“Gurzik is less vendor than curator. He will haggle in stories, not always gold. Certain volumes (marked in his ledger) are 'trade-only' — he accepts rare information, maps, firsthand confessions, or proof of an historical truth in exchange. He lectures customers for minutes on end about marginalia, correct handling, and the superiority of archival ink. He occasionally inserts his own notes into sold books (he believes it enriches provenance). If a buyer misbehaves — dog-earing pages, shouting, or using a common quill on a rare folio — Gurzik will flatly refuse sale and demand a humiliating public apology. He offers tea and a crust of bread when a tale is traded; he'll charge more for silence (i.e., secrecy) when asked to redact a name from a ledger.”