(soft music) - When my daughter was in sixth grade, she signed me up for career day at school.

And first I asked her, I said, so what'd you tell the teacher I do?

Did you tell I own a bookstore?

And she goes, no.

I told you're a treasure hunter.

(soft music) I consider myself a treasure hunter of historical artifacts that tell the history of the world through books.

I have a rule of, if you have to explain why it's important, it's not.

We try to take it to that level to where everything has a story, and it does.

And for something to make it into the collection or this shop, it has to have a story besides being the book.

We have a second Folio of Shakespeare, which was printed in 1632.

The first impression was 1623.

And even to pause at the title page, and read who it was printed by, and it says that it was sold in one place in London at the sign of the Black Bear in Paul's churchyard.

I mean, that's its own story.

Shakespeare was sold at the sign of the Black Bear in Paul's churchyard in London.

(soft music) The tangible artifact makes it real.

And having read from these original Folios that are going back four centuries, it's almost made me more invested in the history and the appreciation of it.

Now I can't consume enough.

(soft music) I grew up in a very humble house, so I had to have a hobby that was free.

I grew up in Oklahoma and I was given a rock pick.

That was my first passion, was collecting rocks.

That's probably where it started.

Although I will tell you, I was not a reader until after college.

I got my insurance license.

I started doing that.

But any opportunity I could get away from selling insurance, I would talk to people about books.

And they would say, I want a book that's about this.

And I'd go, ooh, that would be cool.

I want to know that, too.

And they would ask for books pre-internet that were out of print.

I would write that down on an index card.

And then I started to realize, wait, this is what I like.

I like tracking down these books.

I like reading these books.

And I says, this is what I want to do.

And father said those infamous words, you'll never make a living selling books.

I've never looked back, and that's 35 years ago.

"Wealth of Nations."

First Edition "War and Peace" Tolstoy.

That's actually a Bible that belonged to Captain Bligh, mutiny on the "Bounty."

And then early illustrated edition of "The Raven."

You've heard of the "Iliad."

This is a copy of "The Iliad" back from the 1500s before it's even in English.

It's in the original Greek.

Right next to the "King James Bible," we have another book written by King James about 15 years earlier that most people do not know that he wrote, but he felt that it was very important to write a book on demonology and witchcraft because he felt that witches were trying to kill him and his wife.

I'm often chastised for not using gloves, but there is no debate in the rare book world and in the museum world, gloves are not to be used with books.

All the latest studies have shown gloves have caused more damage than they've ever prevented.

Clean, dry hands is the international standard.

Books should be handled.

They were meant to be handled.

And that's how I read.

I read these first editions.

I want to see how the first people who ever touched the book felt.

This is a 400 year old book on magic, natural magic.

Harry Houdini's copy, from 1658.

The law register of Alexander Hamilton from 1795.

This is a prayer book that belonged to Marie Antoinette.

This is a first edition "King James Bible" printed in 1611.

And that is what it looks like.

10 years ago, when I'm living in Dallas, I received a call.

And a man in broken English said, "Is this Mr.

Moon?"

And I said, "Yes.

How can I help you?"

"You gave me your business card two years ago at the Paris Book Fair.

And you told me if I came across any important bibles to let you know."

And I said, "Oh, sure.

I have 'Tyndale Bible,' 'First Edition King James.'"

And he goes, "Well, this Bible's from the 1940s."

And I said, "Oh, you're wasting your time."

I said, "I don't do new books."

And he said, "I thought you said important Bibles."

And then he told me whose Bible it was.

And he could have only mentioned maybe three names of somebody from the 20th century that would make me stop in my tracks.

He said one of the three names.

And I said, "I want it."

And he goes, "I don't own it."

He's calling me from Belgium.

I'm in Texas.

The book is in Kansas.

And so I quickly called up the gentleman and I say, "I hear you have so-and-so's Bible."

And I says, "I would like to buy it."

And he goes, "Well, it's gonna be complicated.

I just talked to a guy in New York, says he wants it."

I said, "What did you tell him?"

"I said same thing I'm telling you.

First person here with the money gets it."

Seven hours later, I'm there.

The guy shows me the book.

It's literally falling apart.

Cloth bound, cover off, ugly green.

But I open it up, and I see that there's corrections in the margin.

This guy is correcting the Greek.

And I turn to the front, had a beautiful signature.

J.R.R.

Tolkien.

It was his Bible.

(soft music) Really spectacular items on the market, 24, 48 hours, and then they're gone for another several decades.

(soft music) I have traded $20 worth of used books into what exists now.

And I think everybody wants their life to have purpose.

And I think mine is really inspiring people, and educating, and giving people an experience that they won't forget.

And that usually happens through the reciting of a historical event and then showing them an artifact.

It's rewarding for me.

And I see that it makes a difference.

And I can live with that.

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