in which I love my job (for a fleeting moment)

We're on the backside of the London Book Fair now and as the carts of books come through receiving and onto cataloging, I can only hope that there might be something on those carts to pique my interest. To the everyday person my job is quite interesting, and it's true, I am surrounded by rare pieces of history all day long -- in fact, I am one of the few people in the office that gets to handle each and every piece of inventory. But, as I close in on my 6th year here I will admit, I am jaded by these beautiful, scarce texts. I joke with my assistant about how boring certain volumes are (for example, anything written about economics or the stock market -- no matter how valuable -- is completely snooze-worthy), I cringe when an elephant folio comes my way (Roberts Holy Land, I'm looking at you -- 8 volumes weighing in at a combined 350lbs -- and all yours for $500,000) and don't get me started on signed baseball books written in the last 100 years. Barf.

So last week, as the books started to pour through the office and carts started filling up outside my studio, I crossed my fingers that something cool would be waiting for me. Protocol here means that I photograph the "expensive" stuff first (usually sales people already have it selected for clients) and then I shoot all the "other inventory". This other inventory we refer to as "B" books, basically anything under 5K. This is usually where the dregs of the rare book industry are lurking, so I often put off shooting these books until the inventory manger is breathing down my neck.



To my surprise, when I dragged my assistant and I into the studio I found a whole cart of................HORSE BOOKS!!!!! I actually laughed and shouted over to the inventory manager stating that I would have had all of those books photographed in a jiffy had I known what they were! Over the years we've had lots of cool horse related books. Everything from classical dressage books from the 17th century, to signed copies of Marguerite Henry's entire collection and everything in between. A few stood out that I thought were quite special, without further ado:

Inside the set below: Eadweard Muybridges photographic studies of the horse and it's gaits.

The Horse: Its Treatment in Health and Disease, 1906. First edition, nine volume encyclopedia, with 114 full-page plates.

This is from a book titled: Twenty Sporting Designs and Selections from the Poets, 1911. Signed, limited first edition of only 300 copies. *I love the woodcut/pen and ink details around each poem!

Racing in America, 1866-1921. First edition of a scarce history of American thoroughbred racing with 56 plates. **love the banged tail!

Pictures of Horse and English Life, 1927. First trade edition with reproductions of Munning's painting of horses and their masters at work, at war and at sport. **Check out this awesome chick foxhunting sidesaddle!

Sporting Stables and Kennels, 1935. *I found this book really interesting, each page had drawings and architectural renderings of stables and I loved this plate, which also looks like a horseshoe!

And my favorite...

Beauties and Defects in the Figure of the Horse Comparatively Delineated in a Series of Colored Plates, 1881. 

Best part of this book, besides the cartoonish horses are the descriptions of each horses behavior (explained below)

Fig 1: Is the expression of rage, with a great deal of vice. This passion will always be conspicuous in the countenance of a horse possessed with these bad qualities: but not the extent in the plate, unless provoked. Horses of this disposition, by having even a finger pointed at them, will give full force to this character.
Fig 2: This character of countenance, from repeated instances I have met with, I consider to possess more malicious malice than Fig 1. The horse from which this character was take, though a good worker once in harness, is one of the most ferocious animals of the tribe denominated tame.
Fig 3: The character of terror, which is the prominent mark of its head, is by some classed among vices of this animal. if it be not a vice, however, it's one of the most troubling faults, incident to the horse; for it embraces all the consequences of all the vices which he can possess; a terrified horse more to be dreaded than one actually vicious.
Fig 4: Represents a horse of sulky character, and animal of this type, although in some cased rather to be dreaded than otherwise, is sometimes very good at work. The obstinacy of this character, however, not unfrequently turns to restiveness. It is a subject which may be useful, but can never be pleasant.

It's important that although I'm not riding right now, I try to keep writing here to keep the spark going! Thanks for indulging me!