Antique books

The passion for collecting books is known as bibliophilia and the individual who undertakes it, is known as bibliophile. Sometimes the craze for collecting books can also be termed as bibliomania but mania does not mean the actually maniacal craze. It means the joy of collecting books.

Collecting not just any books would make you a bibliophile. Books that are rich in literature are mostly the books that are in demand and categorize you as a book lover. Hence it is mostly the craze for antique books that make you a bookman. However the term now bookman refers to a person or organization that publishes, edits and sells books.

Collecting casual books are not enough, one has to yearn to collect valuable books. But what is it that make books valuable. Firstly it is the age of the books. The older the better. The heavier the literature, the better. It was the Duke of Burgundy in France who had the maximum number of books, a total of 600 volumes. Many books were destroyed during the Reformation era and to save the books, few began to collect them. It is from here that the habit of hoarding books was inculcated.

There are more than a million books available. So how do you collect books? It begins by knowing the category of books that you love. It could be literature, western, design, graphic novel, fiction, non-fiction, science etc. In these too there are sub-categories, it could be a particular author or a genre of a field, first editions, comic books or illustrated magazines. You could also collect books based on the paper used. So it could be vellum or parchment.

The price of a book depends on many factors. For instance if there are only a few copies printed or the book is heavily in demand and the condition of the book. Also the price given need not be the same at all times. It will differ from time to time depending on the demand.

The condition of the book is the ultimate price factor. As the book has been handled for years, it has been moved to different locations, stored at various places and the dust that has accumulated on them, spoils them. Books invariably are subject to damage due to sunlight, insects and moisture. Also the acid that is used to make the books leads to brown spots called foxing. Then the pages gradually turn brown, this is called tanning and then ultimately they crumble.

To save ancient books from such natural mishaps they are saved with liquids and the right temperature. Hence you find many cubicles within a museum that houses ancient books.
Visitors are not allowed to touch them or hold them in their hands. They can only leaf through the pages if there are gloves placed within the cubicle that you have to put on and read the manuscripts.

Ancient books in India include the Vedas, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. The actual manuscripts are kept safely while copies of the same are made and circulated for easy reading.