Getting Started

I first became aware of the works of Edward Gorey in 1979 during my freshman year of college at the Philadelphia College of Art and was instantly hooked. After buying a few books at local bookstores (this was pre-internet, of course), I began to look for more titles by this author. I kept searching, turning up new titles and increasing my stash of unusual little volumes.

It wasn’t until about two years later (after I transferred to The Minneapolis College of Art and Design) that I discovered The Gotham Book Mart in New York City and found out what I had gotten myself into! Adding to my collection of works by Gorey became an obsession and I started to seriously collect every new title that came out in addition to looking for hard to find out of print titles.



I had the good fortune to be able to visit NYC and Gotham yearly, and through the guidance and direction of P. Matthew Monaghan (then director of the gallery) I became more knowledgeable about the works of Edward Gorey. Over the past 27 years, the staff at Gotham Book Mart has been a HUGE help in the building of my collection. At Gotham, in addition to Matthew, I have been lucky to work with Gina Guy, Kevin McDermott and Andreas Brown, each of whom has contributed greatly to my appreciation of all things Gorey.

I continue to actively search out and collect pieces to add to my collection through the internet, auctions, and a network of dealers (Gotham Book Mart is sadly out of business). The photo at the left shows the bookcase that houses my primary Gorey book collection. We will be delving into this book case to look at individual items in future postings.