Making A Mark for Bookmarks
October 25, 2009

If you regularly read BiblioBuffet you probably know I collect bookmarks. In fact I have been doing so for about six years. My collection began purely by accident.

I was in Ojai, a nearby town famous for two things: the Ojai Valley Inn, a resort spa, and Bart’s Books. I adore this store, and will sometimes make a day of it by driving over the old Highway 150, around Lake Casitas, and into the sleepy old town. Off the main street by a couple of blocks and surrounded by sloping shelves that appear to be holding up the fences is this quaintly rundown used bookstore that was originally a home. Those outer shelves hold “honor system” books where anyone at any time can buy a book by noting the price on the cover and slipping the money into a slot.

Inside is the courtyard with a huge ancient tree, lots of bookshelves slouch lazily, their former white paint peeling and scorched. Wood chairs and benches are scattered here and there. When you enter the former house, you see what used to be walls now completely lined with more bookcases, wall-to-wall and floor-to-ceiling. A few have glass fronts, but most are open. It was while I was browsing in the former living room that I noticed an old olive-colored book, The Love Affairs of a Bibliomaniac. Being fond of both old volumes and books about books, I pulled it off the shelf only to have it fall open to pages 56-57. Tucked neatly between the second and third pages of the chapter entitled “Baldness and Intellectuality,” a bookmark particularly apropos to its location, sat quietly: hair. Specifically, a clump of golden brown hair, male from the length of it. It had lain undisturbed for so long it had left visual stigmata on the page under it. I was enchanted and remain so. It is the only bookmark I own that stays in the book and the only one made of hair. But that experience has grown into a collection of more than 1,300 bookmarks.

I am not a collector by nature. I favor minimalism, especially around my home. I don’t keep knickknacks nor do I have any more dishes or cookware than I need. I have shoes enough to get by but no more. Make-up? Nearly non-existent. Books are my one weakness but even there  I don’t “collect” them. I buy only what I want to read. So when I ran across this particular “bookmark,” I didn’t immediately think of collecting them. In fact, even after I thought it might be fun to begin collecting them it took a while to figure out where and how to begin to find them. Googling the term proved nearly useless since it has co-opted by the tech industry to denote the electronic version of marking one’s place online. I knew of eBay but had never been on it nor did I have any interest in it. Until one day.

I did a search and came up with a surprising number of them on the auction site. Most were, at that time, not mass produced. Even though I found myself becoming intrigued it was several months before I bought my first one.

At the time I didn’t have a lot of competition. It has been only relatively recently that bookmarks became objects of desire. Some people of course have been collecting them for years, but those few had the field pretty much to themselves. Within the last couple of years, however, interest has increased to such a point that the prices of many of the antique bookmarks I favor have skyrocketed. I have paid hundred s of dollars for each of several unusual bookmarks I really wanted. And I am not alone.

My collection has no particular focus. “Whatever attracts me” could easily be my motto, and so the collection has bookmarks of silver, brass, stainless steel, leather, paper, silk, linen, fiberglass; bookmarks that date from 1865 to 2009; bookmarks that span subjects from advertising to war; bookmarks that come from countries ranging from Australia to Serbia; and bookmarks whose prices range from free to nearly five hundred American dollars.

My co-writer, Laine Farley, and I share our bookmark collections through the column, On Marking Books. But in February 2010 bookmark collectors and those with an interest in this growing niche of ephemera collecting will have an opportunity to come together in the first (ever!) virtual convention for collectors, the Bookmark Collectors Virtual Convention. Alan Irwin of the Bookmark Collector blog, who happens to live in my hometown and who I met when his links to BiblioBuffet showed up on my Google searches, developed the idea of getting the growing numbers of collectors together for a convention. A real-life one was simply not possible given the far-flung locations of many of the collectors, but Alan’s experience with virtual conventions through his work made them the right venue for this experimental collectors convention.

For one 24-hour period from between February 20-21, three sessions of six hours each will be filled with presenters offering PowerPoint presentations on various subjects of interest. The time frame will allow collectors from all over the world to participate in the planned presentations that will include live interactions between the presenter and the attendees, the ability to join the discussion forums and to share displays, to educate themselves about bookmarks, to learn where and how to find bookmarks, to talk with and purchase bookmarks from a range of vendors, and to socialize with other bookmark collectors.

Bookmarks have been in existence for as long as there have been books, and for the bookmark collector their meaning goes beyond their mundane purpose of marking a position within a book. Made out of materials that vary from paper to precious gems, they are pieces of art, souvenirs, craft samplers, time capsules, and cultural flotsam. Although their prices vary from free to thousands of dollars, collectors ascribe value based on personal meaning, judgment of beauty, and fit within a series.

The only expense involved for attendees is a nominal fee, the only equipment required are a computer and access to the Internet.

I am one of the presenters with two talks—“Buying Antique Bookmarks on eBay” and “How to Store and Display Your Bookmark Collection”—but we are currently adding others. One that all collectors, not just those of bookmarks, might appreciate is “Are You An Embarrassed Collector? Don’t Be!” by Deanna Dahlsad.

So why not register to join us. If you’d like to be a presenter, tell us. If you have ideas for topics, speak up. If you just want to lurk and listen, that’s fine. And if you have no idea why you’d even be interested in learning about bookmarks, then you have the biggest reason of all to be part of this. After all, you do want to know about that hair bookmark, right?

Upcoming Book Festivals:
The pace of festivals is beginning to slow as winter begins, but if you live in New Hampshire, Texas or Washington DC, you have treats in store for you this coming weekend.

The Children’s Literature Festival is scheduled for Saturday, October 31 at Keene State College in New Hampshire. Pre-registration is recommended for this full day of speakers, lunch, book sales, and reception. Attendees will be able to meet and hear authors and illustrators of some of the most widely recognized books for young people, lunch with like-minded people, and the opportunity to see the newest exhibitions at the Festival Gallery Collection. The cost is $72 for the conference, and an additional $8 for lunch.

Austin is hosting the Texas Book Festival next weekend, October 31-November 1, in and around the State Capitol Building. More than 200 authors and 75 vendors will be there from 9:00 am-5:00 pm (Saturday) and 11:00 am-5:00 pm (Sunday). This is one of the largest festivals in the U.S. so if you are in the area make plans to go.

The Multicultural Children’s Book Festival, which takes place in Washington, DC, on Sunday, November 1, is featuring more than forty authors, illustrators, and entertainers in a literary extravaganza filled with book signings and readings. Families couldn’t find a better way to spend the day than here so come with plenty of anticipation.

Austin, Texas has a big reason to smile next weekend. In additional to the Texas Book Festival, the  Austin Jewish Community Book Fair, a weeklong literary festival—November 1 to November 8—will make the city burst with book excitement. Several ticketed events include, but most of the events are free. Authors come from all over and participate in lectures and discussions, the Bagel Breakfast, Dinner Break, and Book Lover’s Luncheon, and various Texas Book Festival appearances. Check the website for specific event details.

The Pub House:
The African Books Collective is not a single publisher. Rather it is a collective of African publishers who met in 1985 with the goal of strengthening “the economic base of independent  African publishers and meeting the needs of Northern libraries and other book buyers.” They opened their doors in 1989 in the UK. Michigan State University Press is their North American partner from whom the books can be ordered. The partners publish in fifty-six publishing disciplines, and add about 150 books per year to their list that focus on African culture, literature, and scholarly and academic books, and children’s titles.

With something like ABC, most of us would never have the opportunity to hear about books like Faceless by Amma Darko, described as a “socially-committed, subtle novel about four educated women who are inspired by the plight of a 14-year-old girl, Fofo.” This realistic portrayal of street life in the slums of Accra, Ghana, “invokes the squalor, health risks, and vicious cycles of poverty and violence that drive children to the streets and women to prostitution; and, from which, ultimately, no one in the society is free.” An unusual book, a particularly apt if unusual gift for any beader you know, is The Bead is Constant, edited by Alexandra Wilson. It explores the role of beads in Ghana culture and theirthe origins and developments of the bead industry  as well as the specific meanings of beads to various West African ethnic groups. Among the numerous children’s books is Growing Up at Lina School by Marjorie Oludhe Macgoye. Covering two cultures and two continents, this story follows Grace, a girl who returns with her family from England, where she has been living, to Kenya, their native land. Grace joins a girls’ boarding school where she finds action, fun, and adventure.

Of Interest:
The Radio Detective Story Hour will prove memorable for those who remember and/or adore old time radio shows about detectives and crime. Jim Widner is a web master, writer, and radio historian who has set up this blog whose posts talk about individual shows then offer a full podcast of the show. He’s now up to 138 shows. These podcasts, which interact contemporary commentary with the original radio shows, are both hilarious and wonderful. You’ll hear old time stars, learn about the history of writers, characters, and story formats. It is beautifully done blog by someone who clearly cares very much for what he does.

This Week . . .
You only have a few more days left, but it’s worth entering anyway. Powell’s Books is celebrating its 15th anniversary of being online, and they are giving us gifts in the Welcome to the Party contest that you can enter every day until October 30. They are giving away a prize each day, but the most exciting is the grand prize: $1,500 to be spent at their online store! Enter your e-mail address every day. Who knows—you might just win.

Until next week, read well, read often and read on!

Lauren