Unexpected Donor Gives £250,000 to Help Booksellers Struggling Through Coronavirus Crisis
- by Michael Stillman
A fundraiser to help British booksellers struggling through the coronavirus epidemic received a surprising £250,000 (US $310,000) contribution from a mystery donor. Who was that mystery donor? The answer proved to be as surprising as the gift, and not everyone was delighted by the answer.
Three people involved in the British book trade decided to do a fund raiser to help booksellers get through the difficulties caused by the coronavirus shut down of much business activity. The three were Gayle Lazda of the London Review Bookshop, Zeljka Marosevic, publisher of Daunt Books, and Kishani Widyaratna, Commissioning Editor of Picador, a Macmillan imprint. Their aim was to try to raise £10,000. They greatly exceeded their goal.
The three chose The Book Trade Charity to administer the funds. This charity normally focuses on the personal needs of individual booksellers, particularly those who are ill or have retired from the business without sufficient funds to get by. However, these are unusual times, and bookseller needs are greater than normal.
The fund drive already was a big success before the mystery donor appeared. Perhaps because of the publisher connections of some of the participants, they received some major contributions from them, including Penguin, Macmillan, and Hachette. Penguin alone contributed £60,000. The fund had already reached £130,000 when the surprise donor came along. The donor chose to remain anonymous, with The Book Trade Charity revealing only that it was “committed to independent bookshops as part of a mixed bookselling economy.” That statement added to the irony when they were finally forced to reveal the name of the donor. It was Amazon.
Amazon may have an okay relationship with publishers, but booksellers are another story. To many, they are the cause of their problems. They have been a fierce competitor, using their size and lack of need for a physical presence in the communities they serve to undercut independent shops. For some booksellers, they are the enemy. Undoubtedly, some question Amazon's commitment to independent bookshops or a “mixed bookselling economy.”
Marosevic and Widyaratna both expressed surprise at the name of the donor. Widyaratna said that while “stunned,” he was glad the money would be put to good use. Marosevic noted that “personal feelings aside,” he hoped that booksellers would still apply for grants. Bookseller Lazda expressed stronger opinions. Not mincing words, she posted to Twitter, “I'm glad that this money is going to a good cause, but there is no greater threat to high street bookselling than Amazon, and their labour practices are a well-documented disgrace.” She followed that up with a second “tweet,” “I know that there is a huge strength of feeling against Amazon among booksellers, and that the horrible irony of this donation will be lost on none of us, but I hope it won't stop any of us supporting the work of the Book Trade Charity, and applying to the fund if you need it.” She also revealed that she almost followed up an earlier “tweet” thanking the mystery donor when it was still a mystery with “unless it's Bezos in which case, just pay your taxes pal.” Obviously, there is still some hostility there between independent booksellers and Amazon.
The relationship between Amazon and rare and antiquarian booksellers is, for the most part, somewhat different than that with independent sellers of new books. For the latter, Amazon is pure competition. It is more of a “hate” relationship. For the antiquarian and rare book sellers, it's more nuanced, a “love-hate” relationship. They have been able to sell their books on Amazon, and even more so on AbeBooks, now an Amazon subsidiary. Many are pleased with these venues that enable them to sell their books to a wider audience. For some, it is their major source of income. Other such booksellers, on the other hand, have been displeased with Amazon's terms and commissions and express sentiments more akin to those of Ms. Lazda. Perspectives vary.
Sotheby’s Shelf Life: Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper from the Library of Stanley J. Seeger and Christopher Cone 25 June – July 7
Sotheby’s, July 7: Ludwig van Beethoven. Autograph sketches for the overture "Die Weihe des Hauses", op.124, [1822], UNPUBLISHED. £150,000 to £200,000.
Sotheby’s, July 7: Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice, 1813, first edition, 3 volumes, contemporary half calf. £50,000 to £70,000.
Sotheby’s, July 7: Walt Whitman. Leaves of Grass, Brooklyn, 1855, first edition, first issue, original green cloth, the Doheny copy. £50,000 to £70,000.
Sotheby’s, July 7: Binding—Sangorski & Sutcliffe—Omar Khayyam. Rubaiyat, London, 1872, third edition, in a magnificent jewelled Peacock binding. £15,000 to £20,000.
Sotheby’s, July 7: George Eliot. Middlemarch, Edinburgh and London, 1871, first edition in the original parts. £20,000 to £30,000.
Forum Auctions The Private Library: Fine Printing & Private Press books, the collection of the late David Chambers July 9, 2026
Forum, July 9: Hassall (Joan) A large collection of over 300 original woodblocks of engravings for various books, v.d., with Hassall's engraver's glass water-globe (Qty) - Est. £10,000-15,000
Forum, July 9: Eragny Press.- [Bradley (Katherine Harris) & Edith Emma Cooper], "Michael Field." Whym Chow, Flame of Love, one of only 27 copies, inscribed by Bradley, the rarest book from the press, 1914. - Est. £3,000-4,000
Forum, July 9: [Moore (Thomas Sturge)] [Wood Engravings], 71 wood-engravings printed by David Chambers from the original blocks, the only set on Japanese Hosho paper, from an edition of 5 sets, [1970]. - Est. £3,000-4,000
Forum Auctions The Private Library: Fine Printing & Private Press books, the collection of the late David Chambers July 9, 2026
Forum, July 9: La Fontaine (Jean de) Contes et Nouvelles en vers, 2 vol., engraved plates after Eisen, fine early 19th century blue morocco, gilt, by Bradel l'ainé, Amsterdam [Paris], 1762. - Est. £2,000-3,000
Forum, July 9: Erotica.- Prostitution.- Pretty Women of Paris (The); Their Names and Addresses, Qualities and Faults..., [Paris], privately printed at the Press of the Prefecture de Police, 1883. - Est. £3,000-4,000
Forum, July 9: Vale Press.- Ricketts (Charles) & Lucien Pissarro. De la Typographie et de l'Harmonie de la Page Imprimée…, [one of 216 copies], bound in dark blue morocco tooled in gilt, by Sarah T.Prideaux, 1898. - Est. £1,000-1,500
Forum Auctions The Private Library: Fine Printing & Private Press books, the collection of the late David Chambers July 9, 2026
Forum, July 9: Martin (John) Illustrations of the Bible, complete set of 20 mezzotints, good impressions, rarely found in early states, [c.1831-1835]. - Est. £1,000-1,500
Forum, July 9: Golden Cockerel Press.- Four Gospels of the Lord Jesus Christ (The), one of 500 copies, Mary Gill's copy, Waltham St. Lawrence, 1931 with a signed proof of engraving on japon numbered 10/10 (2) - Est. £5,000-7,000
Forum, July 9: Boccaccio (Giovanni) The Decameron, 3 vol., vol.1 extra-illustrated by John Buckland Wright with c.150 erotic original drawings in pen & ink and pencil, 1886 [extra-illustrated c.1940]. - Est. £10,000-15,000
Forum Auctions The Private Library: Fine Printing & Private Press books, the collection of the late David Chambers July 9, 2026
Forum, July 9: Cox (Morris) Collection of Gogmagog Press Books, 35 vol., rare complete collection of printed books issued by the press, limited editions, most signed by Cox, 1957-83. - Est. £10,000-15,000
Forum, July 9: Wynkyn de Worde.- [Terentius Afer (Publius)] [Comedie...], [Paris, Josse Badius: sold in London by Wynkyn de Worde, & others], [15 July 1504]. - Est. £4,000-6,000
Forum, July 9: Mosley (James) Ornamented Types. Twenty-Three Alphabets from the Foundry of Louis John Pouchée, 2 vol., one of 10 copies for presentation, from an edition of 210, 1992-93. - Est. £1,000-2,000
Freeman’s, June 30. Thomas Jefferson’s “Birth of the New Nation” letter, carried to Paris with the Treaty of Peace, by a Jewish patriot. $100,000-200,000.
Freeman’s, June 30. “The rockets’ red glare.” A British midshipman’s log recording the bombardment of Fort McHenry. $60,000-80,000.
Freeman’s, June 30. The Critical Promotion of a Naval Hero, Oliver Hazard Perry Commission signed by James Madison, 1812. $40,000-60,000.
Freeman’s, June 30. Born in the USA: First Day of Printing in the United States, July 4, 1776. $15,000-25,000.
Freeman’s, June 30. One of the Earliest Printed Announcements of American Independence, in the Exceedingly Rare Original Wrappers, 1776. $10,000-15,000.
Freeman’s, June 30. "The Two Big Guns of the N.Y. Yanks": A Striking Type 1 Press Photograph of Lou Gehrig's Hands. $8,000-12,000.
Freeman’s, June 30. A Unique Contemporary Manuscript Account of Joseph Smith's Final Words to His Followers, the Day Before his Violent Death. $8,000-12,000.
Freeman’s, June 30. The State of Minnesota Officially Certifies the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution Of the United States. $8,000-12,000.
Freeman’s, June 30. Extraordinarily Large Manuscript Petition Signed by a Who's Who of Colonial New York to Queen Anne from the Colony of New York. $8,000-12,000.
Freeman’s, June 30. Mickey Mantle's First Cover: The Earliest Front-Page Newspaper Image of Mickey Mantle, "Something Good from Joplin". $8,000-12,000.
Freeman’s, June 30. A Call to Arms in the Months Following the Declaration of Independence: An Early Continental Army Recruitment Poster. $6,000-9,000.
Freeman’s, June 30. Samuel Jones, the Statesman Behind the Newly Discovered "Jones Declaration": His Annotated Set Used in His Working Law Library. $6,000-9,000.
