Before the Doors Open

A good book fair begins weeks before you park the car. Decide in advance what you are actually hunting: a particular author, a publisher's imprint, a decorative binding, a first edition with its dust jacket. Write it down, and alongside each entry note the edition points that matter — the corrected text on page 47, the publisher's name on the title page, the four plates rather than three. Vague enthusiasm is how people come home with three indifferent copies of a book they only half wanted.

Set two figures before you go: a total budget and a "thinking" threshold. Anything under that threshold you may buy on the spot; anything above it, you walk away once, look at something else, then return. It sounds fussy, but it is the single most effective defence against regret.

Pack accordingly: cash in small notes, a card as back-up, a folding tote, a tape measure, a small notebook and pen, a phone with a torch, acid-free tissue or bubble wrap for anything delicate, and a bottle of water. Wear comfortable shoes and a jacket with pockets. Halls are usually warm, the floors are always hard, and you will be standing for four hours.

The First Circuit

Resist the urge to buy from the first stand. Do one brisk lap of the whole fair, noting stand numbers against anything that catches your eye. This takes twenty minutes and gives you a mental map of who is carrying your subject, who has priced ambitiously, and who has quietly excellent stock tucked in the boxes beneath the tables.

Fair layout matters. The big, brightly lit stands near the entrance often carry the safest, most commercial stock. The more interesting material — provincial imprints, odd pamphlets, association copies — is frequently at the back, in the boxes, or on the stands of dealers who have been doing this for thirty years and no longer need to shout.

Greet the dealer. A nod and a "morning" costs nothing and opens the door to the single most useful resource in the room: someone who knows their stock and yours. If you collect something specific, say so. Many dealers keep material off the tables precisely because they are waiting for the right buyer to ask.

How to Inspect a Book Properly

Ask before handling anything in a glass case, and always pick up a book with both hands or in the crook of your palm. Then work through the following, in this order:

• Collation: check the half-title, title page, contents, all plates and the final blank. Ask the dealer whether it has been collated; if not, collate it yourself. Missing plates are the commonest hidden defect.
• Binding: open it gently at three points and look at the hinges. Feel the joints — a cracked but intact hinge is repairable, a detached board is a problem. Check the spine ends for loss and the corners for wear.
• Condition of the text block: foxing, damp-staining, wormholes, marginal tears, the tell-tale gutter of a rebacked copy, and whether the book has been trimmed too close to the text.
• Dust jacket, if present: price-clipping, chips, faded spines, and whether it belongs to that printing at all. Facsimile jackets are common and should be declared.
• Provenance: bookplates, inscriptions, marginalia, library stamps and press marks. These can either damage value or raise it enormously — a signature by the author or a previous owner of note is a real addition.

Ask to move the book towards the window or the nearest light. No honest dealer will mind. Artificial lighting hides foxing and disguises colour, and the difference between a £200 copy and a £600 one is often visible only in daylight.

Questions Worth Asking

Dealers respect a buyer who asks precise questions. "Are all the plates present?" "Has it been rebacked or recased?" "Is that a later issue binding?" "Is the jacket original?" "Is it ex-library?" These are enquiries, not accusations.

Also, ask what the dealer means by their condition terms. Fine, near fine, very good and good are used loosely across the trade, and one dealer's "very good" is another's "reading copy". If a description says something like "slight wear to spine", ask precisely where. Most of the time you will get a straight answer and learn something in the process.

The Polite Art of Negotiation

Haggling at a book fair is normal, but it has rules. Never open with an insulting offer. Ask a question instead: "Is there any movement on this?" or "What would you do for the two together?" Bundling genuinely helps — dealers would rather sell three items at a modest discount than one at full price and two not at all.

Timing matters. Mid-morning is the seller's market; the last hour of the final day is yours, particularly for stock a dealer does not want to carry home. That said, do not haggle over a £4 paperback. Buy it, thank the dealer, and remember that you may both be back next year.

Cash is still welcome at most stands, and a deposit with a name and number will hold something until you have made your decision. If you buy nothing, say so cheerfully and move on. Reputation is worth more than any single bargain, and the dealers who remember you kindly are the ones who will show you the good things first.

Afterwards: Learning from the Haul

Once home, unpack in daylight and write down what you paid, where you bought it and any condition notes while the day is still fresh. Then note the things you passed on. That list is your real education: it will tell you whether you are overpaying, underpricing your own taste, or simply gathering books that do not belong to any collection you actually want.

Impulse purchases will happen, and that is part of the pleasure. Keep them cheap. The serious money should go on the books that match your list, from dealers you trust, in the condition you can genuinely live with for the next twenty years.