Book collector plans to donate 2,000-plus items related to P.E.I. to university's library
CBC
Collectors come in all forms — some chase rare stamps, others vintage hockey cards. But for one P.E.I. man, the greatest finds are books that tell the story of the Island.
Rev. Edward Rix is originally from West Prince, but has lived in the Philadelphia area for almost 30 years.
He has spent decades collecting printed works related to P.E.I. and has now amassed over 2,000 items, including books, magazines and stationery.
Rix said his passion for books is a family trait, handed down from his grandmother.
“[She] loved books and loved to hold a book in her hand. It’s probably from her, watching the way that she adored books and was such an avid reader,” he said.
“I was definitely a reader as a child, quite voracious.”
He first started collecting books as a child, beginning with comic books he’d pick up at a store in Alberton. After a while the shop’s owner, Don Campbell, took notice of him and began recommending other books. It was there that Rix’s passion for collecting was born.
Rix later attended university in Halifax, where he discovered the city’s many rare and used book stores. It was there that his collecting became more focused on books about P.E.I. Now, those printed works are a prominent feature of his collection.
“You’d find books about Prince Edward Island going back to the 18th century. You would find a lot of books printed on Prince Edward Island and also just the general print culture of Prince Edward Island,” he said.
“And of course, authors associated with P.E.I.”
His collection includes rare items like early prints of P.E.I. poet Milton Acorn’s In Love and Anger, of which Rix said there are just over a dozen recorded copies.
He has also collected a number of books by P.E.I. fiction author Basil King, including a number of first-edition novels dating back to 1909 — complete with the original dust jackets.
“Sometimes it’s not the particular book itself, but the way you find it,” Rix said.
His collection also includes different letters and stationary that has been printed on P.E.I. over the decades.
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