"Antique books are valuable because people devoted themselves to the art of writing. Fifty years ago, a writer might spend 20 years working on a single book. Nowadays, no one does that. If a writer publishes a successful book, then he or she writes a slew of follow-ups in a couple of years. This way, content easily gets neglected. Today's authors may write good books, but in the end, good is not the same as classic.
"The deluge of information and acceleration of technology means that people have no patience with the slow accumulation of good content or with crafting and perfecting their books to create a masterpiece. That's why people revisit the classics again and again. Tsao Hsuei-chin's (曹雪芹) Dream of the Red Chamber (紅樓夢), like Shakespeare's plays, have been researched and interpreted by countless peopled through the ages. Despite all the new book titles in book stores today, people will still want to read Dream and collect antique copies of the book."
Wu observed that local collectors particularly sought after Chinese literature of the 1920s and 1930s, followed by Taiwanese literature from the 1940s and 1950s. Works such as Wu Cho-liu's (吳濁流) The Orphan of Asia (亞細亞的孤兒) and Kenneth Pai's (白先勇) Taipei People (臺北人) are much sought after, as are works of poetry, which though a marginal genre today, was very popular in the 1950s and 1960s.
Wu has on display a shelf of not-for-sale books that is part of the family's collection. One of them is An Infamous Riot (臺灣事變真相), an official account of the 228 Incident published for non-Taiwanese. Another is Notes on Visiting Taiwan (旅臺須知), a Taiwan provincial government publication, that is a handbook for Chinese visiting Taiwan. Published in May 1949, months before the KMT government's retreat to the island, it is an interesting sidelight to the history of that period.
"Books are never free of the influence of politics. These publications show that," Wu said.
While historical and literary scholars collect antique books for what is written in them, paper manufacturers buy them to study old techniques of printing, graphic-design, print-making and paper-making.
Just as collectors of antique furniture often lament the downfall of carpentry, Wu is generally pessimistic about new publications and doubts their collectibility 50 years from now. Only a limited amount, Wu predicts, will survive.
"Books on politics usually last, no matter in which era they are written. In the field of literature, gay literature stands a better chance of becoming collectible 50 years on, regardless of literary value, as it is a particular trend of this period of Taiwanese literature," Wu said.
Wu said that quality of the content decides books' collectibility. Another important factor is the political affiliations of the collectors.
"People have been collecting early Taiwanese literature for a long time. However, there has been a surge in its popularity in recent years, influenced by the political trend toward Taiwanese cultural identification."
As for the Internet, Wu said it would make little impact on her business. "Ancient books must be seen and felt. Besides, many collectors spend afternoons here not to buy books but to talk with us. Some want learn from us and other want to brag a little about their knowledge of books. Book collectors are like that."
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