443 items, with the usual emphasis on ephemeral material and a further emphasis in this catalogue on Business & Industry. Peter’s material tends to be interesting and attractively priced, though necesarily sparingly described; when he does grow discursive (the eye will be drawn inexorably to the incongruous block of text planted amid the three-line descriptions), one must be certain to pause and linger for it will usually prove illuminating:
425. (Medicine). Lord, Daniel A., S. J. OF DIRTY STORIES. St. Louis: The Queen’s Work, copyright 1935. 20th printing. August 1945. 32 pages . . . “Once upon a time the dirty story had its place & stayed there . . . Until it has happened, to the eternal disgrace of our age & civilization, the dirty story born in the filthy minds of the lowest pagan people, bred in waterfront dives & gutters of decadent cities, by cuthroats [sic] & rotters, of prostitutes & panders, has finally got into society.” $12.00
The inside front cover of Peter’s catalogues have long been home to discursive memoirs of the progress of his life (and garden) between offerings of material. These narratives hold a certain charm, and certainly my wife will turn eagerly to his catalogues when they arrive in our house in order to check on the progress of the bookseller’s son. This readiness to open a bookseller’s catalogue is unprecedented with my spouse and stands as a testament to the enduring popularity of the sort of writing which has since populated the blogosphere.
Peter L. Masi – Books. PO Box B, Montague MA 01351. tel. (413) 367-2628. masibook [at] verizon [dot] n e t.
