Edwin Wolf (1911–1991)

It's sad that this book about perhaps the greatest bookseller of the 20th century is so flawed. After a too brief introduction to Rosenbach's early bookselling career, the first 150 pages quickly become a list of how much a book was bought for and at what price sold. A lot of the reasons why individual books are important is left out. When so many books are described as the "finest available" it quickly becomes repetitive.

Luckily after the first 150 pages this book gets better. You get more of a sense of Rosenbach as an individual, including some really funny anecdotes about the books he sold and Rosenbach's customers. It doesn't make up for the first pages but don't give up hope if you keep reading it is worth it. Unfortunately after about 150 pages in the middle it goes back to the "he bought this book for this price and sold it at this price to Mr X".

This book included a section of photos in the middle. Interestingly none of the books bought or sold are shown.… (mer)