Walt Disney once said that there was more treasure to be found in books than in all the pirate's loot on Treasure Island.  The gift of imagination is a booty beyond comparison, of course, but a bookseller may also make other amazing discoveries within the pages of a book.  One of my favourite findings was a child's graffiti in a copy of Nanette Newman's (1976) Vote For Love.  I had set the book aside for sale during the Valentines season ... but then discovered that the previous owner had angrily inked out all references to religion; the word 'Jesus' seemed to have caused particular upset.

It was a jolt, not least because the inside of a book appears a sanctuary shared only between reader and writer.  In Ray Bradbury’s (1962) Something Wicked This Way Comes, the library itself is where Will’s father, Charles Halloway, instinctively seeks refuge from Mr. Dark and his malevolent carnival.  It’s a mistake – the library allows access to the lowest delinquent.  Ask any librarian about the strip of bacon they once discovered in a returned book.

The book is not a safe space at all, but a threshold between interior and exterior worlds.  Second-hand books, like library loans, tell tales of their previous handlers.  You never know what you may find left behind.

Ten Things Found in Books

10 BILLET DOUX – Perhaps proof that literature is the next best thing to love, or the best place to preserve love’s dream.

9 PHOTOGRAPHS –  Family? Friend? May even be a portrait of the person who read the book last. A face to the pencil annotations and turned corners.

8 BOOKMARKS – Typically an advert for the original bookshop, a local one whose days have gone.

7 CUTTINGS – Often a critical review of the book, author or related event, cut up and sometimes pasted to the boards – a reassurance of time well spent.

6 DRIED FLOWERS – After all, some books are little better than flower presses.

5 ARTWORK (REPRODUCTIONS) – Normally on postcards, some of which are worth more than the book

4 ARTWORK (ORIGINAL) –  It is not unusual to find doodles and drawings,  occasionally of such artistic integrity the book is significantly added to.

3 MARGIN NOTES – Nor is it unusual to find inscriptions or annotations … sometimes the commentary can be erudite, witty … or just plain weird.

2 EPHEMERA – Written and printed matter of a transitory nature, something that no one intended to keep …. perhaps this explains why an old invoice or letterhead can have rarity and value.

1 MONEY – Yes, it really does pay to give second-hand books the shakedown.