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bookflaps: January 2013

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Thursday, January 3, 2013. My little cabinet of historical insignificia grew this week with the addition of a piece of original sheet music dating to 1943. This gem, Pistol Packin’ Mama. Came into the shop via a new dealer. He just started setting up his booth with the new year and, as I was taking a look see at his wares this afternoon, this caught my eye. I knew the story, but I had never seen the sheet music before today. In 1937, he recorded a tune he had written entitled Honky Tonk Blues. Pistol Pac...

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bookflaps: October 2010

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Friday, October 8, 2010. Birth of a bibliophile. A young gentleman came into the shop this afternoon; I'd guess he was about 14 or 15 or thereabouts. He was with his Mom. They were both “first-timers,” and were just poking about to see what they could see. After offering to show them where things were (“No thanks.”), I pointed out the coffee, invited them to help themselves and left them alone to poke. We walked over to take a better look and when he pointed it out to me I saw what had drawn his attention.

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bookflaps: February 2011

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Tuesday, February 22, 2011. When the genie is out of the bottle. Shortly after having moved to York and assuming operations of The York Emporium. I was back in DC having lunch with an old client. The conversation was taking a variety of paths, as such things do, when we turned to plans for the shop. He wanted to know if there was a list of some sort that detailed which titles we weren’t allowed to stock. I was confused by the question. A “list”? 8220;Allowed to stock”? He shook his head in wonder. Two in...

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bookflaps: Pistol Packin' Mama

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Thursday, January 3, 2013. My little cabinet of historical insignificia grew this week with the addition of a piece of original sheet music dating to 1943. This gem, Pistol Packin’ Mama. Came into the shop via a new dealer. He just started setting up his booth with the new year and, as I was taking a look see at his wares this afternoon, this caught my eye. I knew the story, but I had never seen the sheet music before today. In 1937, he recorded a tune he had written entitled Honky Tonk Blues. Pistol Pac...

bookflaps.blogspot.com

bookflaps: Heros among us.

http://bookflaps.blogspot.com/2011/05/heros-among-us.html

Wednesday, May 4, 2011. He had a life. He had a wife. Most of that is gone now. But, by God, he still has that piece of shrapnel. The call came late last week: an estate here in York. The gentleman was getting ready to downsize his housekeeping. He thought it was about time. He is 91 now; his bride of 63 years passed in January. The house is much more than he needs; he’s planning on an assisted living facility. Would I be interested in his books, and perhaps some of his stuff? I took it all. Later, after...

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bookflaps: Genuine Counterfeit Confederate Currency

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Sunday, November 13, 2011. Genuine Counterfeit Confederate Currency. It was the early days of the Civil War, March 1862. The public on both sides of the Mason-Dixon Line, naturally enough, was hungry for any news about this upstart, self-proclaimed Confederate States of America. It seemed that they were actually serious, having elected a Congress and President, written a constitution, adopting a flag. They’d even started printing money! You’d find them in the big weeklies out of New York—. Selling statio...

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bookflaps: September 2013

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Sunday, September 22, 2013. I was on my knees this past Tuesday afternoon, painting (and cursing) an old bookcase that obstinately refused to be anything close to useful. I happened to glance up and saw her standing there, silently, watching me. 8220;He’s gone.”. 8220;Sunday afternoon. He died in his sleep.”. I let out a groan and got to my feet. I didn’t really know what to say. The Treasure Chest is really just an old trunk that I found in one of the storage rooms shortly after we took over the place&#...

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bookflaps: September 2010

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Sunday, September 19, 2010. Brian Keene is not the spookiest guy I know, but he does rank right up there in the general categories of creepy. And, not parenthetically, talented. A two-time winner of the Bram Stoker Award. He is an up-and-comer in the field of horror fiction. A novelist of some repute, he has published about a dozen titles, many short stories, and now he’s writing comics, too, for the likes of DC and Marvel. Several of his novels have been made into movies. Our shop. He. Event It was duri...

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bookflaps: May 2011

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Wednesday, May 4, 2011. He had a life. He had a wife. Most of that is gone now. But, by God, he still has that piece of shrapnel. The call came late last week: an estate here in York. The gentleman was getting ready to downsize his housekeeping. He thought it was about time. He is 91 now; his bride of 63 years passed in January. The house is much more than he needs; he’s planning on an assisted living facility. Would I be interested in his books, and perhaps some of his stuff? I took it all. Later, after...

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bookflaps: February 2010

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Wednesday, February 17, 2010. I know a guy who has a million records. That’s not hyperbole. In fact, when I say he has a million records, it is probably an understatement. Don’t even think about going into the basement. And those are just the records he needs for everyday use. For the others, he has an off-site warehouse (again three stories, but with an elevator) and two additional storage facilities. They aren’t alone. At first I thought that only the Rock-and-Roll would sell, so that’s where we ...