collectors and collecting

Alexander Short, a reference librarian with a rocky marriage to a French pop-up book author, is hired by bibliophile Henry James Jesson III to do after-hours research on the life of a mysterious eighteenth-century inventor who left a cabinet full of wonders that chronicle his life, with one maddeningly empty shelf.

Traces the history of Britain's expansion from 1750 to 1850 and examines the Egyptian and Indian artifacts that reveal crucial information about the period.

Discusses the history of die-cast toy cars, their manufacture, values, and how to start a collection.

Provides an overview of the kinds of military items that are collectible, with information on value and cost as well as help in starting a collection.

Discusses the history of dolls and explains how to start and maintain a doll collection.

A fantastical trilogy that revolves around an eccentric collector and philanthropist named Francis Cornish. In the first work, one of his finds, an ancient Rabelaisian manuscript, is stolen from a Toronto college library; in the second, two angels tell his life story; and in the third, he is discovered to have forged a painting.

Pius Pelosi, the pack rat, has a room full of item he has collected, but when the visitors convince him to throw out the very first item ever collected, he realizes he lost more than just a pebble.

Five-year-old Bradley tries to help big brother Tommy earn enough money to buy a magnificent marble for his collection.

A boy must decide what to do with a lost thing he finds while hunting for bottle caps.