S6E5 Rare Books: Oliver Darkshire on the allure of ancient tomes

“These collectors feel like they have accrued, or put together this cast of characters in one place. These friends who they have grown to know.”

To be human is to love rarity - a rare object grants its owner a sense of power, joy and worthiness, that is simply unexplainable. While few of us are ever lucky enough to possess the kinds of rarities you might find in a museum - collectors are a different breed.

Oliver Darkshire is the author of  Once Upon A Tome: The misadventures of a rare bookseller, which chronicles his many years spent working at Sotheran’s in London, one of the world's oldest antiquarian bookshops. In this episode he explores the two types of rare book collector - the Smaugs and the Draculas - and what compels them to buy these ancient tomes. He explains how the shop became an unlikely social media sensation, which led to him becoming an unexpected writer. And he shares an incredible moment from the book, reading a passage which sums up the store and the people who work in it.

In this episode, you will learn:

Why it’s important to give life to and write backstories for the objects of your stories.
About the many fascinating ways Sotheran’s acquires its rare books.
Why you should share your oddities and curiosities with the world.

Find out more about Oliver here.

Your host is inkjockey founder Mark Heywood.

Behind The Spine is an inkjockey production, and the audio accompaniment to The Writing Salon. Sign up to the newsletter here.

You can view the full transcript here.

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