▻ Rare Wine Books

Let's Talk About

21 Jun

Written By Sarah Kemp

Jane Anson in conversation with Ben Kinmont

Episode Summary:-

Ben Kinmont is a rare-book seller specialising in food and wine, based in the Sonoma town of Sebastopol, in California, and was responsible for selling the extraordinary Sean Thackery collection – a literary bonanza – to Domaine Clarence Dillon at Château Haut-Brion in Bordeaux. Here he discusses the rare-book trade with Jane Anson, and tells specifically why gastronomy is such a fascinating area to collect. He reveals how he selects and finds his books, and gives advice on how to develop your own collection. He tells Jane about the key texts in the field, from the 6th century onward, and reveals which books he would most like to find, such as Bartolomeo Platina’s On Honourable Pleasure and Health, the world’s first printed cookbook, which was published just 20 years after the Gutenberg Bible. This is a rare insight into the book world, and the story of how Sean Thackery, the famous and celebrated California winemaker, assembled the unrivalled collection of wine books now residing at Château Haut-Brion.

“ “Becoming a great collector has actually little to do with money and resources, it has to do with your love of the subject.” ”

— Ben Kinmont

Running Order:-

0.00 – 15.15

“Becoming a great collector has actually little to do with money and resources, it has to do with your love of the subject.”

– How Ben started out in the rare-book business.
– How Ben became a specialist in wine and food books.
– The number of rare-book sellers in the wine and food sector.
15.16 – 37.30

“It’s a small community of people, who know each other.”

– Where rare wine and food books are found.
– Buying first editions.
– Most expensive book on gastronomy.
37.31 – 52.39

“I was born a bibliophile.”

– Sean Thackery’s interest in winemaking books.
– Sean Thackery’s collection.
– Sean Thackery’s financial setback due to a fire.
– Selling the collection to Domaine Clarence Dillon.
– How to become a collector.