A.N. Devers noticed that rare books by women, women writers who have been studied and praised and loved my readers, are far less expensive than the equivalent by men. The Rare Book profession is largely comprised of men, who who judge what is worthwhile and what literature has value, monetary or otherwise.
This inspired Devers’ project, The Second Shelf, which aims to make the rare book of women more widely available. Devers is opening a storefront in London, as well as an online store. She is publishing the Second Shelf Quarterly, a publication featuring essays, interviews, and poetry by women, as well as some of the Rare books in the collection. And you can sign up to receive a rare book by women, at random, for 30 dollars.
This project at once makes rare books more accessible to both women and people without a lot of capital. If you can find 30 Pounds, you can buy a book. Even if you aren’t interested in collecting itself, you can recognize the beauty of collecting in her work.
This is a book store, of course, but it is also a feminist intellectual project. By making these books available to the public for purchase and for study, Devers is changing the conversation about the rare book trade and the field of rare books in general.
On one hand, it’s a beautiful thing that rare books by women writers are accessible to people who might want them. On the other hand, the work of women is so devalued that men, who set the standards in the field, don’t rate them highly. This of course leads to the price differential, but also to fewer of these books being preserved and taken care of.
Of course, rare books is distinct from intellectual history. But Devers project makes me think about the ways in which rare books and collecting impact our projects as intellectual historians. Do we derive value from the perceived (and patriarchal) notions of worth? Does collecting books, be it women’s work or otherwise, influence our own writing? And what ways can the physicality of rare books impact the work of intellectual historians? And what makes a book rare? Its intellectual impact, it’s financial worth, its impact?
Read more about Devers’ project at https://thesecondshelf.com/.
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