A love of history and West Virginia University which has been a legacy within one Charleston family will now be memorialized through the Jack & Sheila Grimm History Library Endowment which was recently established at the WVU Foundation.

“The impact of WVU and the Department of History has been profound upon my family, and I believe it is critical that we give back so that others may also share in our experience” says Jack Grimm of his donation. The fund will assist in the acquisition of library materials to support the academic and research programs of the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of History.

Jack Grimm, executive vice president of City Insurance, earned a bachelor’s degree in history in 1964 while his wife, Sheila, was busy completing a physical education degree in dance. Thirty years later, the Grimms watched their eldest son, Stephen, receive a bachelor’s degree in history from WVU.

Like his father, Stephen completed a tour of duty with the US Air Force before joining the business world. Their second son, Peter, is currently pursing a degree in history at WVU. In the future, WVU might see another history major from the family, which also includes two daughters and six grandchildren.

The proceeds from the Grimm History Library Endowment will assist the college’s Department of History with needed resources for faculty researchers and scholars. The endowment is another critical component to the university’s desire to maintain library collections that complement the institution’s academic strengths so that all departments may remain competitive with other national research institutions. The Department of History is widely recognized as a leader in the field of Appalachian and labor studies, as well as American history and African history.

The Jack & Sheila Grimm History Library Endowment is included in the West Virginia Universality Foundation’s Building Greatness Campaign, which has raised more than $270 million for WVU and concludes in December 2003. The WVU Foundation Inc. is a private non-profit organization, which develops, receives, and administers private gifts from individuals and organizations for the benefit of WVU.

BY MONTE MAXWELL

Cheryl Torsney has long appreciated the works of Henry James. The professor of English has read everything James has written and turns students onto his writing. So purchasing an antique set of his works involved a little sentiment.

She knew she found a treasure and received confirmation during the Book Lovers’ Road Show held Aug. 1 in the Robinson Reading Room of the Charles C. Wise Jr. Library.

“I was surprised to learn that my set of James’s New York Edition has tripled in value since I bought it about 10 years ago,” Torsney said. “That makes it a pretty good investment.”

Torsney was among 65 people who stood in line to discover if that book handed down from a grandparent or picked up at a yard sale is a gem.

Jack Walsdorf, with help from WVU Libraries staff, offered appraisals on more than 120 books. Walsdorf, the author/editor of 15 books relating to the history of printing and bibliography, travels the country with his version of Public Television’s Antique Road Show.

Rather than antiques, his expertise is books. Along with setting price tags for books, Walsdorf also offered the audience tips for book collecting.

This event was his first stop in North Central West Virginia. Dean
Frances O’Brien said the Book Lovers’ Road Show will become an
annual event for the WVU Libraries.

See the story with photo and caption in (PDF).

Photo: Ian Benson/The Dominion Post

Book expert Jack Walsdorf evaluates some old books, including “The Indian Fairy Book,” in his hand and, from left, a 1882 volume “Daughters of America” and a 1912 brightly illustrated edition of “Just So Stories.” The WVU Libraries hosted his “Book Lovers’ Road Show” at Wise Library on Friday. More than 70 people came to have their books evaluated.

Jack Walsdorf lovingly caressed the 1882 illustrated book, “Daughters of America.”

The daughters appeared in battered condition — one side of the spike broken through, portions of the cover showing attention from silverfish.

He shook his head.

“In real estate, it’s location, location, location. In books, it’s condition, condition, condition,” he said. It would cost, he estimated, about $75 to restore the volume. And there’s no indication anyone would want to buy the volume, written by Phoebe A. Hanaford.

“If you look on the Internet and the book comes in less than $100, I would suggest you not spend any money doing anything to it, because you won’t get your money back,” he said.

Walsdorf and his “Book Lovers’ Road Show” were at Wise Library Friday, sponsored by the WVU Libraries, to talk about the joys of book collecting and to appraise books brought by those present.

At a show, 95 percent of the people want to know how much a book is worth. About 5 percent want to know about a book they have.

“If a book is not in good condition, if there’s water damage, if there’s light damage, if the dust jacket is missing or in poor condition, all of those things hugely affect the value of a book,” he said before the event began. He turned over another volume, this one with an illustrated cover: “Shorthand Tom the Reporter” by Edward Stratemeyer.

“The frontspiece is missing (title page), and the cover is damaged,” he noted. “It’s virtually valueless. But if you would put this book cover outward on a stand, next to an old antique typewriter, it would be a great book. Aesthetically, that’s one of the uses of a nice book, to have it around.

“I remind people, books are not generally very good investments,” he added. Buy books because you like them, or because they have some interest for you.

He tells book owners what it would cost to replace a book. “I’m not telling you what someone would want to pay for it,” he said. “I bet you I’m wrong 50 percent of the time because there are so many ways to value books.”

“Personally, I think the best collections are theme collections — buy something you like, something you are interested in — and you can put together a nice personal collection.”

How do you build a collection?

“Look for the subject within the subject. You can’t buy children’s books (there are too many), so you buy children’s pop-up books, nursery rhymes.

“Then you’re going to look for the condition, and then you’re going to look for first editions. Generally speaking, most books published after 1930 will have the words ‘First Edition’ on the reversal of the title page.”

Older books, such as the two he handled, require more work to determine if they’re first editions.

If you’re checking the value of your book on the Internet, Walsdorf advised, read the description carefully to make sure it’s the same book, the same edition. Read the entry carefully for differences, such as whether it’s autographed.

Take care to preserve your old books, he said.

“As a general rule, the greatest enemies of books are heat, light and water. The fourth greatest enemies of books are people.”

Never store books in basements. Keep them away from sunlight, which will bleach the covers. Don’t keep them in rooms with high heat and low humidity, it will dry a book out.