Just one step...

Step through the door of 188 Mill Road and you might be on your way to bigger things; one possible example being the Cambridge University Library Rose Book-Collecting Prize for Cambridge University Students.

The Rose Book-Collecting Prize was endowed in 2006 and is believed to be the first of its kind offered by any European university. As well as the £500 prize money, the winner will be offered 10 years’ free membership of the Friends of Cambridge University Library.

 

The contest is open to all current undergraduate and graduate students of the University registered for a Cambridge degree. To enter, students should submit a list of their collection together with a short essay, explaining the theme and significance of the collection, by the first day of the Lent full term. Shortlisted candidates will be invited to talk about their collection to the judges.

The judges will make their decision based on the intelligence and originality of the collection, its coherence as a collection, as well as the thought, creativity and persistence demonstrated by the collector and the condition of the books. The value of the collections will not be a factor in determining the winning entry – a coherent collection of paperbacks is a perfectly valid entry. Previous shortlisted entries include ‘Collecting the Gothic’, ‘Missionary travels in the South Seas’, ‘The handwritten record: manuscripts and annotated books’, and ‘German and Austrian travel and first hand experience in Asiatic dominions of the Ottoman Empire, 1871–1918’. In 2010, the prize was won by Ian Heames (Gonville & Caius) for his collection ‘Small press poetry, mostly British’. 

The prize will be awarded in the Easter Term. It has been funded by Professor James Marrow and Dr Emily Rose in honour of Dr Rose’s parents, Daniel and Joanna Rose.

Professor Marrow said: “By establishing a prize through the UL, we want to stress and call attention to the importance of a great central library, which is the focus of the research activities of the university, and which serves a much wider range of purposes than the college libraries.

“Book collecting brings people together and we hope that a prize administered through the UL will help collectors from different colleges in Cambridge to meet one another and enjoy the company of an enlarged group of similarly-minded individuals.”

There's a bit more about book-collecting competitions at Fine Books & Collections and you can read about some of the previous Rose Prize winners 2008-9 and 2009-10. The aim is to encourage students to collect around a theme that will represent a real addition to their knowledge: examples of the fascinating possibilities available at our shop might be  science books from the early 20th century or forgotten women novelists.

Lots of DVDs and books donated today

Many thanks for all the donations of DVDs and books at our Mill Road shop today. Most of the DVDs are now out on the shelves ready for customers on Monday.

Please keep donations coming; they are key to a successful shop.

Britannica: 1926 set

Complete set with supplements. Good condition except that binding colour is not fast (one of our helpers has a pink-stained t-shirt to demonstrate this!)

Considerably less bulky than the later editions but you would still need a vehicle to transport it home.

Very interesting reference for history of the twenties and only £30 at our bookshop, 188 Mill Road, Cambridge.

Les Musiciens Célèbres

1868 edition by Félix Clément with gilt-edged pages. Some tearing of binding and a few of the plates coming loose, hence only £40 at the RSPCA bookshop, 188 Mill Road, Cambridge CB1 3LP.

The method ringer's companion

The Method Ringer's Companion, by Steve Coleman. £14.95 at our charity shop at 188 Mill Road in Cambridge.

(Just in case you were wondering what the heck this is about; it is a technical book on bell ringing!)

Student's dictionary of Anglo-Saxon

Very good condition hardback. £5.95 at 188 Mill Road

Big thank-you to everyone who donated this weekend

Lots of excellent donations at our shops this weekend.

This is very much appreciated as our ability to raise funds depends totally on keeping up a flow of new stock to keep customers interested in coming back.

We're particularly thrilled that our bookshop at 188 Mill Road is now regularly able to put out over 200 fresh books each week, as well as DVDs, CDs, vinyl records and VHS video. As Mill road is very much a secondary shopping area we need to work hard to make it worthwhile for customers to make a special journey to see what we have to offer.

The Silver Jubilee Book: 1910-1935

Some damage to its spine and marking of some pages, but a fascinating pictoral history of the reign of King George V, including one of Queen Mary looking rather stern at having to try out a ride on a miniature railway.
£4.50 at 188 Mill Road.

A Family History, by the author of The Queen's Pardon

A Family History, by Mary Eyre, volume III. Hard to find title. This is part of a multi-volume novel series, but can be read on its own.

1st edition, 1861, in good condition, but with some damage to the binding.

£15 at 188 Mill Road shop.

Twisted Wing, by Ruth Newman

"Cambridge is home to 18,000 students, 1,500 academics... and one serial killer.

For the students of  Ariel College, a siege mentality has developed following weeks of media interest in "the Cambridge Butcher". University life has become not about surviving their exams, but simply about surviving.

Forensic psychiatrist Matthew Denison is sure that his traumatised patient has the killer's identity locked in her memory. THat within the little clique she belonged to lurks someone with a grudge. Someone who thought: 'What's a little decapitation between friends? Someone who has yet to finish settling their score..."

First edition, 2008, signed by the author. Paperback in good condition.

£10 at 188 Mill Road.

Rights & Wrongs: a manual of household law

Rights & Wrongs: a manual of household law, by Albany Fonblanque, of the Middle Temple (London: Routledge, Warne & Routledge, 1860).

1st Edition, some wear to the bindings. A good, useable copy. £20 at 188 Mill Road.

Encyclopaedia Britannica

And Nicki and I can confirm that the full 30-volume set is an impressive weight of words! This is where HQ's safe manual handling instructions pay off.

Priced at £150 for the full set. This is the 1980 edition, very handsomely bound and in good condition.

Available at the bookshop, 188 Mill Road.

Buyer collects. We are not even going to consider trying to post it.

Round-up on Exmoor

 Round-up on Exmoor by  Mary de la Mahotière. Collectible-quality pony book with bright, clean dust-jacket.

Cruden's Complete Concordance

Alexander Cruden was the first person to produce a complete concordance of the bible (basically a sorted list of all words with a line of context). Today this can be done by computer in a matter of moments, but in the eighteenth century the only way of achieving this was by laborious hand-sorting.

The book we have is the 1909 edition, with a small amount of damage to the binding, but still a handsome book and with a brief life of Cruden at the front. The print is extremely small, although clear and readable with a magnifying glass.

Cruden's concordance was the standard tool for theology students until very recently and this book forms an interesting link with past generations in Cambridge.