Wednesday, July 25, 2018

Lost Corners: Ephemera blogger Chuck Whiting checks in


In April, I published a "Lost Corners of the Internet" installment about a couple of ephemera blogs authored by Texas bookseller Chuck Whiting.

Chuck was in touch recently and kindly shared this story about the history of his online ephemera-sleuthing. Here's what he wrote:
Thanks for the kind words about my blogs. I prefer to think of them as being on an unintended and extended hiatus. I never meant to quit writing for them; business and life slowly eroded my spare time for such pursuits. But I have about 50 drafts still waiting to get fleshed out and I hope to return soon.

Bibliophemera was focused solely on book trade-related ephemera. As I collected more and more interesting ephemera that had no connection to bookselling, but still mattered to me, I started Paper Matters. Its "focus" was everything else paper.

Both were preceded by a blog called Archaeolibris (archaeolibris.blogspot.com), which dealt with interesting things found among the leaves of old books, either a physical object left as a bookmark or an interesting passage or theme in the printed text. That one probably is shuttered. Its focus tended to wander, but it gave me the idea for another one that dealt with writing found in books — marginalia, provenance, etc. That one I called Writing in Books (writinginbooks.blogspot.com). It was fun and most entries were relatively brief. I still come across interesting marginalia and notation in the books I acquire for my inventory, but the time thing got in the way with that blog also. Hope to get back to it as well.

I've just discovered your blog and have enjoyed the little I've read very much. I look forward to reading more. I had even thought a few years back I would just roll all my blogs into one, similar to yours, and not have four or five to deal with (there's an ill-fated fifth out there that dealt, or wanted to deal with, verse about books).

Anyway, good to come across your writing and I'll add a link to it on my blogs for whomever still finds them.

Kind regards,
Chuck
Thanks, Chuck. All four of your above-linked blogs are outstanding, and worthwhile for folks to check out, even if they're shuttered or on hiatus. They are still important historic digital documents.

I would never have enough discipline to manage multiple blogs, which is indeed why I just roll everything into Papergreat. This blog has certainly expanded and transmogrified over the years from its original ephemera focus and become a personal journal and sandbox for rants, trips down memory lane, and social commentary at times.

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