ANTIQUARIAN OF THE YEAR
[BIZ: Maastricht, February 26] At the end of February, Boekenpost will publish its 200th issue; and, to mark the occasion, an annual selection of the Antiquarian of the Year has been instituted. The world of the antiquarian is one that changes very quickly and the reason for this is that the Internet, which brings a lot of good things with it, is tending to ruin the business. Shops are closing at a rapid speed and participation at antiquarian fairs is shrinking. The business is losing its personal touch and turning into an impersonal, online activity. Private individuals do business directly with one another for prices with which the average antiquarian or second-hand bookseller cannot compete. The branch is threatened with destruction and there seems no way to halt the slide. However, some people are successful in keeping the business alive and this is something that should be encouraged. One of these people is Ton Stille, which is the reason why he’s been nominated and selected as the first Antiquarian of the Year. What a marvelous shop he’s got! A real treasure-trove of old books and fine prints, where not business is done, but there is life and fun too. This impressive antiquarian participates regularly in markets and fairs, and is himself an organizer. He is the man behind the initiatives to put Maastricht on the map as a book center. This resulted in the MABP (Maastricht and Antiquarian Book and Print) fair, which will be held this year from March 19–21 in the St. Jan’s church on the Vrijthof in Maastricht, and will coincide partly with the TEFAF (the European Fine Art Fair). Ton Stille has consistently struggled to keep this branch alive and he is being rewarded for that. He also has an interesting background as a captain in the merchant service on the high seas. He doesn’t have a driving license, but he does have a Burgundian approach to life and a touch of the anarchist about him — he’s different! This election will also be accompanied with a major interview in Boekenpost, a dinner in a restaurant of his choice, with at least one bottle of wine per course. It will also include the restoration of a very special old work in private possession at the cost of Boekenpost in the workshop of Henk Linde. The interview will appear in Boekenpost 100, which comes out at the end of February. The dinner has already been eaten and, as far as the book is concerned, the choice of Ton Stille was for ‘Recueil de Recesses wegens beyde de genadighde Heeren ende Princen, alhier geëmaneerd inden Jaer 1665’ and one volume of the old map of the City of Maastricht dating from 1283 — both of these books were printed by P. Boucher in 1680 and 1682 respectively. The first, a law book, sets out the legislation governing of Maastricht under its two rulers: The Principality of Liège and The Duchy of Brabant.
The Maastricht antiquarian, Ton Stille — who has his shop at Rechtstraat 85, in Maastricht — has been selected by the magazine Boekenpost as its first ‘Antiquarian of the Year’. Boekenpost is a bi-monthly magazine for those interested in books, prints, comic strips and literary curiosities.
http://www.boekenpost.nl/