"The Protocols of Used Bookstores"

The title of this post refers to an eighteen page, serio-comic pamphlet written by David Mason, a fine and rare bookseller in the Toronto area. According to the author of this article, "Mason lists forty-four Rules to be heeded by the used and rare book buyer when patronizing a brick and mortar shop if they wish the proprietor to give them the time of day and a piece of their expertise as opposed to a time of death and a piece of their mind. Mason has put forth these rules 'to help make your quest for a book simpler.'

And to make the collector and seller allies instead of antagonists. Few things are as annoying to a used and rare bookseller as intelligent people leaving their brain at shop's entrance. And few things are as annoying to the collector as a bookseller so aloof that they seem to be at lunch, full-time."

Number One on the hit parade is commonly encountered when a stranger enters the shop. "A library, huh?" Or its close cousin, "Books, eh?"

I'm going to have get one of these just for the laughs. Note ordering info at the bottom of the article if you're so inclined.