ABOUT

Barry Long recalls his lifetime with books old and rare starting as a 13 year old in a rubbish heap. Poking out on the footpath were rag paper pages of an old edition of Johnson's Works of the Poets bound in worn leather. After reaching downward, he was holding a book someone else held in their hands centuries ago, evoking a sense of travel in time.

Employed afterwards as a messenger in Sydney's business district during school vacations, he would sneak into Tyrrell’s book shop. Absorbed in buying books from his pay packet, he nearly forgot to collect lunches his workplace ordered. Further along he discovered an Aladdin’s cave:  hidden upstairs, his newly found treasure house was a second hand book section of Dymock’s . The quietly spoken and kindly Sid Mann in his grey dust coat was standing there, ready to be of service. Afterwards,Greenwood's in Elizabeth Street , Stewart's in Bathurst Street and Berkelouws' in King Street came onto his lunchtime itinerary.

Throughout the city, searching each and every book shop, he discovered still more books. In another bookshop he bought a 19th century set of 22 Thackeray novels. Passengers helped him on and off the Bronte bound toast rack tram with his parcels tied loosely with string.  As he climbed down from the tram, the parcels collapsed and fell onto the roadway and tram tracks. Although he gathered up all 22 volumes, many of their hand tooled gilt decorated spines were broken and separated from their covers.

Decades later,  weekends of enjoyment followed at bookshops of Paul Feain at Glebe, Peter Tinslay on Sydney's north shore, the McCormicks, Louella Kerr and Susan Tompkins at Paddington and the Sandersons at Carlingford. Rare items were hunted at  auctions, garage sales and fairs. With his wife Judy, son Nicholas and  portable barbecue, the search extended into the Blue Mountains bookshops of Dorothy Quinn and Claude Danny and the Southern Highlands of Leo Berkelouw.  Later visits were made to the bookshops of Barbara Hince and Nicholas Dawes in Melbourne. All those acquaintances run on pleasantly in his mind today.

Half a century after the rubbish heap escapade, collecting slowed and in 2004 Banfield House Booksellers began.