Books about Books Part 6: Paul Wakeman Dives In!

Previously in Books about Books: Bob hires Paul Wakeman as the first publishing director.

But not so fast! You may think it would be an easy thing to have someone from England come to work in a small business in New Castle, Delaware, but this was not the case. The trouble began when we applied for a permanent Visa and learned to our dismay that it might take years to get the proper permissions. We were told that we had to run job advertisements in a number of nationwide magazines in the industry in case there was some American with a desire to take a minimum wage job in the little, sleepy town of New Castle working for a neophyte publisher. We ran the ad and got no responses. We then had to wait in the long line of applicants for our case to be heard. Meanwhile, the months were slipping by, and neither one of us was getting what we needed. Calls to Immigration Services were a lesson in anger management.

One of the many better features of living in Delaware, the second smallest state in the Union, is the ability to reach your representative to Congress without the grief experienced in larger states. I decided to use the services of our Congressman, Bill Roth. His office promised to call the Immigration Services and—it must have been a miracle—Paul’s application was moved up in the line and approved.

Moving Again! Bob & Paul Wakeman (holding sign)

I remember him flying into Philadelphia to start work in August of 1988 just as we were getting ready to move the business up the street. I picked him up from the airport and took him to a grand dinner at my favorite restaurant in Wilmington, Vincente’s, where we plotted the rapid growth of the publishing business and his adjustment to life in America while consuming too much wine. He had brought his cricket equipment with him so he would be in good shape for those long evenings and weekends in New Castle.

After using his brute strength to help us move the shop, he dived into the publishing business and produced a Christmas keepsake for the end of 1988, three titles in 1989, and five titles in 1990.  Two of these were printed by the Bird & Bull Press in limited editions, which allowed Paul and Henry Morris to meet and develop a friendship. Another publication was a book on marbling done in a limited edition with his mother and the Plough Press as a co-publisher. We also published a new edition of Jane Greenfield and Jenny Hille’s Headbands, which continues to sell well to this day.

Bob & Millie at Japanese Congress (1990)

On a side note, I was becoming very active in the Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America (ABAA), first serving on the Board in 1982 and then becoming Chair of their Finance Committee in 1989 and Treasurer in 1990. Millie and I enjoyed the international congresses that the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB) conducted and began to attend them in 1990, starting with the Tokyo Congress. This event led to many contacts in publishing that eventually paid dividends, proving yet again that the cross-over between the antiquarian book world and the publishing world is a very healthy relationship.

Check back next week for more from Books about Books!

“You’re going WHERE?!”

“You’re going WHERE?!” was the reaction of Bob Fleck when I told him I was moving to Arizona.  In August. The desert in August: my Oak Knoll family thought I’d fallen off the deep end.  I am 23 years old, and in two weeks I am packing my life into my little car and driving across the country to serve a year as an Americorps VISTA member.  Two hours south of the Grand Canyon, two hours north east of Phoenix, four hours from Las Vegas, and a stone’s throw away from nowhere, I can be found in the small town of Rimrock, Arizona, smack-dab in the middle of the state.  And I couldn’t be more excited!

As a town with an unincorporated status and only one school (grades Kindergarten through eighth), Rimrock doesn’t sound like it has much to offer to a girl who’s been traveling the world since she was six weeks old.  Really, though, it’s got everything to offer. My job for the next twelve months is as follows:

Beaver Creek School and The Beaver Creek Regional Council Youth and Families Committee are searching for funding streams that will help sustain and build capacity of the current affordable afterschool program, including more activities for students in grades 6-8. Also involved in the project will be developing a leadership cohort for students that leave Beaver Creek School in eighth grade and attend area highs schools. This goal of sustainability would be enhanced by a Youth Activities Coordinator for the approximately 650 students who live in the Beaver Creek Communities. This area currently has no organized youth activities due to its unincorporated status, void of dedicated subsidies for parks and recreation.

OK, so it’s not quite the same as taking pictures of books for websites and catalogues, like I’ve been doing with Oak Knoll since August 2009.  But to have a chance to help the future of our country realize their full potential through some of the programming that I have the opportunity to create… what a kick! Maybe I’ll even find some future book collectors or binders in that mix of kids!

I will greatly miss the group of people I’ve come to call my Oak Knoll family. I will miss our awesome lunches together (how will I live without Chinese food every Thursday?), the tidbits of conversation over the office walls (eavesdropping on Laura and Danielle’s conversations about the Biblio-Trivia answers is always fun!), and I will miss being surrounded by my friends that line the walls of this old building—the keystone of Oak Knoll—the books.

I cherish the time I had as a part of the Oak Knoll family, and look forward to visits home to Delaware and coming into Historic New Castle to say Hi to everyone.  Words cannot express how thankful I am for the support that everyone at Oak Knoll has given me as I prepare to embark on this incredible adventure.  Wish me luck, blog-followers! I’m off to save the world!

– Margo Price, Part-time Photographer

Books about Books Part 5: The Start of the Wakeman Years

Bookselling continued 1985 to 1988 with almost all sales occurring in the antiquarian side of the business and only three publishing titles produced. One of these was Dick Huss’s The Printer’s Composition Matrix, the first new manuscript we published for a larger audience. Many an afternoon was spent in Lancaster visiting this fine old gentleman at his printing company. Dick kept his personal collection of books on printing history there and still set type himself and did personal binding. He eventually sold me many of his books on printing history.

We also issued the second book in a series of reprints of important titles relating to printing and binding history (Bib. #12 & 17). In keeping with our theme of adding value to reprints that we published, we asked Paul Koda to write lengthy introductions to each volume, which he did with great skill. Paul was a librarian with a collector’s instinct who often guided us with his astute opinions.

Geoffrey Wakeman

As you can see by this chronology, Oak Knoll Press, with its 18 titles, wasn’t exactly exploding on the publishing scene up to 1988.

The Wakeman Years (1988-1996)

The fall of 1988 was a decisive time for the business. Our sales were good but needed to be better. I had to reach a decision on how to grow the business. Should I stay in the books about books field with its relatively limited number of expensive books, branch out into other fields which contained more expensive books, or capitalize on our reputation in this specialized field of books about books and increase the publishing program? History shows that I chose the latter.

In August of 1977, I had reached out to a very fine private press in Loughborough, England, called the Plough Press. Geoffrey Wakeman had been taught letterpress by Philip Gaskell at The College Press in Glasgow. He was an expert in the field of changing printing and illustration technology and issued privately printed books in this field often illustrated with special leaves demonstrating the techniques he was describing. His wife Frances partnered in the press and operated a rare book business under the name Frances Wakeman, Bookseller. I first wrote to them asking if I could buy some of their limited edition books. This letter led to wonderful visits with the Wakemans, first in Loughborough and then in Oxford.

Bob & Paul Wakeman at the San Francisco Book Fair

Their youngest son Paul, following in his father’s and mother’s love of the book business, got a degree at Watford College of Technology with a specialty in publishing in 1986. I got to know this young son and much admired his book knowledge and his personality. After obtaining his degree, Paul worked for Macmillan Publishers in London, but upon his father’s death in 1987, he resigned from Macmillan and the London life and went back to Oxford to help his mother during this troubling time. On my next trip to England, I visited Oxford to discuss the possibility of having Paul come to Delaware to work at Oak Knoll to help move the publishing program forward. We worked out the terms, and both of us were ready to start on an exciting new beginning.

Trouble ahead! Tune in next week to read about the unexpected complications that arose before Paul could get started.

An Encounter in Trolley Square

Rob Fleck

One day after work last week, I was walking across the street in Trolley Square in Wilmington and saw a man who looked extremely familiar. I got closer to him and realized that it was a well known book-lover in the book world by the name of Mark Samuels Lasner. He wondered why I was in Trolley Square instead of back at the shop in New Castle, and I explained to him that I recently moved into the area and was renting an apartment in the building 50 feet away from us. To his surprise, he said that he was living in the same apartment building as I was (now I can call on one more person to have an after-work drink at the popular bars down the street).

Mark Samuels Lasner

After chatting it up a bit, he told me about a couple events that are going to be happening in October. One was called “Useful & Beautiful: The Transatlantic Arts of William Morris and the Pre-Raphaelites.” Mark told me that the University of Delaware was going to host a number of exhibitions and talks that will interest bibliophiles in the area of the Pre-Raphaelites. The other event was APHA’s  “Learning to Print, Teaching to Print: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives,” which focuses on the evolution of the teacher and apprentice relationship and the way teaching has changed.

I didn’t know much about each event at the time, so I went back to my apartment to dig some more information up on them and found them relatively easy to find online. Information can be found on them here: Useful & Beautiful and Learning to Print.

– Rob Fleck, Library & Antiquarian Sales

Books in the Movies

Last week I watched The Proposal with Sandra Bullock. She plays a high-powered Editor-in-Chief at a major book publisher, and her character is the stereotypical boss from hell (at least at the beginning of the movie. By the end… well, I won’t spoil it for you). Whenever she leaves her office, her assistant sends an instant message to the rest of the company, warning them that “The witch is on her broom!” I hope that my fellow Oak Knollers don’t feel the same way about me! Although, in a publishing department of 2 full-time employees, total, my assistant doesn’t have anyone to warn!

Laura Williams

But it’s always interesting seeing how Hollywood depicts the book world. This movie was more accurate than most—we see Bullock’s character looking through proofs at her home while eating breakfast (I’ve done that!), and we hear of her attending the Frankfurt book fair (I’d love to do that!).

Has anyone else seen any interesting portrayals of the book world on screen lately?

– Laura Williams, Publishing Director

Books about Books Part 4: New friends, a new house, and a new employee

The third Oak Knoll publication was also a Christmas keepsake (for 1980) and was an excerpt from Lawrence Block’s The Burglar Who Liked to Quote Kipling, relating a humorous story of what happened to a book thief when caught in Rodenbarr’s bookshop.

Bob & Millie (left) at the Morris moving party

This pamphlet was printed by hand by Henry Morris of the Bird & Bull Press. Henry and his wife Pearl were new-found friends in 1980, and Millie, my wife, and I had one of our first dates going to Henry and Pearl’s moving party, as they bid farewell to Elm Street in Philadelphia. It was a great party, involving lots of wine and funny speeches that made no sense whatsoever. But it started a relationship that lead to many publications and the establishment of a friendship that continues stronger than ever.

As is typical with all bookselling businesses, Oak Knoll kept running out of room. From our start in 1976 in the second floor bedroom of my Newark home, we had moved to the renovated two car garage and then to New Castle. The first floor of 414 Delaware Street in New Castle proved to be too small as well, so Millie and I moved our home and the business up the street to 212 Delaware Street in 1985.

The Booth House

This historic house (the Booth house, named after Delaware Chief Justice James Booth) was built in stages with the first section built in 1713, a wing added in 1795, a lawyer’s office added for the Judge and then his son (both Chief Justices) in about 1830, and two additional sections after that. Four rooms had been added behind the lawyer’s office. We bought it in August 1985 from a DuPont attorney whose wife had used the four side rooms for a daycare business.

Millie and I had looked at this house three years earlier but didn’t have the money to buy it. This time around we successfully convinced the bank to lend us the money to buy the house, with the proviso that we would move the business into the daycare center space and sell 414 Delaware Street. Once in there and functioning, I saw that if we could rent out 414 Delaware Street, we could hold on to both properties. Our friend and banker Gordon Pfeiffer had stood by us since the beginning and he came through once again. Renters were quickly found and the old 414 property stayed in the family. Our youngest son, Rob (keep that name in mind!), had been born in July, so he got to live in two homes in his first month.

Mollie & Bob Sr. (Mom and Dad)

I also had a new employee start in May of 1986, my father. He just retired this year (2008), thus earning credit as the Oak Knoll employee with the longest tenure. My father and mother moved to New Castle from the Chicago area when my father retired as Director of Research for the Griffin Wheel Company, and Dad immediately started working for me at the bookstore. He was our inventory management person and major fixer-upper. His eldest son (me) happens to be hopeless at mechanical things, so his fix-up skills became an important part of his job description. And when the occasional cash flow problem occurred, I knew where a short-term loan could be procured.

Bob Sr. passed away in June of 2009, and he is greatly missed here at Oak Knoll.

Check back next week for more of Oak Knoll’s history, including the hiring of our first publishing director. If you can’t wait, check out the book on our website.

A Recent Graduate’s Thoughts on the Future of the Book

It’s 2010, why read?

Danielle Burcham

It’s 2010, why Books?

It’s 2010, why Books about Books?

Questions people may have asked you before. Questions you may have even asked yourself before. And really, how could you not question yourself, especially after seeing how we now live in a world graced, or bombarded (depending on how you want to look at it) by technology. I know I have pondered these questions before, and to me, the answers are simple.

It’s true, with so many new ways to communicate and receive information, the printed word is becoming a last resort for many. It’s easy to rely on the iphone, flip out your blackberry, or get lost for hours browsing website after website. And while these are all tremendous inventions and tools, they still cannot replace the simple practicality and beauty of the book.

Just the feeling you get opening a book or walking into a library is unparalleled. It’s never tiring. A library holds potential for education and entertainment. Each shelf contains books on every subject for people of every age. It’s quiet, peaceful, and humbling. The products of hours, even years of work, sit before you in bound pages. The thoughts and stories of people from all time periods, countries, backgrounds, and walks of life are enclosed between the two covered boards keeping it hidden inside.

But why books about books? All things have a history, and books are just another creation that harvest history. To be able to understand the change, growth, and purpose of a book only helps in understanding how important books have been to the development and chronicle of our world.  The creation and formation of a book is extraordinary and to think the book could ever be replaced by anything else is a misguided thought.

That’s my opinion,  but let me know what you think! Send me a message in the comments field.

-Danielle Burcham, Publishing Assistant

Books about Books Part 3: A 2nd publication and the move to New Castle

The second Oak Knoll publication was about as ephemeral as one can get: a 1979 Christmas keepsake printed by John Anderson at the Pickering Press. I had developed a friendship with John, a noted typographer whose small private press books were some of the best contemporary examples of fine printing.

Over the years John and I had alternating lunches between Maple Shade, New Jersey, and New Castle, Delaware, and I got to hear some of the classic tales of typography in action. (His best tale was of Beatrice Warde and the animated talk she gave to a group of Philadelphia printers. Beatrice’s talk was so animated that one of her breasts fell out of her dress, and she nonchalantly placed it back with a smile).

414 Delaware Street, New Castle

I moved my business from Newark to New Castle in December 1979. John and Emily Ballinger moved up from North Carolina and bought into the business, and their  down-payment was just enough cash to allow me to buy 414 Delaware Street from Herb Tobin, a legend in New Castle lore. Herb was the last in line of the family butchers and knew every reputable historical fact (and many disreputable) about the city of New Castle. This Victorian storefront had been a butcher’s shop during its entire life before I turned it into a bookshop.

The building had great “history” to it, which meant there were cracks and creaks everywhere, and when winter came, the drains froze. There was a typical New Castle basement—low headroom and dirt floors—and the original slaughterhouse behind the house came with my purchase and was quickly converted into a wine storage area. We had a first floor shop, and I rented the second and third floor to the Ballingers as their living quarters. It is a wonder that we all managed to work and store the books that we had in the four rooms on the first floor.

The Ballingers had different ideas about running a business than I did, and they departed in 1982 for Williamsburg, Virginia, and the Bookpress, another antiquarian book business.

Tune in next week for more from Books about Books: A History and Bibliography of Oak Knoll Press.

Oak Knoll’s Summer of Reading

Even after working all day surrounded by shelves of books about books, the staff here at Oak Knoll still can’t resist the lure of the summer read– the opportunity to just sit back, curl up and enjoy the simple pleasure of getting lost in a book.  Of course we share a common love of books, but we still remain different, each with our own special book interests. Check out the list of books the Oak Knollers are reading this summer!

• Laura (Publishing Director): The Dark Tower series by Stephen King,  Corporate Capital: Wilmington in the Twentieth Century by Carol Hoffecker,  The Gospel in Life: Grace Changes Everything by Tim Keller

• Rob (Library and Antiquarian Sales): Semper Fi in the Sky: Marine Air Battles of World War II by Gerald Astor

• Tim (Bookkeeping and Customer Service):  DND Source Books, The Bible, Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert. A. Heinlein

• Danielle (Publishing and Marketing Assistant): How Strong Women Pray by Bonnie St. John, The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Two Little Girls in Blue by Mary Higgins Clark

• Chris (Cataloguer): Monsieur Monde Vanishes by Georges Simenon, 2666 by Roberto Bolano, The Rings of Saturn by W.G. Sebald

• Marisa (Summer Intern): I Remember You by Harriet Evans, Take Four by Karen Kingsbury, Emma by Jane Austen

• Bob (President and Owner): The Turn of the Screw and The Aspern Papers by Henry James, Cape Cod Stories edited by John Miller and Tim Smith, Suzanne’s Diary for Nicholas by James Patterson, Chasing Darkness by Robert Crais

What are you reading this summer? Let us know in the comments section below!

Books about Books Part 2: The Beginning (1978-1989)

The beginning of Oak Knoll publishing: A letter from Holland Press

Two years later, to my family’s amazement, I was still in business! My goal had been to make Oak Knoll Books the one-stop shopping place for customers who sought “book about books,” whether it was out-of-print or newly published. Stocking other publishers’ books had great potential for financial disaster, as the 40% discount I received made for a very small profit margin and the inventory had to be turned over quickly. However, goodwill was generated as my customers appreciated the effort we put into keeping them informed of the newest books in their field. This made them think of us for the out-of-print titles they wanted.

In those days, there were a few publishers of books about books who concentrated on producing reprints of the classic titles. Specialty dealers like me were experts at knowing what out-of-print titles were in constant demand by our customers and owed it to them to seek out these reprints.

An English firm called the Holland Press had been purchased by new owners and was aggressively reprinting important titles in my field, so I wrote to them for a catalogue. The catalogue arrived and was full of just the kind of books my customers wanted. I had my secretary (my one part-time employee, Karen) write to them in February 1978 inquiring about a number of their upcoming titles. One week later, an answer came back from Stephanie Hoppen (co-owner with Richard Leech), which concluded with an intriguing paragraph indicating that they were looking for someone in America to handle a reprint of the classic bibliography of printing by Bigmore & Wyman. I hand-scribbled a response onto the letter, and a number of letters and phone calls later, I arranged to buy into the print run. For the first time, Oak Knoll appeared on a title page! They also allowed me to buy their other titles at a substantial discount and market them exclusively in America. After a few meetings with them in both London and New Castle, I found out just how jovial this publishing business can be. The English publishing world is filled with long lunches with good cheer and much wine!

Proofs for the jacket of Oak Knoll’s first publication

Tune in next week for more from Books about Books: A History and Bibliography of Oak Knoll Press.