I think I officially started collecting books somewhere around the age of 6. Mama jokes my first word ought to have been "book!" And I have a few authors whose work I gravitate toward, not only because the writing is good, but also because they tended to work with certain illustrators.
For example, Frances Hodgson Burnett wrote one of my favorite books as a child, The Little Princess. There were two copies of the book at our local library - both with illustrations by Tasha Tudor - and I think I checked out each copy at least 15 times. I loved the story. I loved her writing. I loved Tasha Tudor's illustrations.
As I got older I realized that she's written more than The Secret Garden, Little Lord Fauntleroy and The Lost Prince. In addition to her childrens' books, she'd also written many books for adults - including several serials that were published first in installments and then bound in one volume for sale together.
In my quest to collect her books, I found The Head of the House of Combe and realized there was a sequel to that book called Robin. For many years I searched antique shops and book sellers looking for this book to no avail until, in the first days of the Internet becoming a resource, a book seller told me about Alibris. Before Amazon started collecting dealers with caches of antique books, Alibris was making the model work. It's a consortium of book sellers who've put their stock online. I actually think this is the best resource for finding out of print books as I've had more luck with Alibris when looking for the obscure. Another book collecting friend recommends ABE Books, but I'm still a fan of Alibris.
So if you're looking for a book that's out of print or difficult to find, see if Alibris can help you with your search!
