ges are particularly addressed, is obliged to pause before
the price of some much desired volume. His buying problems are much more
complex than those of his wealthy fellow-collector, to whom price is
little object, since he must not only hunt out the volumes he wants, but
also copies priced reasonably to be within his reach. Blessed, indeed, is
the willing self-denial which produces the ransom of a good book, at the
expense of the ephemeral luxuries of life! But under such conditions it is
essential that the amateur have a fairly complete knowledge of the value
of books, particularly along his own special lines, in order that he may
not be driven to unnecessary hardships through paying unjustly high prices
for his treasures.

While the prices of books vary greatly, according to condition and
binding, they also vary to an astonishing extent with various dealers. The
prices marked by some dealers are often high for certain kinds of books
and low for others. Bargains often may be secured from the dealer who
marks his books, not according to their present market value, but
according to the price he himself paid for them, since it follows,
naturally, that a bargain for him is a bargain for his customer.
Information of this kind, in respect to particular dealers, is very
valuable to the amateur who visits their shops, but he often gains it only
after considerable experience.

Cautious buying, so often sneered at, is, nevertheless, essential, and the
amateur bibliophile owes to himself not only complete information as to
the "right" editions of books, but also a thoroughly developed knowledge
and judgment which will enable him to value books with fair accuracy. He
must realize that in many cases the dealer is wily and seductive;
moreover, his wares plead for themselves to trouble the heart of the
hesitating purchaser. He also must develop a certain amount of guile, and
must be able to harden his heart, if necessary, against all appeal. This
is one of the most difficult of all things to do, and is the triumph of
knowledge over ingenuousness and of reason over bibliomania.

To the collector of moderate means, even though his library be small, his
books represent a certain form of investment, fairly secured. It has been
pointed out by Mr. J. H. Slater, editor of the English "Book Prices
Current," that books bought as an investment are not really so, because to
be a good investment they would have constantly to increase in value