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Disraeli and "The Game"

WILLIAA'I B. LIEBlVIANN

. NE of the famous bibliophiles of this century, A. Edward
Newton, called his life-long preoccupation, "The Book
Collecting Game." I also was a participant in this
"game" over a period of forty-five years, during which time I
gathered books, autographs, photographs and memorabilia of
Benjamin Disraeli. My avocation required patience, study and
endless searching, and it gave joy and satisfaction when I found
a new and rare piece. It provided the spice of meeting an unusual
variety of fellow collectors and dealers, but it also, at times, en¬
gendered regret for items missed, a fact seldom admitted by the
collector.

My interest in collecting was formed at the time early in life
when I was encouraged to use my family's rather extensive home
library. By the time I was eleven years old I had been completely
bitten by the collecting bug and was spending every free Satur¬
day, with an equally interested friend, in the exploration of New
York's second-hand bookshops. \"\'e would save what we could
from our school allowances, sometimes as little as fifty cents, and
then pass the day going from one shop to the other. In the late
afternoon we would decide which bargain best fit our limited
funds, and expend our largesse on a lucky dealer.

In those days. Fourth Avenue between University Place and
14th Street and East 59th Street between Madison and Lexing-