In the span of two hours, these tables laden with books were cleaned off with a few hundred titles finding new homes.
Review & Onsite Photos by Andrea Valluzzo
SOUTH GLASTONBURY, CONN. — Every book has a story worth reading, regardless of its worth, whether that’s $15 or $15,000.
An avid bibliophile, Thomas Gullotta, founder/owner of Connecticut River Book Auctions, loves a good story. In addition to previously running a children’s mental health agency, he has been an author and editor, so it was no surprise that, after years of attending book auctions in Massachusetts, he elected in 2009 to start his own firm for book auctions.
Launched as CFA Book Auction in New London, Conn., to raise funds for Child and Family Agency of Southeast Connecticut, Gullotta changed the business over in 2017 when he retired and it became too much work for the agency to maintain. In honor of his son, Bernie, who died eight years ago while waiting for a new heart, Gullotta continues to raise money for charities through auctions. All profits raised after covering expenses and paying consignors are donated to area organizations. “It’s a cottage industry if there ever was one,” he said of his auction house.
Tom Gullotta, owner of Connecticut River Book Auctions (left), and Charlie Murray of Glastonbury, Conn., (right) pose for a photo before the start of the auction.
Every month, year-round (with the exception of February and August), Gullotta conducts live auctions at the Congregational Church in South Glastonbury. The events typically offer several hundred books in the span of two hours.
For his April 10 auction, a decent size crowd of people, mostly dealers, packed into the church’s meeting hall. Several people in the front row were obviously veteran bidders, as they chose their seats with care and stacked empty boxes in front of them to bring him their winnings. One couple from Rhode Island are regulars to the auction. Bidding on books ranging from magic to decorative arts and ships/boats, the couple filled up at least nine boxes with their winnings. Towards the end, the husband began the chore of carrying out boxes using a hand truck while the wife kept bidding on, and winning, more books. Chatting with her after the event, she said the auctions are worth their drive from Rhode Island, not just for the books but for being in the company of like-minded people who appreciate the offerings. She said they often go out to dinner before the auctions with friends they have made here.
“It’s really kind of a fun operation and there’s a lot of volunteers that are involved,” Gullotta shared. “People call me with their books, or their attorneys do, or their accountants, and we try and help folks. If you’re a business really trying to make a living doing this, you might look at an estate and tell the people, ‘There’s nothing here worth anything’ and send them away. We look at it and say, ‘How can I help you?’”
Connecticut State Representative Jill Barry, serving Glastonbury, enjoys doing the accounting for the auction and was on hand at the recent event. “She has 1,000 better things that she could do, but it makes you feel good. The people who are interested in books are interesting people. They really, really, really are,” Gullotta added.
These two books each sold separately for $58. They were inscribed to fellow author John P. Marquand.
Octogenarian Charlie Murray, who Gullotta has been friends with for decades, offered his help when Gullotta was launching the book auctions and continues to assist with setup and making a backup accounting of the bidding results.
While some people choose to leave absentee bids, most bidders to come in person, Gullotta noted. “Some of those people have been with me for 20 years, believe it or not. And some will come and say, ‘There’s nothing that interests me, but I haven’t seen you or I haven’t seen other people in the group, so I’m just kind of hanging around,’” he said.
Many books sell in the $30-$100 range, but every so often a rare book comes into Gullotta’s hands. Last year, he received a first edition from a small French language printing of The Little Prince that collectors bid up to $17,000. “So, we’re all over the place. I joke with people when they call me and say, ‘Look, we’re not Sotheby’s, we’re not Christie’s. We’re just a small Connecticut-based operation that sells books and papers and prints and stuff like that.”
Auctioneer Paul Hopkins (at center) called for bids as Gullotta and volunteers got the lots ready.
The April 11 sale kicked off with a first edition of King Leopold’s Soliloquy, a 1905 pamphlet by Mark Twain, which took $46, and hit its high note with a first edition of Benjamin Franklin’s A Collection of All the Laws of the Province of Pennsylvania now in Force that made $1,840. While the rear cover was missing and several pages in the table of contents were damaged, the book had historic interest, particularly in this semiquincentennial year when anything having to do with the founding fathers is coveted.
Children’s books, campaign buttons and ephemera also crossed the block.
At the end of the night, Gullotta wrote two checks. One was for $2,053 to the Glastonbury Historical Society towards publication of its new book, Our Sacred Honor: Glastonbury In The Revolutionary War, and the second check, for $1,000, was to Hartford Hospital earmarked for Donor Services in Bernie’s memory.
The firm’s next auction is May 1.
Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For information, www.ctriverbookauction.com or 860-908-8067.
