Philadelphia Library Acquires Rare Typescript of “De Profundis”

On a balmy Sunday lunchtime last Spring I found m yself in the refreshment area of the prestigious New York Antiquarian Book Fair. A kindly stranger asked me: “Are you a dealer or a collector?” with an air of inevitability that suggested a third alternative did not exist. As I was such a third alternative my response: “I’m just browsing.” was designed to replace the probability of being neither with the possibility of being either.

However, it soon became apparent to me, if not to my new friend, that even the self-imposed rank of ‘browser‘ wildly overstated my standing as a potential customer.