Old Books, Rare Friends: Two Literary Sleuths and Their Shared Passion

Sometimes I will fall in love with an author's life as perceived through her books, and read all of her works for other glimpses into her private paradise. Authors such as Will and Ariel Durant, Edwin Way Teale, Stephen Jay Gould, and Oliver Sacks have shared their curiosity, astonishment, and joy with me. These authors are endlessly inquisitive. Each new discovery in their world, whether it is a fern, a skull, or an anecdote about a long-dead king is greeted with joy and eagerly shared with the reader. Now in the dusty corner of bibliomania, I have found two more authors who are willing to share their joy of discovery with me. They even have a name for it: 'Finger-Spitzengefühl'--"the electrifying alertness to what is unusual or important in an early printed book. When 'Finger-Spitzengefühl' is coupled with serendipity, the gates of paradise open for the dealer in old and rare [books]." Leona Rostenberg and Madeleine Stern share their "thrill of the chase and the joy of the find," as well as a seven-decade-long partnership in life--"the partnership of 'Faithful Friends' who share 'a deep, deep love.'" I have to admit I had trouble getting into this book. I read some of the earlier pages six or seven times because I kept falling asleep and losing my place. However, once the authors were out of childhood recollections and into the chase--first of all for the works that Louisa May Alcott had published under a pseudonym--then I was hooked. These authors have illuminated many once-obscure corners of history through their curiosity and devotion. They deplore collectors who pursue rare books as an investment, much as I would deplore a physician who is in practice 'only for the money.' Leona Rostenberg and Madeleine Stern have devoted their lives to the search for the old and rare, and their love, curiosity, and wisdom show through on almost every page of this book.

Given to me as a birthday present on a misty Northwest beach,the whimsical allure of these charmingly self-possessed women residingin one of the toughest cities in the world, drew me into its first pages even as the rest of my party sat around on logs, barbecuing fine local viands & feeding the camp dogs. From their student years, surviving the Depression & WWII; to studying & getting published through the exciting times of starting a company & their book-hunting jaunts to musty basements in faraway places this is a lively, lovely duet by two voices weaving a deeply evocative memoir...

Those who love books and the history of the written word have benefitted from these devoted "literary sleuths" who not only devoted themselves to located lost treasures, but who pioneered the rights of women in academe. A story of how devotede friends could pool their talents to rescue lost arts and discover the literary secrets of groundbreaking authors. A suprisingly exciting read.

The two elderly women, who are pictured on the book jacket of Old Books, Rare Friends, are both prolific writers who have also been active in the antiquarian book trade for fifty years. They are true friends, who grew to love and respect each other as they grew in their knowledge of old books and in their abilities to find them. They wrote this book together, but retained their separate identities by each writing her own story until their stories became the same. Thus we get Leona's history from childhood until her dramatic failure to win her Doctorate from Columbia, and Mady's story through her Masters degree and first biography of the early feminist, Margaret Fuller. p At this point, the two have met and realize that they share a love of books and a lack of interest in marriage, although both have been courted by many. They are both devoted to their families, but Mady gives Leona the necessary nudge that forces her to hang out her "shingle" as "Leona Rostenberg-Rare Books". Both women show a rare independence of spirit and interest and because they each write with verve and enthusiasm, all this personal history reads like a good novel. p Now the business is launched and the rest of the book is happily spent recounting their sleuthing adventures in old book stores in Europe and American, founding and enjoying the American Association of Antiquarian Booksellers and generally having a wonderful time supplying books to universities and collectors. They make is sound very easy to find a sixteenth century book that no one recognizes, buy it for $2.90 and then sell their find for $900 and be praised for the effort. Of course it is not simple and their knowledge of history as well as books is impressive . This is a book that any reader or collector of modern or antiquarian books will relish.