Second impression

by Barbara Kaye

In The Company We Kept Barbara Kaye told the story of how the old established antiquarian book firm of Elkin Mathews survived the war years after evacuation to rural Essex in 1939. Now she carries on the story from 1945 to 1955, when Elkin Mathews expanded and her bibliophile husband, Percy Muir, became increasingly involved in the national and international politics of the antiquarian book trade. It was during this time that the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB) was formed and the description of Percy Muir's part in this process provides a fascinating account of an historic event. Percy Muir became president of the ILAB in 1950 and on his retirement from office he was unanimously elected Life President of Honor.