flavorwire's look at the libararies of authors

Just a little pick me for the dead of winter. I'm thinking of buying the book that inspired the post when I get my usual christmas stash of bookstore gift certificates.

ETA the link http://flavorwire.com/235902/a-peek-inside-the-libraries-of-famous-writers

Nice! Thanks for the link.

My favourite - Kipling's.

Most like mine - Pullman's with the piles of books on the floor always blocking something I particularly want.

The one that most piques my curiosity - Keith Richards' - I'd be fascinated to snoop his catalogue if he were an LT member.

Some odd choices - Yeats looks as though he's practically still a student with only one bookcase; Toni Morrison presumably has her real working library in college and keeps the other one tidy for photographers; Kipling has somehow strayed into the era of colour photography (or is that a dummy in a panama hat?); Sir Walter Scott is missing; Agatha Christie is practising for an Oscar Wilde lookalike contest...

I think I'm somewhere between the Anne Sexton and the Philip Pullman. Relatively tidy books but overflowing papers.

Kipling survived until 1936, I have seen many color photos from the first decade of the century. They were not common but Kipling was not a common subject. The two pictures are obviously taken at different times. The top has sharp focus and crisp colors and the bottom is slightly out of focus and the colors are muddy or faded. I think it is genuine.

#4 - Yeats looks as though he's practically still a student with only one bookcase ...

Yes, I found that picture rather touching - I assume books came expensive for him at the time, and he looked so proud of what he had.

I love this. I once had a dream about my ideal personal library, and now I've seen it. The first pic of Kipling's. I'm jealous.

I liked the layout of Norman Mailer's too. If only I had the room. I'd love the feeling of living in a library.

Alas, mine is also a lot like Pullman's. I wish I had Kipling's library though.
#6 It is touching, it makes me glad I live in a time when books are relatively accessible.

Fascinating pictures - thanks for the link.

>4 thorold:, 5 I'm with thorold on the colour question. The lower of the Kipling pictures is, presumably, from the Vermont house but I am sure the upper one is taken in Batemans, the Kiplings' later home in Sussex. Kipling left the USA before the end of the 19th.C. and did not stay in Vermont after 1896. According to Wikipedia, the first commercial colour film capable of producing an image like the one here (Autochrome) came out in 1907, so I think this must either be a passing look-alike or a dummy! An alternative explanation is that this is a hand-coloured b&w print - common enough in the 1890s.

I have never visited Batemans, which is owned by the National Trust and open to the public in spring/summer, but I believe that most of Kipling's personal effects were left to the Trust so maybe you can see his books still. There is a current picture here http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/w-findaplace/w-batemans/w-bat...

While thinking about the National Trust, you can also visit Agatha Christie's Devon house, Greenway, set on the banks of the Dart river. In fact, if you have a big family or group of friends (and deep pockets) you can stay in a large apartment on the first and second floors. You should be able to see the pictured room but I don't know if they have got any of her books.

#9 - It was the upper one I was most taken with - I should have known it was older than the 19C! 19thC!

I'm surprised they didn't include the library of Neil Gaiman:
http://blog.shelfari.com/ronbrinkmann/2009/08/gaimans-bookshelf-details.html

>11 pduck:
Great room(s)! The shelves seem to just flow into the exposed ceiling beams. I almost expect to see books up there.

Os.

His is a favorite, personally, except that he seems to be thrown in with Amazon/ Sh**fari. Would love to replicate some of the design/ accessibility options here.

Looking at some of these libraries, am I the only one who winces at seeing rows of books shelved leaning to one side? I could never do it myself so I have no idea if it actually does harm, but I imagine the individual books gradually getting some sort of out-of-shape set.

That results in what is known as a book being cocked and it is a factor in downgrading the condition.

>14 alaudacorax:, 15

Generally, to avoid cocked spines or warped boards, books should be shelved vertically or horizontally only (yes, gravity works, and should be utilized to help the book maintain its shape). If horizontal, placing much larger books on much smaller books should be avoided or the boards of the larger books could become warped from hanging over the edge of the smaller books. If vertical, the books should be supported to maintain the vertical and that support should be to at least 2/3 of the distance from spine to edge and at least 2/3 of the distance from bottom to top to prevent warping of the boards. A book may go unsupported for quite awhile with no warping, but I've had some quality books (Easton Press, for example) warp after just a few months without proper support. It all depends upon the material used to make the board and the gluing of the cover material over the board, and I don't know of any way to predict. So, I treat every book as if it's likely to warp. As far as cocked spines are concerned, I don't think any book can maintain a squared spine if stored leaning over for any significant length of time. And, once cocked, always cocked.

I find that the heftier FS volumes in slipcases make pretty good bookends for maintaining that vertical support for adjacent books, if nothing better is at hand.

Os.