Select Books and Singapore Heritage Society are pleased to invite you to a talk on old books by Robert Yeo and Alex Teoh, on Saturday, 11 January 2014, at 3:30pm.

Talk: “How Much is an Old Book Worth?”
What is the value of an old book? How much is a book worth after its contents have been read and absorbed?
Come join other book lovers at Select Books for an afternoon of informal discussion on the theme of “Old Books”. Veteran Singapore writer and educator Robert Yeo and book conservator Alex Teoh will share their knowledge and experiences of book collecting and upkeep. View books from their personal collections, some dating back over a century, that show that the stories behind the books are sometimes as important as the stories in them. Find out more about the tangible and intangible value of old books, even as younger readers continue to migrate to electronic platforms.
Bring your own old books and share your questions and stories!

“Apart from the pleasure of reading, buying a book and later finding it on my bookshelves help me remember the occasion, down to the exact day the book was purchased and where. I remember as clearly, the occasion when I bought the collected poems of Walt Whitman in a Bras Basah bookshop as a schoolboy in 1957, as I do that June in 1967 when i bought the Cantos of Ezra Pound in the famous Oxford bookshop, Blackwells. I still have these books and return to them ever so often, the simple pleasure of reading augmented by the remembrance of buying them.” — Robert Yeo

About the Speakers
Robert Yeo
Published poet, playwright and novelist Robert Yeo is an alumni of the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa (1978). For more than a decade beginning in 1977, he was Chair of the National Drama Advisory Committee, which helped to develop theatre in Singapore’s four languages. His three connected plays were published in 2001 as The Singapore Triology. In 2009, his second libretto ‘Kannagi’, a short chamber piece based on an Indian epic poem, was staged in Sri Mariamman Temple. His first libretto, a full-length work titled ‘Fences’, was staged in 2012, with John Sharpley as composer.

Alex Teoh
Alex Teoh is a paper and book conservator, providing restoration and collection care for rare manuscripts, collectible prints, antique maps and antiquarian books. He has been involved in various conservation and exhibitions projects in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei. Paper and books, being products of nature, deteriorate over time. Causes include light, acidity, pest infestation, mishandling and poor storage conditions. This is accelerated by our warm and humid environment. Alex will share some understanding of the nature of paper and books and some tips on collection care.

Date and Time
Saturday, 11 January 2014, 3:30pm

Location
Select Books
51, Armenian Street, Singapore 179939
Tel: 6337 9319