Look Like a Bookseller?

I received an interesting remark yesterday. "You don't LOOK like a bookseller!"

This charming accusation was from a customer who was perusing my religious section. She went on to cite my young look, strong legs, yellow T-shirt (emblazoned with the Book Oasis logo), short-cropped hair, and numerous other telltales; all apart from the norm of a "typical" merchant in the used/rare book business. I steered the subject back to her search for her desired book, but that line of thought has intrigued me: what is a bookseller supposed to look like?

The cliched image that comes across in old movies and stories is that of a man with a moustache or beard, thick glasses, and usually smoking a pipe, whose aroma lingers in the room. What few people know is that this image was inspired by a book: The Haunted Bookshop, by Christopher Morley. Morley was a newspaper columnist and successful novelist, and the author of two books which we in the trade regard as "required reading" for anyone who's serious about the book business. The first book, 'Parnassus on Wheels', introduces us to Roger Mifflin, an itinerant bookseller who plies his trade from a horse-drawn wagon (the on-wheels vehicle; Parnassus, of course, means poetry, and is a euphemism for books). Roger is a genial fellow, smokes a pipe, and dresses in clothing which is both charming and shabby. He appears in the second book, 'The Haunted Bookshop', running a book store in Brooklyn, New York, in association with his wife, Helen. Both are great books, and if you haven't read them, you should.

It is from these pages that Roger Mifflin grows to epitomize the classical image of a bookseller. Roger is enthusiastic about books, and can quote chapter and verse from dozens of titles. He has a regular meeting of book aficionados called 'The Corn Cob Club', publishers, booksellers, agents, and the like who meet to discuss books amidst tobacco fumes. If such a club were to meet today, it would doubtless be smoke-free, but probably be amidst steaming cups of espresso. Regardless, Morley's vision of a bookseller is what the media has embraced, and doubtless, that is why my customer seemed bewildered that I should be the proprietor of Book Oasis. After all, I hardly measure up to Roger Mifflin!

Perhaps an explanation is required. First of all, I'm much larger than Morley's hero. At six feet five inches (195 cm, to you international readers) I look more like a football player than a book-dealer. I did play team sports for a while, but actually prefer personal-involvement activities like billiards, bicycles, darts, or martial arts.

I wear my hair short because I work out 3-5 days a week (hence the strong legs my customer noticed), and if I have long locks I overheat too quickly. Also, I have naturally curly hair. If I let my hair get long, it turns into an afro! And while that's both new and retro at the same time, it's harder to manage. Hence, the buzz cut!

As for my strong arms and legs, have you ever tried lugging boxes of books around? It's no easy task, and keep in mind that people like me do it all day! I challenge anyone to find a bookseller of any age who can't pick up a stack of hardcovers taller than their head and move it to the back of their shop on the spur of the moment. Even if I didn't do my morning workouts, I'd still be in good physical shape! Most book-dealers walk about three to four miles a day moving to and from shelves, and do imitation crunches reaching up and down.

As for clothing, I decided years ago to borrow a trick from Albert Einstein. He had a dozen copies of the same suit of clothes made and hanging in his closet; he said it freed him from the chore of choosing what to wear every morning. So, I had a dozen shirts made with my company logo on them. Einstein was right--getting dressed is a lot easier!

But what about my colleagues in the business? Do they measure up to Roger Mifflin?

A few years ago I asked my online bookseller's newsgroup if any of them had a "uniform" which they used in their daily work routines. Not so much an actual physical uniform, but more of an overall image which they portray within the confines of their business. For myself, I cited the aforementioned T-shirts, and an old Docker's Cap which I sometimes wear. The answers I got back were a bit interesting:

1. A cowboy hat and a leather vest are sported by a bookseller in Montana.

2. An online-only retailer routinely wears a white cotton undershirt and old BVDs (not having to face the public frees him up a bit).

3. One woman routinely wears only black clothing, but didn't say why. I remarked to her that if she wore a silver charm around her neck in the shape of an open book, it would really highlight her clothing. She agreed, but I don't know if she ever did it.

4. One fellow commented that he liked turtleneck sweaters and a gray beret.

5. Another man told me that he always dons a brown tweed jacket before starting his day.

There were many other comments, all varied and revealing the variety of different tastes for different sellers. But one thing we all agreed upon: no smoking around the books!

Books, like all paper, absorbs odors, and tobacco is one of the strongest. So, when Roger Mifflin is lighting his pipe in The Haunted Bookshop, he's adding his personal aroma to the lives of all his customers. Of course, in 1918, when Morley wrote his book, smoking was much more prevalent than it is today---but times change, and few if any booksellers will smoke in their workplace. However, I still find myself confronted by people who expect me to be smoking a bowl full of Cavendish as I sit behind my counter, adding a price to a volume of the works of Oscar Wilde. When confronted by such a suggestion I merely shake my head and nod to the piles of books and say, "Things are a bit too flammable around here, and just imagine what a fire hose would do to this place when they came to put the fire out!?"

Besides, the pipe is the image of Roger Mifflin, and I know I can't compete with Christopher Morley's legend. I'd rather create my own.
Larry Burdick on 06.19.05 @ 11:38 PM PST [link]