Howard Norton on the Pleasures of Book Collecting (by Jonty Driver)

On 12th September, Howard Norton, secretary of the WLS, gave a most interesting talk on his long-standing interest in collecting books;  he had brought with him to the meeting a range of those he had found over the years since he began collecting.  Howard explained that he limits his collecting to a specific period (1930-70) and makes it a rule that he doesn’t use the internet to search for titles, relying instead on visits to actual bookshops. He is particularly interested in early examples of Penguin titles.  Authors whose books he looks for include Richmal Crompton, of the “William” series, and Enid Blyton (her early novels especially, before she became an industry rather than a writer). There was discussion of the value of dust-covers and of bindings and re-bindings, and (as should always happen after well-planned talks) much chat with the audience on books they too had collected. Howard generously allowed the audience to handle some of the collection he had brought with him.