If you would like to obtain a lot of books quickly, collector/dealer Richard Axe has a deal for you. Axe has 120,000 books at his residence in Aysgarth, Yorkshire, U.K. He would like to sell them altogether to someone who appreciates what he has done. Besides which, it is unimaginable to could sell them all one at a time.
Axe has been selling books for over 40 years. He started in London, but 35 years ago moved his shop to Harrogate, in Yorkshire. He had a bookshop along with a couple of offsite storage facilities, but around 20 years ago, he decided he wanted to bring them all together. He bought a place in a less crowded area where he could share space with his books. Naturally, a small place would not do for such a large collection, so he bought a former youth hostel that originally had been a school. It has 30 rooms on five stories. Still, despite original plans to live in the building, he lives in a cottage on the grounds. Apparently, there wasn't enough room left for him in the main building.
We are not sure whether Axe can best be described as a bookseller or collector. He has been selling books most of his life, but isn't well-known outside of his locale. He doesn't get many browsers coming into his “shop.” Axe explains that 35,000 books on the first floor are for sale, but that makes him a collector of the remaining 85,000. He told The Yorkshire Post, “Of course it is a business, but as an established bookseller I have been fortunate enough to be able to choose which books to sell and have generally kept back the most interesting.” That's the 85,000 most interesting. It makes you think the ones he has been selling are quite dull, though he didn't describe them that way.
Axe appears to be somewhere between a dealer/lover of books, and a bibliomaniac. Those 85,000 keepers may be interesting, but even if you could read a book a day, you'd have to live to be over 230 to read them all. He does seem a bit obsessive. Nevertheless, Axe is now ready to part with them. He explains it's because of declining health he has made this decision. He is 73 years old, an age when you start thinking more about health and mortality. He can't afford to wait too long as this may not be an easy sell. Collections of this size, unless they are valuable books, are not easy to sell, and a collection this size is unlikely to have more than a small percentage of valuable ones. This many ordinary books can be difficult to dispose of in any manner, let alone hope to make any money from their sale. Exceedingly large collections can become a burden rather than a benefit.
Axe's price is £1,500,000 (approximately $1,855,000 in U.S. dollars). That includes the property, a large main building, cottage, other structures, gardens, and land. The property would likely be quite desirable, but unless Axe has a way to dispose of the books, they may drive off most potential buyers. I can't imagine a buyer wanting to deal with this.
Still, Richard Axe is hopeful. He is looking for someone who will “embrace” his unusual property. He told the Post, “My life’s work is here. It has given me a good income and great pleasure and I would not be giving it up were it not for my declining health. The estate offers a unique opportunity for someone with a passion for books and business to unlock the considerable value of the largely unseen treasures of this enormous library.” If you have a passion for books and business, like the English countryside, and are not burdened with sanity, your opportunity is waiting.
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