always pack your books yourself

[julesjones]

Someone, either the moving firm packers or the family member who offered attic space but repacked most of my books while putting them into his attic, doesn't respect books as objects of potential value. Because someone decided to pack most of the backs spine up, and to simply fold the large format softbacks in half in order to get them in if they didn't fit into the height of the box, instead of taking the trouble to pack them flat within the box (for which there was ample room). Which means that, for example, my copy of The Josh Kirby Discworld Portfolio is now folded double, and thus had a significant fraction of its value to a collector destroyed. It's also currently impossible to actually use it as a book, and will be so until it's spent a few weeks under something large and heavy to be returned to something approximating flat.

And then there's my 280 year old book, which as far as I knew when I bought it for a tenner had almost no intrinsic commercial value, but it was *260* years old even then, and precious to me because of that. One cover board was loose when I last saw it, but I didn't have the resources to do something about it at the time. It has not just been ripped off, it appears to have been thrown away so that I can't even repair it. The book block's fine as far as I can see, so someone like Evil Rooster could restore it to a full binding, but the binding was part of what made it interesting. Someone killed an ancient thing because they couldn't be bothered to treat it with a little care. And while the monetary value wasn't important to me, I just went "urk" when I saw what one was going for on Alibris.

Comments

[khrister]

There are times when the death penalty is almost warranted...

[julesjones]

I've calmed down a bit now. But I was *not* happy on Friday.

[cat63.livejournal.com]

I am quite literally cringing in horror at the way your books have been treated :-(

Poor mangled books!

The perpetrator(s) get the Babirusa of Rage icon and I hope he/she/they never get a decent cup of tea ever again....

[sallymn.livejournal.com]

Oh god, that positively hurt to read... I think I would sit down and cry my eyes out if some of my treasures (and not just monetary ones) were mistreated liked that.

[cat63.livejournal.com]

Yes, I really don't understand how anyone could treat a book that way :-(

[coppervale.livejournal.com]

Holy cow. I think I'd have blacked out if that happened to my books...

My condolances.

[jhall1.livejournal.com]

That's terrible! I hope that it was the packers rather than the family member who were to blame.

[carl-allery.livejournal.com]

Sympathies. And thanks for the reminder to never let anyone else pack my books! I completely understand the allure of old books - just being able to hold something that someone else was reading that long ago is a real thrill. My oldest book is actually bound now with a shiny metallic blue duck tape spine, but since I inherited it in that condition I don't really mind. Also because I'm sure it was read and enjoyed by my uncle for its contents rather than for being an antique. :)

[esmeraldus-neo.livejournal.com]

I screeched "Jeeeeeeezus fucking chrrrrrist!" when I read that. I think I would find and bend double/de-cover the party responsible.

[glitterboy1.livejournal.com]

Oh good grief, I'm sorry. That wasn't even about respecting books as objects of potential value - that was just about respect for someone else's things. The packing spine-up might be ignorance, but folding and actually damaging things... Sigh. Your old book must be especially upsetting.

[julesjones]

Yes, I'm not bothered about the spine-up thing -- it's an easy mistake to make, and one I've made myself when I was young and foolish. And the initial damage to the old book I could forgive, because that cover board *was* already pretty much coming off, and you might easily finish it off simply by taking it out of whatever I'd wrapped it in if you weren't aware of why it was wrapped in a sheet of paper. There's a fair bit of damage to some books which I haven't ranted about, because it has been caused by the simple fact that they were never intended to be in an attic for more than a couple of years, and the boxes haven't held up. But some of the damage is deliberate, done through wanton carelessness and lack of respect, and that's what upset me.

[katlinel.livejournal.com]

Your poor books, especially the 280 year old one. Why didn't they think to keep the cover even if it had come completely loose?

[julesjones]

I'm desperately hoping that it's loose in one of the remaining boxes, but I strongly suspect that they simply didn't realise what they were holding, and thought "Oh bugger, might as well bin that, it's not worth taping it back on."

[agoodwinsmith.livejournal.com]

That's pretty crappy - even for a minimum-wage packer. For someone doing a favour, it is unforgivable.

[pinkdormouse.livejournal.com]

Folding books in half? Why?????

And much cringing at the treatment of your 280 year old book too.

[spindriftdancer.livejournal.com]

O.M.G.

That makes the book geek in me cry out in pain...

/pets your books

[birdsedge.livejournal.com]

Oh... I feel your pain.

When I started work in libraries I was told that there had recently been a library fire (in Dewsbury I think) and the chief librarian had been called out in the middle of the night to find the grinning fire officer with his shiny red engine, supremely pleased with himself because his fire crew had saved all the shiny new books (Mills & Boon) as a priority - letting all the worthless scruffy old ones (the local history collection) burn. Aaaaargh!