Ah, the Book of the Day. Sometimes in our open shop the Book of the Day is the one sold that we've had on our shelves the longest (a "dog"); sometimes it is the most expensive book (a "golden ticket"); sometimes it is a big or oddly-shaped book that resists efficient shelving (a "Winnebago"); but sometimes the Book of the Day is memorable for other reasons and that is what happened this past weekend.
Saturday I had a customer show up to purchase a book that had belonged to her father. He was a New York City publisher who had the book inscribed to him by Frederic Warburg, himself a publisher (of the English firm Secker and Warburg best known for nurturing George Orwell's writing career). I had described the book in my Internet listing as having this inscription and an accompanying postcard laid in, so my customer knew this book was her dad's. She even recognized her father's secretary's typing and initials on the postcard which gave her a chuckle. She has been trying to round up as much of the paternal library as she can since there was some familial squabbling upon his demise and his books were cast to the winds. Happily, this book was reunited with a grateful customer and we both left the shop that day with a warm feeling. A happy ending.
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