Beautiful edition of a sought-after title
The Book Collection by author Vuong Hong Sen was first published in 1960, and was one of the first books to attempt to define "the book collection" and discuss many aspects of this leisurely, luxurious hobby.
Over time, the book became a classic, a bedside book for many readers who have a passion for books - or as Mr. Vuong Hong Sen explained, people who are "crazy in love" with books.
Since its first publication, old editions of The Book Lover have been sought after by readers. In 2019, an old edition of the work won 35 million VND in an auction of old and rare books at Ho Chi Minh City Book Street.
Understanding readers' wishes, Tre Publishing House has just released a new edition of this old book.
New edition of "Book hobby" (Photo: Tre Publishing House).
The book has an antique-style hardcover, a formal jacket, and photos taken by the editor at Van Duong Palace - the home of Mr. Vuong Hong Sen.
The detailed table of contents clearly states the content of each small part that is not separate in the book, helping readers to conveniently look up and refer to it.
The book's content also closely follows the old edition, with hyphenated writing and ancient words that may be unfamiliar to modern readers, but contains valuable information about the national language of the time and the Southern language.
This is a beautiful publication in both form and content, helping readers discover every nuance of the most luxurious hobby: reading books, thereby arousing in each person the desire to preserve the common knowledge and culture of the nation.
"Classic" book on the art of playing with books
In addition, books are also "a useful, lovable gift", capable of "teaching wisdom and skill, both comforting sadness and bringing joy and excitement; books make the reader's spiritual life more exciting and powerful".
With such a love of books, book collectors also know how to distinguish good books from bad books. Initially, they collect all the books they come across, then filter them, "become their own teacher, learn from themselves", and choose to keep what is valuable.
In particular, book collectors are especially fond of strange books, skillfully printed books, beautiful covers, but especially appreciate the content value, the value that helps the book become "eternal".
Some other works of Mr. Vuong Hong Sen published by Tre Publishing House (Screenshot).
Stemming from the curiosity of a scholar and collector, Mr. Vuong Hong Sen especially likes to collect many different editions of the same work, from the first edition to beautiful paper prints, signed by the author, illustrated or with special additional content.
In Book Play , he proudly introduced 26 editions of Tale of Kieu and 11 editions of Luc Van Tien that he collected, each edition has its own value.
Today's book lovers will also be interested and sympathetic when Mr. Vuong expressed his dream of opening a bookstore of rare and ancient books, his pickiness with each book and its cover, or his frustration with "the disaster of lending books".
Mr. Vuong urged everyone to be worthy book lovers, "know how to love books, be passionate about books, know how to play with books and cherish books as good friends", "treat them like eggs, collect them like flowers".
In particular, he encouraged everyone to read more books. Vietnamese bookcases needed to have French, English, and Chinese books, but it was urgent to save Nom books, a valuable part of the national language. His concern and love for books and language demonstrated the heart of a culturalist.
Along with his general thoughts about books, Mr. Vuong Hong Sen also shared about his childhood of reading, about his mother who instilled in him a love for books, and about the interesting stories or people he encountered on his journey of collecting books.
These short stories help readers understand more about the man himself, Vuong Hong Sen, one of the most prestigious scholars on the South and the era in which he lived.
The hobby of collecting books has decoded interesting issues and secrets that not everyone knows about the art of collecting books from East to West, past to present, and it is not difficult to understand why it has become a "classic" in the genre of books about books.
Modern readers will certainly be delighted to recognize the similarities and differences between the ancients and the present in the way they enjoy and preserve books.
Vuong Hong Sen (1902 - 1996), pen name Anh Vuong, Van Duong, Dat Co Trai, was a cultural figure, scholar, and collector of antiques, with a reputation in the historical and archaeological circles in Vietnam thanks to his extensive knowledge of the South.
He was born in Soc Trang, with three bloodlines: Kinh, Chinese and Khmer.
From 1948, he worked as Acting Librarian at the National Museum of Vietnam in Saigon until his retirement in 1964.
Vuong Hong Sen's lifelong passion is reading, collecting, researching and recording everything he sees and hears.
He is passionate about antiques, attached to old values and likes to research traditional games such as cricket fighting, cockfighting, fish fighting, bird playing, bonsai growing, the art of playing with antiques, old and new jokes. He can be considered a "living treasure" of those fields.
His works are mostly memoirs and notes, which are vivid and valuable sources of information, showing the life, thoughts, and culture of ancient society.
The documents he collected and recorded are valuable historical and cultural resources for those who want to learn about many aspects of life in the South through the eyes of a witness to the times.
When he passed away, he donated his house (Van Duong Palace) and his collection of antiques (a total of 849 items) to the State.
On August 5, 2003, the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City issued a decision to rank the house as a city-level relic and a traditional civil architectural relic.
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