Brattlecast #106 - Tales of Ken's Father

People often ask Ken how to start a bookshop, but the truth is, he’s never done it. The Brattle has existed since 1825, and was in pretty tough shape when it was purchased by Ken’s parents, George and Dorrit Gloss, in 1949. Ken essentially grew up in the shop; legend even has it that his first word was “book”. All of us, to a certain extent, struggle to get along with our parents; imagine how difficult that relationship can become when your parents are also your coworkers. That difficulty is compounded even further if the parent in question is George Gloss: a larger than life local character with a passion for books and bookselling, a briefcase full of unpaid utility bills, and a penchant for firing Ken on a nearly daily basis. It was a real personality clash, and Ken eventually left to study chemistry, vowing to put his career at the Brattle behind him forever. Learn what drew him back in and what lessons he ultimately learned from his father on this week’s episode.

As things open up again, we’d like to encourage our listeners to visit our shop at 9 West Street in Downtown Boston to see this and thousands of other fascinating items!

Brattlecast #105 - Book of Friends

Today we’re talking about two autograph albums from the shop, and about autograph collecting in general. Autograph albums used to be a popular way to collect signatures, not only from celebrities and public figures, but from friends and family members as well. Sometimes these snippets were accompanied by brief messages or bits of poetry. The value and desirability of specific autographs can fluctuate over time; recently Alexander Hamilton’s has skyrocketed, while Robert E. Lee’s has plummeted. We’ll also talk about the best way to care for and preserve these albums.

Speaking of messages from friends—we want to hear from you! Feel free to submit questions, topic ideas, or photographs of items you’d like appraised to info@brattlebookshop.com.

Brattlecast #104 - Amazing Appraising

Do you hate it when a mysterious great uncle, whom you’ve never even met, passes away and unexpectedly leaves you his rambling manor, about which dark rumors have circulated in the nearby village for hundreds of years, plus a cobwebbed, candle-lit library of rare works on the occult? Same. You may be thinking, “Welp, better get over there, spend the night, and flip through these books, reading passages aloud at random.” Wait. Why not call the Brattle and find out what you’ve got on your hands? Appraisals are one of our specialties, we’ll never charge you for a casual, verbal appraisal, and, if you can send us photos of the books, we can appraise libraries anywhere in the world. Plus, no matter how much blood you’ve got oozing out of your walls, rest assured—we’ve seen worse!

Brattlecast #103 - National Geographic

While our travel plans may be indefinitely postponed, a good issue of National Geographic can still take us on a vacation of the mind. The long-running magazine is known for its stunning photos, intricate maps, and absorbing reports from fascinating, far-flung locales. In this episode we’ll talk about its history, which issues are considered the most valuable, and even creative reuses for your old copies. While it’s not exactly scaling Annapurna, collecting National Geographic can be something of an adventure in itself.

Brattlecast #102 - Books go to the Movies!

Many zoom users have learned recently that the bookshelves in your background can reveal a lot about your character, but film set designers have always known this. As more movies have been filmed in Boston in recent years, the staff at the Brattle have gotten to see more of their books on the silver screen, and have even worked on-set themselves as book experts. In this episode we’ll talk about the process of pulling together a collection of books to be used as props: making sure they fit the character's field (books on astronomy), state of mind (books on astronomy that have seen better days), and shelves (40 feet of sad astronomy books no taller than 10 inches each). We’ll also talk about the shop's many glamorous brushes with stardom, such as the time we let Michael Douglas park in the sale lot.