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Staff Intern EAST LONGMEADOW Do you have an old or rare book up in your attic? Do you think it may be worth something? Come find out on April 12 at 7:30 p.m. at the Senior Center as the Historical Commission sponsors the lecture "Treasures in Your Attic: Old and Rare Books," featuring Kenneth Gloss, proprietor of the Brattle Book Shop in Boston. The talk is free and open to the public and the public is invited to bring in any old books they might own for a verbal appraisal. Refreshments will be served following the talk. Gloss will also conduct an additional talk and appraisal earlier that same day at the Storrs Library in Longmeadow at 3 p.m., made possible by the Longmeadow Friends of the Storrs Library. "The talks will last 45 minutes to an hour," Gloss told Reminder Publications. "I'll basically be talking about what an old book and first edition is and I'll give some anecdotes about my findings. "Then I'll stay and do free appraisals," Gloss added. "I try to make the talks entertaining, and people really come to see if they have a treasure." Gloss said a book appraisal is basically finding out the value of an item. "Most people don't even bring in anything valuable," he said. Gloss will be bringing some of his "things that are fun" to the lecture. "I have a program from the 1912 World Series I'll be bringing that I found at an old estate in Melrose," Gloss said. "I'm also bringing a sales brochure for the Titanic." He is also bringing a cookbook from the 1700s that he won at an auction. A large amount of the items he owns come from old estates. "A lot of times I feel like Jim Hawkins, the main character from the novel 'Treasure Island,'" Gloss said. "I never know what I'm going to find." Gloss said collecting older items is a lot of fun. "The hunt to find the items is part of the romance in collecting," he added. His bookshop is a three-story building with a basement. "Two floors are full of used or out-of-print books," he added. "I have one floor dedicated to rare books." The Brattle Book Shop was founded in 1825 and was bought by the Gloss family in 1949. It is the home to more than 250,000 books, maps, prints, postcards, and ephemerals in all subject areas. Gloss has worked in the Brattle Book Shop all of his life. "I started running the store in 1973 when my father grew ill," he explained. "When my father died in 1985, I inherited the store." The shop is one of the largest antiquarian bookshops in the country. It is also America's oldest continuously operated bookshop. Gloss is a member and past president of the New England Antiquarian Booksellers Association. He is also a member of the Antiquarian Booksellers of America, the Bostonian Society and the Massachusetts and Rhode Island Antiquarian Booksellers. He serves as a member of the U.S.S. Constitution Museum advisory board and has been a member of the advisory committee for the Boston Public Library. Gloss has won several awards for his work appraising books, including an award from the Historic Neighborhoods Foundation for making a definitive contribution to the design and social heritage of Boston. He has also been honored by the Brookline Preservation Commission for donating to the original plans of the Larz Anderson estate. A frequent guest on PBS's "Antiques Roadshow" program and WBZ Radio, he has appeared on over 80 radio, television and cable programs in New England and the country. His Brattle Book Shop is also an annual contributor to the WGBH Auction. In addition to his individual appraisals, Gloss appraises old books for such prestigious institutions as Boston College and University, Harvard, Northeastern and Suffolk University. He also appraises books for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. For more information about the Brattle Book Shop, or a complete schedule of Gloss's lecture tour, visit www.brattlebookshop.com or call the shop at 1-800-447-9595. | ||||||
