Marginal Notes 27: Jack Bradstreet, gentleman bookseller
No other title could suit Jack Bradstreet better than the one used for an article by Sharon Gray, published in The Age, Melbourne, on the 22nd of November 2005. Jack was, indeed, a gentleman, who has also been described as a gentle, erudite, quixotic man. Jack’s bookselling career in Melbourne began at Hall’s Book Store in Prahran during the 1960s. When Hall’s closed in the mid-1970s Jack acquired its secondhand stock and, with his wife Joy, opened his own bookshop in Railway Arcade South, Hawthorn, Victoria, which became a mecca for book lovers. Jack was an extraordinary bookseller, particularly known for his prodigious memory as well as for his ability to source items that customers were seeking; he was also generous in sharing his knowledge and in supporting young and emerging book dealers.
The following extract is from Rare. A life among antiquarian books by Stuart Kells. Folio, Sydney, 2011
Jack Bradstreet is another important name, and another gentleman, in the Australian rare book trade. When the Messrs Evans started in Melbourne, Jack called on them seeking work. They had nothing for him so he called on Hall’s Bookshop in Prahran. In the 1950s, Hall’s was already a Melbourne institution, having maintained large and profitable premises in the CBD and Prahran for three decades and having dominated the schoolbook market in particular. Jack had recently arrived from England, where he had had some experience in bookselling. Charlie Hall gave Jack a quick quiz from a local magazine and was impressed when Jack identified Simon Lee, the Old Huntsman. Hall hired him right away.
Jack remained with Hall’s for 25 years. Their three-storey building in Chapel Street housed a general book department, a schoolbook department, a large music department and a busy printery. In the general book department–where Rodney Davidson made his start as a collector – Jack learnt the business of selling new and secondhand books.
Jack became a member of The Australian and New Zealand Association of Antiquarian Booksellers in 1980, serving as the Association’s treasurer for several years. He was made a Life Member of ANZAAB, in recognition of his outstanding service to the trade.
An anecdote by the Australian artist, writer and cartoonist, Vane Lindesay, [A Bookman Recollects, The Latrobe Journal No 69 Autumn 2002] also encapsulates the essence of Jack Bradstreet: [as I was] about to purchase from Jack a handsome, illustrated book of decorated title-pages, illuminated pages and hand-tooled bindings, I discovered that I had lost my purse and my return train ticket. Jack, understanding my distress, wrapped the book, went to the till, took out a pound note, and handed me both book and money. I was moved by his kindness and trust, for we were not really known to each other then.
