Dangerous books

 As I've mentioned before, I do enjoy collecting books.  Mostly these are merely books that interest me, or are from authors who I admire, or are examples of the bookbinder's art.  Book collecting in any serious form requires much more financial resources than I am able to muster, so my collection is limited, and not particularly notable.  Nor old.  The vast majority if my books come from the 20th century or later.  Which, as it turns out, may be a good thing.  Just today I read an article about the dangers of some Victorian-era books.  It turns out that some of the dyes and other materials used back then are now recognized as hazardous.  Toxic metals like mercury and lead, and poisons like arsenic can be found in books from the early 1800s.  That's something I will need to keep in mind if I ever acquire a book of that age.

I don't have many antiquarian books at all.  I do have a first edition Mutiny on the Bounty (from the 1930s).  Many contemporary books that are signed by the author.  And a few that have fine, luxury bindings.  Perhaps my most valuable book is Hitch 22, by Christopher Hitchens.  He was an author I admired, so when his memoir came out in 2010, I bought a copy as soon as it was released.  As I used to sometimes do in cases where I was unlikely to meet the author in person, I wrote to Hitchens and asked if I could send him my copy of his book to be signed.  Using a dubious email address I found online, I wrote him and was surprised to receive a prompt and gracious reply.  He would be glad to sign my book, but he apologized that he may not be able to return it quickly, as he was soon going on the road for a book promo tour.  No problem, I though, and shipped him my book, along with return mail supplies.  Then I went on a short vacation out of town.  I was shocked when the book was waiting for me upon my return, signed by Hitchens himself.  Just the next day, I learned why- news reports revealed Hitchens had been struck with a serious illness at a New York hotel and had to cut his book tour short and return home to Washington, DC.  It soon emerged he'd been diagnosed with throat cancer. Despite intense treatment, he died about 18 months later.  With his book tour unexpectedly cut short, comparatively few autographed copies of this book exist, making my copy one of the most valuable in my collection.  A recent search on ABE Books shows similar signed first editions could fetch a price of about $1800.00.  That is, in the very unlikely event I would ever consider parting with my souvenir of a writer and thinker who I greatly admired.