Second Impression : Rural Life With A Rare Bookman

First edition. In The Company We Kept Barbara Kaye told the story of how the old established antiquarian book firm of Elkin Mathews survived the war years after evacuation to rural Essex in 1939. Now she carries on the story from 1945 to 1955, when Elkin Mathews expanded and her bibliophile husband, Percy Muir, became increasingly involved in the national and international politics of the antiquarian book trade. It was during this time that the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers ILAB was formed and the description of Percy Muir's part in this process provides a fascinating account of an historic event. Percy Muir became president of the ILAB in 1950 and on his retirement from office he was unanimously elected Life President of Honor. The Muirs' commitment to the ILAB meant they were often traveling to Europe to attend the annual conferences, which they combined with book-buying trips and sometimes even family holidays. The towns and cities they visited were just under reconstruction and the author describes the devastation and destruction caused by the war. At home the village where the Muirs lived was also changing, and the author gives a clear picture of daily life in a typical English village during the post-war decade. There are also several interesting accounts of the local and national political scenes. In 1951, the Muirs visited the United States for a lecture tour. The account of their four-week whirlwind tour is filled with bibliophilic adventures - from meeting Dr. Rosenbach and Fredson Bowers to dinner at the Four Oaks Farm Library and a visit to the Library of Congress. The book ends with a factual description of Percy Muir's long-fought campaign against book auction rings, culminating in the final show-down in 1956. Well-written by an accomplished novelist, this book provides a lively and entertaining account of the antiquarian book world and English village life in the post-war years.