> "the housing company only gave us two weeks to vacate the place"
It's a very good idea for a collector to own a place to keep the stuff.
The British book collection mentioned in the article is housed in a former youth hostel in the countryside. That kind of place can be surprisingly affordable to buy... But of course it's the renovations and upkeep that truly test the collector's wallet and dedication.
Perhaps, but even for valuable things like musical instruments the floor space ends up being far more valuable than the objects. Hence the relentless march of waste disposal. It's very sad but a core fact of modern life that land is money.
(the phrase "housing company" implies that the collector did not even own a house for himself, let alone the collection..)
Unless you go deep rural. I've been to a few "bookstores" that were basically somebody's house, but an hour's drive to the nearest town and therefore only getting specialist traffic or people in the area for other tourism.
It always has been. And it's an ongoing scandal that it is not taxed.
I used to imagine running some kind of second hand book business (non profit) when I retire. Sad that these days it may not be feasible.
A recent event raised $300K: https://www.booksandpublishing.com.au/articles/2025/09/02/31...
But what is really the problem with this? (Assuming the paper in the books is recycled, to be clear.)
I disagree with the idea that books are generally precious objects. At this point in time we have many more books than we need, and many of the books in existence simply will never be read again.
So I give them a chance at a new home but having been at the sale on the second weekend I have no doubt that a ton end up pulpled.
Think of collections of fine china that you never use, antique furniture, pianos, artwork, old electronics, personal relationships, etc. You either spent money at some point to get the things or someone in the past spent a lot of money on it. Tossing it becomes a repudiation of that past value, a painful admission the value has decayed away.
I managed to save some of the rare works but I could find absolutely no takers for the bulk of the books, at any price or even for free. That generation is leaving behind an enormous amount of paper and it is mostly going to waste. Very frustrating, if I had had the space I would have been happy to take all of it. I would have read some and I would have tried to find a new home for the remainder but that takes time and the housing company only gave us two weeks to vacate the place, which was much too little time even for proper cataloging. Fortunately he had already organized things to the point that it was obvious which ones were the precious ones.
And the violin got a good home. The guy lived like a monk, the whole flat was just paper and shelves, and a tiny spot for a bed. You could have made the pictures in this article in his flat as well (I didn't make any, it was too sad of an occasion).
My own books I keep giving away on the promise that whoever gets the book will read it and pass it on. That way they stay alive for a little bit longer. Some books I keep buying again just so I can have the pleasure of giving them away once more. Douglas Adams' hhgttg is probably the record holder.