The people marked for
this tribute included those who helped me without knowing it and those who did it in exchange
for money: the owners of independent book stores across Canada.
As most Leacock Medal
winners are out of print, I could not have assembled my collection without those
bookshops, and whenever I can, I try to drop in on those that provided me with a
book or two to add to my Leacock Medal collection - to give them a copy or two
of my book to add to their pile.
This week, I was in
Halifax, and I knew I had to make time to crawl over the (bloody-slow –pack-a-lunch)
Macdonald Bridge to see J.W. Doull’s in Dartmouth. I can’t find the receipts, but I think Max
Ferguson’s 1968 winner “And Now … Here’s Max" was one of the books I got in the mail from this store.
John Doull has
survived in his idiosyncratic trade for a long time, having started out in
downtown Halifax years ago and deserves his reputation for persistence in a business that has
crushed many souls.
He and his store are well known locally, but you could be forgiven if you drove by the place without a second look.
He and his store are well known locally, but you could be forgiven if you drove by the place without a second look.
Aside from
its signage, the building might be mistaken for a very large, abandoned storage
shed.
But for those who
seek it out, the location is perfect.
Lots of parking and it literally sits on a “Main Drag” – 122 Main
Street.
And lots of people do
seek it out for that wonderful, disorganized, and cluttered atmosphere of
quantity and quirkiness that propels certain used bookstores into a kind of
brilliance. The Doull’s atmosphere is
enhanced not only by the number of books and crowded shelves, but also by its
specialization in marine, nautical, and Atlantic Canadian works.
I wished I could have
stayed longer, but I had other commitments.
Still, I may not have
heard the last of Doull’s.
The young guys
manning the cash and the bookshelves took my email address along with the gift of a
few books.
"We'll check out the lists for first edition and signed copies of the Leacock Medal winners," one said, suggesting that these might replace some second or third edition, signature-free ones in my collection.
"We'll check out the lists for first edition and signed copies of the Leacock Medal winners," one said, suggesting that these might replace some second or third edition, signature-free ones in my collection.
That was nice. It made me feel that my treasure hunt and
Leacock Medal book adventure might not be over after all, and, of course, it made
me even more grateful that people like John W. Doull endure in the big-box and
e-book age.
Check out Doull's online.
DBD
October 2015