In China, the circle of collecting ancient Western books has always been relatively small. A Gang is one of the first people in China to play with rare Western editions. His experience of studying in the UK made him come into contact with and embarked on the collection of ancient Western books.

The "Tibetan World" column of The Paper Art Edition, this issue focuses on A Gang, a senior collector and researcher in the field of rare edition books in Shanghai. From the letters of Maugham, Dumas fils, Hardy, Dickens and other writers in the history of western literature, to the poetry collections of Dylan Thomas... A Gang’s collection has narrowed the distance with Western literature and art. These masters who exist in textbooks Suddenly became "at your fingertips".

Not long ago, Ah Gang held a lecture on rare editions of Western books in the East Building of the Shanghai Library. He is a senior collector and researcher in the field of rare editions of Western literature in Shanghai, and he is also a bookseller of Western literature for more than ten years.

When asked how to balance hobbies and business, he said, "Aristotle's aphorism more than two thousand years ago: first is survival, second is philosophy. Rare books are my hobby and my job, so stick to it. until now."

Five or six years ago, he opened up a space in a quiet part of the city center, which he called "Agang's Study Room". The study area is only 6 or 7 square meters, and basically can only accommodate two people at the same time.

It is said to be quiet amidst the hustle and bustle because it is close to the most prosperous commercial center in the downtown area of Shanghai. Near the busy Jing'an Kerry Center, there is an old-fashioned residential building. Walking through the alleys, the "Agang Study Room" is hidden in this old-fashioned residential building.

Standing upright in the courtyard, the "Agang Study Room" is only 6.7 square meters

At the appointed time in the morning, a jeep "sprinted" from the entrance of the alley, thinking that it might be Ah Gang. He parked the car in the alley and got out of the car. He was tall and thin, with a clean face and a conspicuous beard. The small cloth bag in his hand is like a standard accessory for literary youth. After a brief exchange of greetings and introductions, I followed him to a small wooden door, unlocked it, and walked through a cramped small corridor. A very miniature house stood upright in a small courtyard, which was the "Agang Study Room".

Interior view of Ah Gang's study French showcase and vinyl record player

Interior view of Ah Gang's study

Pushing open the door, the small space of 6 or 7 square meters in front of you is still a bit surprising. Turn on the lights, open the blinds, and open the windows, and the sunlight will sweep away the gloom in the room.

Small is small, but the study has all the furnishings: single sofa, Persian rug, French display cabinet, English newspaper rack and small bookcase, vinyl record player and the "protagonist" in the study, all carefully packaged by Ah Gang. Rare edition books on display in the bookcase.

In order to protect the fragile spine of the leather-bound book, Ah Gang has developed a professional habit of holding the book with one hand and turning the book with the other, and the angle of turning the book does not exceed 90 degrees.

Ah Gang said, "Don't look at the small space, if you talk about the books here in detail, you can talk about it for a whole day." This offline study room is like a salon, and all the friends who come here are friends who are very familiar with Ah Gang, and share books here Information, and some screening activities will also be held. At most, the space was crowded with more than ten people at the same time. Everyone sat shoulder to shoulder on the floor, facing the curtain. It is a very "immersive" viewing space, which sounds somewhat crazy.

After more than three years of the epidemic, everyone has reduced face-to-face social interaction, and "Agang Study Room" also seems a bit lonely. "I feel like it's your own performance art." Hearing this, Ah Gang smiled.

From the manuscripts of Maugham, Dumas fils, Hardy, Dickens and other writers in the history of western literature, to the poetry collection of Dylan Thomas, to the rare book "Lullaby Collection" edited, illustrated, and colored by three women... Introduction Talking about his collection, Ah Gang was eloquent.

Ah Gang said that he likes Western literature very much, especially poetry in literature. The theme of poetry is especially suitable for printmakers and illustrators to express and create, so the illustrated versions of poetry anthologies are usually very rich. Ah Gang himself is also a poetry lover, and he often circulates poetry booklets edited by his friends. He said that "poetry does not reject anyone", "writing poetry is the feeling of a beast coming out of the chest", which is impressive.

Somerset Maugham's Letters

Letters written by Alexandre Dumas

The Paper: How did you start collecting Western rare edition books?

Ah Gang: I liked to visit second-hand book stalls since I was a child. At the beginning, I mainly collected documents on the theme of old Shanghai. When I was studying in the UK in 2002, Charing Cross Road was a place I often visited, but most of them were ordinary second-hand bookstores, and there were not many rare books. Then one day I happened to step into a book fair at a hotel in Russell Square (later I found out that it was a regular second-hand book exchange organized by PBFA). Learn from these top booksellers over time, continuously expand your collection and improve your appreciation. With the improvement of economic conditions and the tempering of eyesight, he finally embarked on the road of collecting rare edition books in the true sense.

The Paper: What is the specific definition of "rare edition book"?

Ah Gang: How do you define a rare book? The Xishu market is divided into three levels: the first level is simple second-hand books, called second handbooks, ordinary second-hand books may be bought for one or two dollars; then the next level is called rare books, rare means rare of. It is a collectible book that is relatively unobtainable. This definition is also very broad, including many out-of-print books, limited-edition books, special editions, signed books, and more precious books of various collection levels; above rare books, there is another word called antiquarian books, which means Rare books, this level is a little higher than rare books, and rare books must have a certain edition value to become rare books.

The Paper: What is your collection system and collection scale? Can you introduce some interesting or unique collections in your opinion and the cultural connotations behind them.

Ah Gang: My collection system is very complex, but they all follow a unified standard: one is to have irreplaceable characteristics in terms of quality, such as binding and illustrations; the other is to reflect the spirit of the times, which is the so-called 'zeitgeist'; Third, there must be literati taste; Fourth, I value the scarcity of the collection and hope that the quality will be first-class. Introduce two collections that I think are quite special:

One is Country Sleep, a limited edition signed collection of poems by Dylan Thomas. Dylan Thomas (Dylan Thomas), a British poet, known as "Crazy Dylan", is regarded as another important British poet after Auden. He is my idol (I love modern poetry). Although he died young (drinking 18 glasses of whiskey in a row and died suddenly), his remaining poems have a magical penetrating power. In my friend's words, his poems are very tough. His poem "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night" (Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night) has a lot of meaning to me, a work that gave me strength in a darker experience. His works are very consistent with the theme of the science fiction film "Interstellar", which explores the theme of human existence and future. This poem is recited many times in the film, which enhances the shocking power of the film and hits the hearts of the audience every word. In fact, many Chinese audiences do not have a good foundation in English, but they are still moved by this simple, straightforward and rhythmic poem, thus forming a wave of Dylan fever. In addition to director Nolan, he is also one of the writers who influenced Steve Jobs.

Country Sleep, a limited edition signed collection of poems by Dylan Thomas.

Country Sleep, a limited edition signed collection of poems by Dylan Thomas.

Country Sleep, Inside Page from Dylan Thomas Limited Edition Signed Poems

Autographed by Dylan Thomas

Country Sleep, Inside Page from Dylan Thomas Limited Edition Signed Poems

The first edition of New Directions in New York, USA in 1952 in my collection contains this poem for the first time, and there are 5 other works. This is a special collection limited to 100 copies, with his autograph and number, extremely rare. The typesetting is clear and elegant, and Kilmory brand paper is used for exquisite printing.

"Lullaby Collection" is a rare book written by a female author, illustrated by a female illustrator, and hand-painted and colored by another female artist (the theme of the painting is also a female image). This is the "Lullaby Collection" published by George Allen, a publisher in London, England in 1894. The custom-made Moroccan leather book has a black and green two-color veneer bronzing flower pattern on the cover, with exquisite workmanship. On the leather edge at the bottom of the front lining is the gilt signature of Rivier, the famous bookbinder. Edited by British female translator Alma Strettell, this book has collected and compiled 30 lullabies popular among the folks in Greece, Italy, Spain and other European regions, and translated them into English. She was also a poet herself, and had published works in "The Yellow Face Chronicle" edited by Beardsley. This book contains a total of 77 illustrations. The author of the illustrations, Emily J. Harding (1850–1940), was also a British female painter. She graduated from Clifton Girls' School and then studied at Bristol Academy of Fine Arts. She has an independent personality and insists on using her maiden name after marriage.

Lullaby Collection

Affixed to the back of the front cover is a label that reads "Illustrations in this book were hand-painted and colored by Miss Gloria Cardew"

Affixed to the back of the front cover is a label that reads "Illustrations in this book hand-painted and colored by Miss Gloria Cardew". These illustrations are elegant in color, and the details such as the decoration of the frame are extremely exquisite. You can imagine the painstaking efforts and energy required to complete the coloring creation of 77 illustrations.

Lullaby Collection

In November 1897, London bookseller Frank Karslake (Frank Karslake) held an exhibition of books by women bookbinders at his bookstore at 61 Charing Cross Road, and displayed 32 books hand-colored by Miss Cadio . Castlelake advertised in major newspapers as Miss Cardio's agent, and the Prince of Wales was also invited to visit. The exhibition received rave reviews and thus began her brief but illustrious career as a 'colourist'. Her coloring skills are superb, creating harmonious color effects based on black and white line drawing illustrations, and one critic even mistaken her work for chromatic printing.

Illustrations for the inside pages of The Lullaby Collection

Illustrations for the inside pages of The Lullaby Collection

Illustrations for the inside pages of The Lullaby Collection

Illustrations for the inside pages of The Lullaby Collection

It is no accident that such books were born at the end of the 19th century. First the publisher, George Allen, was an assistant to the writer, art critic and thinker John Ruskin. Ruskin is known as an "encyclopedic" writer and the soul teacher of the Pre-Raphaelites. He sympathized with the people at the bottom of society and hated the profit-seeking capitalist mode of production. Published books and delivered speeches, exposing the erosion of the human spiritual world by machines since the Industrial Revolution. His ideas influenced poet, designer, and literary critic William Morris. A large number of followers followed closely, and a vigorous new arts and crafts movement swept across Britain and even the entire Western world, thus profoundly changing the concept of modern design. Female artists have played an important role in this raging movement, but these outstanding women in various subdivisions such as fabrics, book binding, and furniture design are often lost in art history because of their gender. unfair. The collection of "Lullaby Collection" is a product of the times and has witnessed the outstanding contributions of female participants in the special stage of art history.

Illustrations for the inside pages of The Lullaby Collection

Illustrations for the inside pages of The Lullaby Collection

The Paper: As a senior collector and researcher in the field of Western rare edition books, can you use your collection as an example to talk about book binding, illustration art, etc.?

A Gang: Books are the carrier of text. Some of the beautiful books published in the early days, especially the editions produced by private publishing houses run by writers and artists themselves, are excellent in subject matter, paper, binding, and illustrations. They bring us visual, even tactile, olfactory Experience cannot be replaced by any electronic product in the new era. The focus of my collection falls on these irreplaceable qualities.

I'm a fan of William Morris, a writer, critic and designer who was one of the founders of the New Arts and Crafts movement in late 19th century England. He founded Kemscott Publishing House himself, and published a series of first-class books with his excellent artistic accomplishment. Here I choose "The Dream of John Ball" produced by this publishing house in my collection as an example.

The Dream of John Ball, bound in velvet, with ribbon, bare of any frills except the gilt title on the spine

"The Dream of John Ball" was published in 1892. It is bound in calfskin and has a ribbon. It has no extra decorations except for the gilded title on the spine. The binding tries to restore the primitive style of the Middle Ages. The characteristics of the calf itself are easy to bend and warp, which is the fundamental reason why books with this type of binding have traditionally been bound with ribbons at the mouth of the book since the Middle Ages.

The Dream of John Ball Morris designed the woodcuts and initials Initials have multiple variations even on the same letter

The Dream of John Ball Morris designed the woodcuts and initials Initials have multiple variations even on the same letter

Morris designed the engravings and initials (including the cursive and cursive copyright marks), and the typeface used was one of three typefaces that Morris himself designed, the only typeface system based on Roman script. Retro medieval style. If you look closely, you can see that the punctuation marks he designed (such as the dots in periods and semicolons are actually flower-shaped rather than solid circles) are unique. There are many variations of initial letter decoration even for the same letter. For example, the initial letter S on the home page and the initial letter S on page 24 are both 10 lines high, but have different shapes. The latter is surrounded by grape patterns. The initial letter S on page 15 is 6 lines high, another shape. Red and black overprint, marginal notes and opening chapter titles printed in red.

The inside pages are made of handmade paper from Batchelor Paper Mills in Kent, with a beautiful custom watermark and Morris's initials beneath the flowers.

The inner pages are made of handmade paper produced by the Batchelor Papermaking Workshop in Kent, an authentic raw-edged book. The paper is thick and textured, and the ink marks are deep. In order to find the right paper, Morris visited many paper manufacturers, and finally chose this brand based on the 15th-century Italian papermaking process. This handmade paper has a beautiful custom watermark with Morris's initials beneath the flowers.

Inside Page of The Dream of John Ball

The frontispiece was designed by the famous Pre-Raphaelite painter Edward Burne-Jones. It depicts Adam digging the earth and Eve spinning the thread.

The frontispiece of this book also has a place in the history of illustration. The frontispiece was designed by the famous Pre-Raphaelite painter Edward Burne-Jones. It depicts Adam digging the earth and Eve spinning the thread. Burne-Jones was Morris' early classmate at Oxford, lifelong friend and artistic collaborator. Although very different in character, Burne-Jones was no less fascinated by medieval romance than Morris himself. The Collected Works of Chaucer, which they collaborated on, is the most famous work of the publishing house.

In every aspect of form, this book perfectly demonstrates the concept of "The Ideal Book" advocated by Morris.

The Paper: What do you think are the similarities and differences between the collection of Western rare books and the collection of Chinese ancient books?

A Gang: Most of the traditional rare books in China are printed with engraving blocks, while the rare books in the West (printed books except manuscripts) are basically printed with movable type.

Ah Gang Collection

Ah Gang Collection

Chinese characters in our country are pictographs, which contain the beauty of images. In history, some conservative bibliophiles of the scholar-official class pursued "excellent engraving", but did not value books with illustrations. Because the original purpose of illustrations is a marketing tool for the market class. This trend did not change until a group of modern scholars represented by Mr. Zheng Zhenduo made unremitting efforts to dig out the artistic value of prints (especially woodcut illustrations in the Ming Dynasty). In the West, however, print illustrations were used as a supplement to texts when they were born, and the two were fused together. Gutenberg's first work printed with movable type, the Gutenberg Bible, was printed in reference to the traditional form of the manuscripts, whose text and ornamentation were inherently harmonious wholes.

Ah Gang Collection

Scientific themes in Western rare editions have always received widespread attention, both from institutions (including Bill Gates' foundation) and from individual collectors. For example, rare books such as "Birds of America", "Origin of Species", and "On the Operation of Celestial Spheres" have repeatedly set new highs in the auction market. There is no relevant quotation in my country's ancient book market.

Ah Gang Collection

Ah Gang Collection

There are many women among Western rare edition booksellers, especially in the field of illustration art, fairy tale books, mini books and so on. For example, the writer is also a collector. The British female bookseller "Shufei" written by Mr. Dong Qiao is a top bookseller in the field of private publishing houses and is very influential in the industry. There are fewer female booksellers in the ancient books market in my country.

The Paper: What supports you on the road of book collection, and what fun do you get from it?

A Gang: Aristotle's aphorism more than two thousand years ago: first is survival, second is philosophy. Rare edition books are my hobby and my job, so I persist until now. This industry requires participants to master comprehensive edition knowledge and literary knowledge, including fonts, illustrations, binding, paper and many other subdivisions. Therefore, collecting and managing is also a process of continuous learning, which is the biggest gain. On the other hand, I made friends with like-minded people, and many of them became friends in life.

The Paper: What channels are the collections mainly collected through? What is the current domestic collection market and market situation?

Ah Gang: Usually through overseas booksellers, auctions, various book fairs, and private transactions. Generally, professional booksellers send out bibliographies on a regular basis; some auction houses specialize in rare books and ancient books, and some comprehensive auction houses have special sales on ancient books or a specific field from time to time; major European and American cities such as New York, Boston, and London generally have rare books every year The book fair is organized by various ancient bookseller alliances. All of these are now available online. The collection of western books in China is becoming more and more popular, but there is a lack of popularization of version knowledge and theoretical guidance. Many participants moved from the traditional ancient book circle and bought Western rare books based on their own feelings. Some of the hot spots that are sought after in the domestic market are not popular at all in the eyes of orthodox collectors in the West.

Favorite ten questions:

Q: How did you embark on the road of collecting?

A: I like to visit old bookstalls since I was a child.

Q: What is the earliest collection in your memory?

A: I bought a copy of "The Adventures of Tintin" when I was a child. After I bought it, I couldn't bear to look through it, so I "hidden" it.

Q: What is your favorite collection?

A: The poem "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night" was included for the first time in Dylan Thomas' limited edition autographed poetry collection.

Q: What is your "way of collection"?

A: 'Suum Cuique' take what you need.

Q: What channels are the collections mainly collected through?

A: Overseas booksellers, auctions, various book fairs, and private transactions

Q: Do you know how many collections you have?

A: Unable to count, too complicated.

Q: Do you consider yourself a collector?

A: Calculated only by the painstaking effort paid, of course.

Q: What do you think is the greatest pleasure that collecting brings you?

A: Gain knowledge and good friends.

Q: Have you encountered counterfeits or setbacks in your collection?

A: Of course, there was in the past, and there will be in the future.

Q: Could you one day give away your collection or donate it?

A: There is always a moment of parting, but I don't think about it now.