-square brlek strects did
secn olrcllng this tswn squlrcrn).
)/31)/3/3 ''AYr,oR

lndeed leok tdle, desorted, ltke a wsrn-Gut noveL, book, lelil face-dotnr by

en estrangeil rendcr I renalssence ntn, frr surc eftcr belng lnterruptcil

fron e dcep pcruslng or cagual renewal sf an engrrsslng tomc.

I r { r . T sme B e e ko u t a s a str angar to sbscur c Comoer cc had flr st thought

thc telrn hcld no proepeots, but that wns befue o l d T o m oB o e k o u t h l n s e l f hed

a s s u n e d q u l te l l te re l l y th e m enagementef thc lr cel bookstcr e knshl n es fT {S

Ulr. Torrc Bookout supervlsed

I{E'IUISSTAND. thc letc shlft stqe hsurs by hls

ow n c h o l e e a n d . d e sl g n , h l s tur n cf events. H€ hr d cr ceted the quai nt s ttr e

hours tn scler to earn hls kecp end hls lodging ebove the book store. The

job bad nst been an casy onc ts gct -- no Job effer hail ever been maile te

t h e e n t e r p r lsi n g T o me -B o o ko ut by thc two 1lveJ"y clessy old- meld. s l s ter s v {ho

ow n e i l a n i l r a n th c b ro ksto re themselvcs. But fete @r the mer c clroum s tanoc s

of I peculler tu rn d e ve n ts hr d pl:,ced the Jod cl' ar ly ln the he nds of T om e

Bo o k o u t . c o o ko u t si e ze d the moment ancl then kcpt the shopp e l n r r der ;

T @n 1B

a flesty ffitr, hc kept the brsk stock perfectly erreyed, prefcrrlng to stny

ln a oomfortable nlche hc kncw by rote as tt geemed:so easily it was for OLc

To n n et o f l t l n to th e n a tu r:e l schem e of the shepper ttr etlte tastc ' m or c l - i k c

en old vlslt er reunlon to the timalcss shelves tint held ell his fevsrite

frlendly b o o k s - - r o r , y sr e g c r v e d f o r t h e l c x i c o n , t h e s e u r u s r c @ n -
elliances,
'c\rHO '$IIJ0.
eordnncas, gezetteer, e Imanecs, cncyclepaeille,
t'r{}IOt
S end 'f#{0 '',qAS

AnCl, eh, hew ole Tone Rookout disttkcd selling the hrck inksllngers, eLI thc

pe r v 6 r s c n Dl -meN e ve l sri h e ke pt on the r evolving netal r acks. And el e T om e

er inventiveness
collec+ed over-d.uc fecs @r flnes with a vcngcnccr a tenaclty
Lr dl es
with e b u o ye n t se l f-csn f l d cn oc that oonstantl- y am zecl the unner r Led
tr/ tr/tr/+/ r*/tr mn on

wh a c e n t i n u e cl tE o p e ra te th e shoppe dur ing the day shlft. T@wn s peopl ew oul d

ee g e r l y p a y th l s n e e d L l n g mr le bookCleeler when othcr wlsc the bce l Ly k now n

deail-berts weuld lgnore the ladlesf demends,but sllghting never ole Tsncf g

quletly dcmendlng menetary strre. T o m cn e v e r a l l s w e d p r @ s p e e t l v c s u s f o n e l e

te reed vcry long without buylng or wltheut pnylng tha rental fee; he wts

thc culator ef the bocks, a steward first rnd fcemost, as ole Tone strerngly

stateal tn hls typical NewYsrk dlaleet that just lmplled New York Clty es

hls birtiipl.ace while the br@ue or regienel nccent cLearly suggestcd ln ne

un o e r t e i n te rms to th e p u b l l c r ead' er thn t the ' smugged Pages do nob s el L v er y

we l L r n d t f ia t th e p rl n tcd l n for r ntlen would. be evcn mor c. inter esti ng v r hen

re a d a t h o me i n p rl vrcy -- I genulne coneer n f,or the bolksf wcl"fr r e and c r l -

Joyrcnt ceac from the hesrt rather thrn the grnsplnc'hend towerd the doller

spent, ntrt for nrtst sakett bclng the nttltude herer ltr rtlristecrecy-cf-the-

mindrt relgned suprcme (tfro personnl Insslonate dlatrlbe to protcet I book was

J u s t s u c h e n o p u s e xp e cte d fr on thls quelntT m sny faccted cl' ltest of e m nn) .

Rlg b e o k s a l e s-p ro mo tl o n s l n the ster e never br ougltt- ln meny cus tom er s or w as

rea1ly m.rnt t@, I mere formllty to rttenpt mrvlng the boek stock te r?l good

h @ a e r r fa c l e s s L e s s c o n c e r n - - the bsoks bd elreeily been reed by nrst of the

cltlzens or studcnts (tne story-llnc llkcly rlrcedy being told by cl,e Tome

Rookout).

T o n p B o e k o u t s e e m e dt . o r e g r e t selllrg certein books, hls 1lfe-Long

f ri e n d s s e to sp e e k. Il c e l vr ays knew the c*ntents llke nlsslves fr on ol - i l de-

Frtecl frlends belng united ln scrlpt but never wls secn reeillng eny book;

o1e Tanp cven knew the eurrent best sellers, toc -- end these worLdly bocks
5/ i/ S/ r/ r/ S rAYT,oR

hc sald. with a dlffident mnncr, lnksllngers, eII thst helped Iny thc rent
(Ju s t e b o u t th e o n l y rc8 so n to keep ther n about, would noutter ole T em o to

himsclf , sheking his head beek anil forth, m.re enlmated tlrn meledrenretie).

The dremetlc bookileeler more thrn csrlud his own keep. But thls lucrc-

tive tradc had net alvrays been the ctse -- e treetlse er hurnn lntercst

nevclfu wlthin ttself oould herdly tcll hls llfe story. T e m eR o o k o u t h a d

o n o c w @ r k e i li n e f e r - e w n y n e r t h - e a s t e r n regionel ccll-egc llbrary rt the

eheck-out ilesk, roninly to settle old nccor.rnts,to ro6riltt bst books. But

selCom back then cculd he eesily colleot t h e f e w p e n n i e s c r u e i is o w a s s a a n J p /

let go, in dlsgrace, r u i n e d a nd f i n e l i z e i l . And b.f ore that Job, thts ^"6F"f/

Bookout had worked in s hlgh schc,ol llbrary csuntlng tho books as only a

typlcal school msrm llbrarita knew hew to do; thc work neturnlly was net ile-

n a n d l n g e n o u p f rf o r t h e i r n a g l n a t l s n , e s p e c l n l l y for a complex tnn of pnrts

not rcal_lzed to hls potentiel but et least hnving e worklng pcsltlon nctr

his classlcrl frlends b o u n d i n v e l l u m w h o b e s t c o m p r e h e n d c dt h e r c e l Tomc

Bockout whosc own bounclless but shaltered.llfc was endless anong these

timeless llbrettees, llke r livcly book returneil frcm bclng too long sut cn

loan -- a tattered tsno borne out of e lcbor of lovc.

T o m e B o sko u t l a b o re d a t r neny edcl Jobs end iluller ct wor kleds befs r e ar -

f lnally l n th ts n o rth -c cntr e} par t cf Eest Texas now, ov c r fl v c

rlv l n g
y a a r s h a d p r s s e 6 l , n e t r e e l l - y s o l o n g 6 8 r r b u t b a c k t h e n o l e T o m eB o o k o u t
pr lnter s s nd' or l -
h a d b e c n s e l l i n g re e ms a n d retms of ber ing dull psper ts

l-ateral buslnesscs, and even tittlc booksteres, such ns the onc the crlcrful

here rkrustrcated C o , n m e r c cl , o v i n g 1 y @ p e r t t c d . tsut the fanolfuL

slsters
6/6/6/6/6/5 'riyr,on

ag l n g s i s t e r st ma a g e r sh o p p c dld not have the br sad soopc clc To m e Bos k out

then rcprcsented, at least Laoked the pcrspcctlve at thp t tlne when elc

Eoskout errlved on I cerl wtndy Iate-0ctober afternoon. Thc lncllmrte

weather llko a path.tic fellncy had lnfluenced the turn of events because

sf an untlmely celd snap or "blue northcrn that had precipitated a rash

of head colds. An illness, a vlrus, much llke the lnfluenza Ef the f919

kitler-farned flu epidemle agaln lnvaded the clolstered b o o k r o o mc a l l e i l the

Newsstand; the arlstocratic splnster slsters took to their bed for a fsrth-

night, Ilfe @r deeth clrcumstances for them, iIl at home ln thelr old. Texena.

Steambrnt style h o u s e n e m e dV r t l n n l f o r d W a y I o c a t e d . @ n t h e a n c e s t o r a l l a n d g r a n t

country estate. T o m eB o o k o u t h a d j u s t happenedupon thd sreaa, out of thc

bIueoroutofthewood.work'up@n&chances1tuet1cnn",ffitoca1Ifor
p ro s p e c t l v e p rp e r sa l e s a n d then made the m ost of 8 dr y r un or ba d tur n of

cvents 1n the ohilly weather, turned bad meinly unpleesent for the noble

lrd.les ttnt l-s. o l e T o m eb e g a n w o r k l n t h l s college town bookstore accldent-

aIIy by just bclng trresent @r Just celllng et the frsnt iloor cn the ilreedeil

rfbcok deyr rs the felks ln the trade called the dreadfuL ohcrc: cvery Tucsiley

dellvery f or pnper-backs, ad T h u r s c t a yd e l l v e r y for mrgazlnes or then Just

Itkcly anytlme for rceelving dellvery of the herd.backs. Conplete havec

ex l s t e d a t th e fro n t d o rr u p and down the long sldewalk - - fcmner c l el c ar i l -

b re r d b o x e s l l n e d o r b l o o ke d the wlde dewntown wel} ctlay.

a good'
o l e T o me B e o ko u t b e g a n wor k ln downtown ccm m cr ce by per for m i ng
thc bookstor e i l oor w ay v ,'s
c le e i l , a f c v o r Ju st to p l a ce alr the ear tons lnslde
n G o e d s a m a ri ta n tr cn o u g h . B u t @ncc lnsld' e the sheppe, ole Tem eB oek out s l npl - y
7/7/7/7/7/7 TAYT0R

c @ u l d n o t r e sl st th e cp p o rtu nity the r sm anced fancy of lt all J us t

o o u l d n o t l e a ve th e e o n p e l l i n g place. Tom c began hls r npr k by ste c k l ng the

s h e l v e s a n d th e n co n p l e te l y r eer ganizing the stsr c floor plan - - [tany Inor e

books ho well knew eould be nerchandlzed by maklng scveral structural changes

along the htgh walls. T o m e b c r r o w e d h e m m e rm d s e w f r o m n n o t h e r c o n c e r n e d

citlzcn @ver tlre health sf the slckly slsters. O I e T E m eb u l l t shelves up end

down the fourteen foot ccllings, even built tables nnd racks f or aitdltlonel

books thet ho also knew must be bought and dlspleyed for the general publ-lc

or customer perusel. Ole Tone Bookout palnted the whole plaee, fnylng for

the naterials vd-th hts lnst dollar and gnve his aII to trensforning the snall

boskroomlnts e chnrmlng but Inrger bookhsll.

15e transformation p l e a s e d t h e n a l d e n l n d l e s u p @ nt h e l r rcgrlned heelth.

But the prospects of an obllglng enplryac, noblesse obllge or net -- end

malc, strangcr, et-that -- ovcrwbelmodthe twl rold. glr3-sil (ttgirl-str, t self-

ectuellzlng term used ts ilescrlbe thcmselves f snilly). The zestful, energetlc

sisters bed eperrted, the buslness as ene for dccades, e unlty, e n d 'm a c l e

dcolslons t og e th e r a s su o h ; no onc ln tbe to5- r er llV kncw r atr ich s l s ter

actually o w n e dt h e s h o p p e , c v c n t h e i r pers uffin"o nnmcs blcndcd together

Iike musloal titles: Lynna and LuolIIc Wlnniford; over the tel'ephone, the

sistersr v o l o e s s o u n d . e csl l r n l l e r , ldenticle, tnd frlends celLod or aildressecl

t h e t w o s o a e l n e fe st cl i p p l n g Tcxen upper - oLass voeal m enner ef r unnl ng

as one nc nl k er t
the chrlstlan 5 4 1 ve n -n a me sL ynna- J,ucilte assur edly together
the
t@ assul.c n@ sl l g h te d p e rs@nal er r r r ln e lew Quatity pitch( the hl gher

cl.ass, the lrwer the verbnl pttch: the low tones alwnys being evidcnt ln thc
3/s/s/8/8/8 r'lYroR

Ne w s s t a n d atn o sp h e re ss u n l i ka the high- pitcheil twang ef the r ow d.y r ednec k s

wh o a r c w e l l -kn o w n .e s th e p e r potr atss of the Texas legend or the T ex nn

yptcet peesant plelnsmrn wey d speaking). But e nale en-

ployee ceuld csrnplleate metters. Ilowever, thc Wlnniford. glrls llked the

ncw &nnrs genernl dcnesner, ebligatlon er nst. The strango man could pos-

slbly have a place ln thoir fennique hnbltet ns the two girJ-s reised their

eyebrows to eaoh other in hlgb eccord, non-verbal ngreement, lf he llked pr3-

fessional sports especielly slnce both slsters wcre e weLlclngcncyolopoedir

Ef fogtbrllmenler a runnlng casc of Cowboy-ltls (nrore thnn onc

Frrtlcuterly
bolsterous customer hrs beon ordered. sut of thelr buslness estnblishment for

ncgatlve crittclsm o f t h e D el t a s Ccwb@ys). Thesc feminlne prsprietors knew

a good play or strategum when they saw onc so well eildressed. The new book-

clealer reported f or work, almost e work-caI1, dressed lmpeccabl-y: hlghly

shined shoes, pinstriped sult, bow tie, f 1 n . " e r n a 1 1 sm n i c u r e d . , h a l r e v e n l y

trlmned and moustaohe curled.r str entlque look -- tn asslngeil lcok the

Irflnniford.girlsr 1lked, not at all unlike the huge sepia colored photogreph

of their d . e ce a se d fe
. th e r, se ated. en the wcst ver andeh of his gr andfather r s

T e x a n e m e n sl o n ce l l o d Wi n n i fo r d. i{ Iey ( ttr e tr ansplanted old Vlr glnla l Yl nni for ds

of
.ffinniford WaX, no less). T . e s s t h n n p e r f e e t , o l e T o m eB c o k o u t c u t q u l t e

e flgurc t s l o sk l l ke th o l e nd,eclgentr y sc elit feshlsned or tim oles s that

their d o a r d . e a d s. l r e b u t n r x o m n t i c a l l y attnoh-
did lndeed IEok nuch ltke
nents for them this time, e tirnely featr.re in hls favor for staylng-en at
c
the revitallzed beokstore, should the volume @f sales lncrease to merlt

@r so the girls stated in the stipulatiens of thcir

permanent position

hlrlng-business practicsllties'
g/g/g/glg/g rAYr'oR

Business, however, dld not increase imnrediateLy. And the sld-maidtsh

sisters onLy too soen had te glve final notlce fsr [fendayweek e3 vieck after

ncxt t@ their splendid bookdealer. T e m eB o o k c u t l i s t e n e d imfntlently and

only half-hcartedly to the saildenlng news, reasons aIl econemic not personeL,

but clssed hls e a r s ; b e m b o o z l e c l ,T o m es h u t h l s m l n d , t @ t h e b a d n e w s l i k e a

closed account, this imperfect moment, Iest, his preponderance in thls

travesty; ole Toru Just refused te be let Bor flnelly, no more could be salil,

aftor all had been salil and donel Ole Tome only responded orally by repeat-

lng his posltlve tralts over and .ver like e cateclsm, rautterlng as usuel

ln his hepl-ess yankee whlning brogue, shaklng hls herd and hcnds fast like

the quick fluttcring s@und nad.e,bp, rthe f inal thurnb-actlrn on dusty plges ts
tr1/
clrse f lrn1y a ha lf-opencfif-adFVbo the mutter ed dr one becoml ng I m on6-

t o n e , a b a sso p ro fu n d o , sl n rl lnr to the publlc speaklng volce fqr a w el l - r eai l

ilossier sr ncwspaper rbituary belng procl-aircd to alL the world ln publlc

o p c n f o r u m sn th e vl l l a g e g reen sr the tcwn $quer et But ele Toms Bos k out

ar r lved agr in and s s m eone

s t a y e c l - o n , a n yw a y, fq l a sh l pr aent d| books ilad iust
like al l
s in p l y h a d to p u t tl re m a l vsy -- to be shclved snuggly sut sf sigbt

the old or out-of-datc books sold on eonslgnnent, Tomehlmself quletly end

d.ellberetely placed his salary or pink slip so to spcnk on rescl.ve, te hEId

llk e a l l f e - tl me me mb e rsh i p car d, €lVcr lr Anit Tome Boskout never nentl onc i l

the altcrcatlon agaln, the flnallzing ncver reellzed., as he continug.d d'olng

hls old. job as usual to perfection ancl even all menlal chores n"twa'n"

wh i l e llving l n th e r@@n sa b ove the stor e, just as though wor d one hai l ev er

a sigh cf sllent r elief to the b eek d'eal ar s '

be e n s a i i l a U o u !fi frc te rml n a ti o n,

Q I e T e r c B E e ko u t n sve r l e ft tbe bookstee egr ln for any r eas@n 8s though

Lo/ Lo/ Lo/ Lo/ La/ Lo rAYT-oR

havlng taken abstlnence frcm fresh alr forever but in reellty ho fearecl the

doors would bec sme shut, loc ked; he renalne d., a lwrys , on t he premises : I're ldq

but net a sedentary llfe, scurrlng allrover the pl-ace, taking hls food from
4U4/-
tbe scraps nthe glrls[ as he now calt6\,/eohortsT deliberatcly left from thelr

I u n c h e s s p r e e d sn th c b a o k ceunter wher e old books got r ebound - - and thos e

edlblc s c r a p s b e c a m o m @ r eg c n e r e u s w l t h e a c h P e s s i n g d a i L y n e a l t l n e . nsuch

a harmless deluslonr" reegoned the klndly splrlted slsters -- thesc sweet old

ladles of quelity acccptlng thelr ganteel cul-cle-sac sltuation with a geniel

prottcsl bchlnd thelr blg staeks of consigned booksheaLves.

0 1 e T o r n el i v e d ln genteel poverty from hls conpetent nlche between the

shelves of the curirus old book store, hll grandc shoppc,, eniil hls fenlllar

bo s k s r _ g l g d e e r b e e ks n o w stacking- up on the r lght sld.e of Els long l l fe

but frme lived E l s l tfe co rn pletely allvel l,fild- nanner ed o1c Ton e Bs ok out

selilon was t1otlced"at all but observed never ldle, ncvcr socn witheut s@mc

Journal or oodex ln hand. Ole Tom e m ade the stor e r sundg cluietly thr ough

the mny ls1es of tables ln the old shoppe, fllttlng ln end about end

around the various publtcations llke an exhalted vlsitation with old friends

to keep-up wlth aII the scuttlebut, always just popplng sut of the stacks

s im j . l a r t e a l l ve Ja ck-1 n -th c-box @r &n unexpecteil walking bor k mar k er ,

t u r n e d h l m se l -f p e rso n l fi e d l n to a human fly- teaf not quite tur ned - dount

firrnly. O l e T o m eB o o k o u t J u s t a p p e a r e d t o h a v e e t o u c h l n g r e L a t i o n s h i p te

ell the books, se tactlle the fingers el,ways handled @r dawdllng, cachr st

lsvingLy compelled treesures fcrever by the wayr Yet to be enceuntered'lr

nll the world, given, viclriously
recsunted as a recoriled experience for
bibliopole this fusty old bookish mrn'
madereal wlth a d.eftness, a real-llve
LL/ LL/ LL/ tt / tt /' t tt rAn"0R
i
I
I
T,
t'

I
O L e T o me B o cko u h l o o kcd alder than his aetunl ycr r s, whetcv er they

wcrc ln ehronobgicdl rrder, hls faee linod, and eyes Jeded with slow, dell-

be r e t e n o c ve n e n tsstu d yl n g h 1 s sur r eundingsr movlng llkc r ceillng p r l nt on a

psge: his physique fuIl of feetures beetling, o l s T e m e , s e e m e dp a g l n e t e c l

always facing recto or verse much l-lke e center-fold. picture elmost eoL-

lapslble ln klnesthetlc eggregatiln, a rnn of slcw pleasures, a man of parts,

not singuler ln rclatlenshlp te a13.the books, these mrrked compl}ations

cf civllizations regulerly visitod ln thls previnclal llttle old shoppc ln

the ocnter o f th l n g s, l ts o wn univer se well- wor n. Ole Tome elwey s w or e a

s w c a t e r n o w tb e t l o o kcd h e n d .ed- dowr , nor e end m r r e Ilke a well- wo r n book

jecket; hts shfrt cuffs elways freighed arEund the cdge$ trlkc I rare but
\fr/*" ths lm peccable or lginal bus i nes s s ul t
favorltc o l d b ffi w i th d e ckL c edges

had. Iong sgr ngcne-to-seedrr, feIIen lnto d.lsrepelr @r tettered d . e c a ye n d

only hand.y musty garments feund or Lef t ln the old shoppc by f orgatfully

f lig h t y c o l le g e stu d cn ts l n a i lver tendly pr ovided the ncag€r wer d.r c be I

for thls b oo i tw o rn o f a mtn . And the skln tones on olc Tom ets we ather ec l i %

was dlscolrred. !n leyers over the wbitish chnlk sunless spots llke the

s e l d o m u s e d b o o k b i n d i n g s e n sor oe of the spcttcd classlceL but u nus c d.book s

in the Newsstanci, tor long unreacl and cleerly unappreclated -- the @nce

ila p p c r e o n fl g u ra tl o n o f th e staLwar d, tor es had fi- nalLy glven way te thc

tirnolcss, yst oh so tineLy, werLd-wlile features of all thc yollowed exotlc

books on the seldon used bnck shelves. The bsokdealer hinself bLend.ed'

flna IIy by choice hepplly llke a half-opencd. folio paginated onte the dusty

shclves, willingly lltorate, the mln litera}Iy ne more a ruj'n upen thc
hlm'
wh o l e w i d e Gxp e n se th a n th e s ld d.usty books elL ar eund