[Sca-cooks] Period cookery library for sale (long)

[Jamey R. Lathrop]

The background:

I was involved in the SCA for a little over 13 years.  During the last of
those years, I became seriously involved in the recreation of medieval and
renaissance cookery.  Okay, I'll admit it-- I was pretty hardcore about it
and into as much authenticity in the recreation of recipes as possible (I
was a self-confessed "authenticity nazi.")  Then, things changed.  Two
years ago, I became a vegetarian, and it completely altered my interests
in period cookery.  I did a few more feasts, but my heart just wasn't in
it anymore, and there were many other aspects of the SCA with which I was
highly dissatisfied.  Finally, a year ago, my husband and I chose to leave
the SCA altogether.

What this means for you:

Well, basically-- the collection of period cookbooks and other resources
offering related historical information or valuable insight into certain
techniques that I had so highly prized, cherished, babied, lorded over
(you get the idea) suddenly seemed to be sucking up a ton of scarce space
in our bookcases.

I'd already cleaned out my 500+ volume collection of contemporary
cookbooks some time ago, and now I've finally gotten around to dealing
with my medieval and renaissance cookery collection.  It's amazing-- even
though I've hardly looked at any of these books over the last year (and
the collection even grew when a book I'd had one order for over 1 1/2
years and had forgotten about was finally published and showed up), it's a
strange to let go of something that was so much a part of me for such a
long time!

After removing the few books I have chosen to keep, I catalogued the
collection.  A table listing contents of the collection (alphabetical by
author, in most cases), along with some brief notes on how I valued the
collection is now posted at:

http://www.unm.edu/~jlathrop/booklist.htm

This collection took many years of hard work (and a substantial sum of
money) to acquire.  Now it can be yours, without waiting.  This would be
an excellent opportunity for someone who is new to period cookery but has
already decided it's his or her new reason for living, or the individual
who has had difficulty acquiring many sources due to his/her location, or
for a guild who wants to build a cookery library.  Perhaps a group of
friends could purchase the collection together and then attempt to fill up
some of those gaping holes in their collections!  Anyway... you get the
idea.

The asking price for the entire collection is $1,100.  Take a look at the
collection, compare prices on the new and used book markets, examine the
titles that you won't find in any bookstore, and you'll realize the value
I'm offering.  The buyer will pay actual shipping costs, including
insurance if he or she desires (just remember I cannot be responsible for
uninsured packages).  I will gladly ship to an overseas buyer.  I estimate
the shipping cost for someone within the continental US to be somewhere
between $50-$100, for postage via 4th class book rate (be aware that
packages can take two weeks or longer to arrive when shipped this way).
Realistically, I cannot tell a buyer how much shipping will cost until the
books have been securely wrapped, boxed, and taken to a post office for
weighing (in other words, until I have a firm buyer).

At the moment, I am a graduating MBA student heading into finals week.  I
am very busy, so I must respectfully request that I receive questions and
email inquiries from SERIOUS POTENTIAL BUYERS ONLY.  For the quickest
response, please email me directly at JameyLathrop at msn.com, as I check
email at that address much more frequently, and it will help me separate
out your inquiries from the rest of the mail on the SCA cooks list.  I
have only temporarily re-subscribed to this list to share this information
with you, and will un-subscribe sometime within the next two weeks.

The means of payment I will accept are a cashier's check, a direct wire
transfer, or I can accept credit cards through Paypal (and I'm a verified
Paypal user).  All payments are expected to be in US funds.  Paypal is
probably the best option for an overseas or international buyer.  Please
note that I cannot currently accept a "layaway" or "installment" payment
plan.  I am also not currently considering selling off the books
individually, so please don't ask.

I sincerely hope that this collection will find a new home with a new
owner who will love and appreciate these books.  They gave me great joy
and satisfaction for many years, but it's now time for them to do the same
for someone else.

Please remember, I can currently only answer emails from serious potential
buyers.  I hope that this email and the table I've posted on the web will
answer most of your questions.

Jamey R. Lathrop
JameyLathrop at msn.com
jlathrop at unm.edu

*** See the chocolate.  Taste the chocolate.  Be the chocolate. ***