Vamp & Tramp: What and How. No matter what term you use — agent, broker, dealer, and parasite — primarily we are traveling salespeople, selling Book Arts in general, selling the works of book artists we represent specifically. The service we offer is for book artists who for whatever reason choose to have someone else sell their work. (Because we represent their work does not mean that they can not sell it themselves, or have other agents represent them.) We take work on consignment and search for a buyer. No money changes hands until we sell the work and are paid. Then we receive an agreed on percentage of the selling price.
While we do have a website and exhibit/sell at selected book fairs, a vast majority of our sales (we've never stopped to figure it out, but 90% is a guess) come as a result of personal visits to private and institutional customers. No matter how good the website or the catalog, there is no substitute, we find, for actually showing the work. And so, we spend a lot of time on the road, traveling at least part of 11 months a year (December being the odd month out).
Because we feel strongly that the sort of work we represent is best sold by taking the work to the institutions and collectors, we ask artists to send us one copy of each work they want us to represent. We show the actual work to potential buyers, and place orders with the artist as we sell their work.
The logistics might be of interest since they play a part in which works we take on. We pack a Dodge Grand Caravan with wheeled cases of book works (anywhere from 6 to 10 large suitcases, probably 100 to 200 separate works) targeted to the collections and collectors we have been able to make appointments with and hit the road. As an example, for a 5-week trip to the West in January-February 2006, we have 23 institutional appointments scheduled, will see 3 or 4 individual collectors, and will exhibit at the California International Antiquarian Book Fair.
At each institutional appointment we'll take in anywhere from 10 to 60 works – the exact number and general slant of books depends on whom we are presenting to and how much time we have been allotted, two hours being an optimal time, but by no means what we always get. As you can see, one of the realities about being represented by Vamp & Tramp is that when we show your work, it is one of many works on the table.
The sessions take on all forms: sometimes we meet with just the head of Special Collections, sometimes with a committee, or teachers who will be using the books, every now and then the visit will be announced campus-wide and a more-or-less crowd more or less drifts in and out. Some librarians like to have each book presented individually; others like to look at a selection pretty much by themselves and then ask any questions they have. Some are too busy to do anything but look at books; some like to be regaled with the backstories. Ideally, we like to hand-sell each work. In reality, that happens too infrequently.
If there is a norm, it would be that the librarian begins to make a stack of work she is considering. Then there is the inevitable culling. Here is not too inaccurate list of overheard mumblings: I don't have this much money in my budget, We have an exhibit coming up, How would I shelve this?, It will display well, It's too involved, It's too simple, I hate ribbons, What a lovely ribbon, I can get these five books for the price of that one. In the end, we hope to come away with an order. We pack up. We move on.
