‘Start Collecting Books Now’, is a new PBFA initiative, recently launched with distribution of 10,000 free booklets. Aimed at reaching a public who haven’t started to collect books yet, but who might not know quite how or where to start! The designer Mark Hearld, York based artist, has produced the delightful artwork making it hard to resist picking up a copy. Mark is inspired by British artists such as Eric Ravilious, John Piper and Edward Bawden, and was the last designer commissioned by the PBFA to design the famous cat logo.  

THE BOOK COLLECTOR’S DILEMMA

There’s a kind of magic about a book. It’s portable. It doesn’t need a power supply. And it’s personal: the books you choose define your life. That’s why we keep them, long after the first reading. Its why, when we find a book that means something to us, we’re eager to find more like it.There are other ways to learn but a book places the knowledge in your own hands. That’s why we collect: because books entertain, disturb, transform, teach – and look good on a shelf. But what starts out as curiosity can soon turn into a passion because there’s nothing quite like the excitement of opening a book you didn’t know existed or holding a rare volume that you never thought you’d own. That’s when you come face to face with the book collector’s dilemma. Will you buy it? Can you afford it? Can you resist the temptation or will someone else snap it up while you’re still making up your mind? Help is at hand...  

THE PBFA: Window on a World of Books

The first question anyone asks when they’re bitten by the book collecting bug is, ‘where do I look?’ The Internet has opened up the market in rare and collectable books for new enthusiasts, but there’s still no substitute for turning the pages yourself and no better way to judge whether the book you’re holding is one that really belongs on your shelf. The Provincial Booksellers Fairs Association (PBFA) is the world’s largest trade association for dealers in second-hand and antiquarian books. It was established to co-ordinate a wide range of specialist and general book fairs taking place across the UK every year, and to ensure that its booksellers maintain the highest professional standards in their dealings with the public. So if you’re new to collecting there’s no better place to start than a PBFA fair, or a bookshop run by a PBFA member.