I have been criticised heavily by all and sundry for not having read Alban George "Johnny" Moyes' 1948 book on Don Bradman (the book was, perhaps in a dash of imagination, titled Bradman).
Finally I could not take it anymore. I logged on to abebooks.co.uk and ordered what was supposed to be a masterpiece. It cost me around £5 including shipping, which was certainly a fair deal.
This is what they sent me. This. They had mentioned that the dust-jacket was missing, but I had expected it to be in a better condition than this. But then, a book was a book, which meant I had no right to complain.
I flipped open the book to land on this page, and smiled the moment I saw a familiar face — that of the greatest of them all — smiling back at me.
I moved back to the first page the way I often do for secondhand books. While there was no way I would have found anything on the lines of RAHUL LOVES PRIYA, there is usually some message that tells something about the previous owner.
I did, and saw this.
What was it they say about cricket being a great leveller?
***
Photo courtesy: Tulika Bhattacharya.
Wow! Lucky, you!
ReplyDeleteIndeed. Lucky, me.
Deleteএকেই বলে কপাল! ভবিষ্যতে নিলামে তুললেই কোটিপতি!
ReplyDeleteনা না, কোটিপতি নয়। যতটা বিরল ভাবছিস্ ততটা নয়।
DeleteI'm trying to imagine how you might have felt. Was it unnerving? Disbelief? Joy?
ReplyDeleteAll. All. All three of them, Sir.
DeleteWhat the hell ... how can someone get something like this ... this is just not fair ... I even tried checking for quick signs that this can be a fake but at least to someone as naive about me about handwriting can't find such a sign.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations!
Thank you, thank you. The signature looks original, actually.
DeleteThat was my naive assessment as well!
DeleteNa, I Googled. Hence.
DeleteYou can auction this one and retire for life. You know that, right?
ReplyDeleteNo. It is special, but not rare. The man lived for 93 years and I guess there are at least 9,300 signatures in the world (at the rate of three a day).
DeleteDid you mean one every three days (actually, twice a week), or are you discounting for the times when he wasn't famous and adding 3 a day in his later years?
DeleteIn any case, I'd assume the best 5 pounds you ever spent in your life :) ? Wow!
How does "I just lost five pounds" sound?
DeleteAm I to understand that someone voluntarily relinquished their hold on a Bradman-autographed copy of this book?? That is simply astounding, together with the fact that you were lucky enough to receive this copy! One of those amazing wondrous coincidences of the world!
ReplyDeleteYes, you are to understand the same. Must have been someone who did not realise what they were doing.
DeleteMust have passed to an American relative of the original owner. Or a football loving son/daughter. Congratulations!
ReplyDeleteThank you. It may have been passed to some other heathen as well. I am not complaining, though.
DeleteUniverse....murphy....charlatan..?
ReplyDeleteFor once, Murphy was applicable to the other person.
Deleteu r so damn lucky....how could u lay ur hands on this for just 500 bucks?????
ReplyDeleteINR 466.83 as per today's rate. :)
Delete