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From a rare copy of the Declaration of Independence to the scribbled notes of a scientific genius and the doodles of a future president, Kenneth Gloss has touched history in a way few mortals have. Gloss is the proprietor of the Brattle Book Shop in Boston, one of the oldest and largest antiquarian bookshops in America. He’s known to fans of “Antiques Roadshow” for applying his keen eye and deep knowledge to appraising rare books for the popular PBS show.
Kenneth Gloss has worked in his family’s Brattle Book Shop in Boston for 50 years. Gloss recently gave a talk about his decades of literary treasure hunting at the Derry Public Library. A natural storyteller, he regaled the audience of about two dozen bibliophiles with tales of rare finds, quirky customers and funny encounters.
“I’ve done this all my life,” he said. “My parents said my first word was ‘book.’” Gloss then entertained a few questions before inviting folks to bring forward their own cherished volumes for his quick appraisal.
Michael Bailey of Derry had an old edition of “Les Miserables” that had been in his wife’s family for many years. “It looks nice,” Gloss said kindly, before delivering his assessment of its approximate value: “Five dollars.” Was Bailey disappointed? “Not at all,” he said.
“The guy’s very entertaining and very informative.” Jim Jordan of Derry brought a venerable-looking copy of “Shakespeare The Complete Works.” The book had no publication date and Jordan wondered why.
It’s probably from the 1880s, Gloss told him, a time when publishers didn’t date books so that they didn’t appear outdated in subsequent years. “If you don’t put a date on it, you can keep selling them,” he said. The book’s value? “Maybe 10 dollars,” Gloss said.
Jim Jordan, right, of Derry hands his copy of “Shakespeare: The Complete Works” to rare-book expert Kenneth Gloss to appraise. While it likely dated back to the 1880s, Gloss said it wasn’t particularly valuable. Gloss joked that his wife says he only works half a day — “I get to work at 5:30 in the morning and the store closes at 5:30 — it’s half a day.
” “But I love what I do,” he said. His parents bought the bookstore in 1949, and his father — “a bit of a character and a showman” — built it into a thriving store. The shop has had seven different locations, all in Boston.
When he was young, Gloss earned a degree in chemistry, and planned to go on to a doctorate, he said. But in 1973, he decided to take a year off from college, and went to work in the family bookstore. “That year now is 50-something years, and I don’t regret it for a minute that I’m doing this and I’m not in a laboratory somewhere,” he said.
One night in early 1980, Gloss got a call that the building housing the store was on fire. “It literally burned to the ground,” he said. The book-loving community in Boston helped him restock in a new location in just a few months; even then-Mayor Kevin White “came down with a carload of books,” Gloss said.
The shop fields calls constantly, both from customers asking about specific books, and from institutions asking Gloss to come appraise items in their collections. Once in a while, he said, “You get a call that really stands out.” Like the call from an older lady with an Irish brogue.
“The first thing she says is ‘President Kennedy slept with me,’” he recalled. “You have to admit, that gets your attention.” Turned out she worked for the Kennedy family when the future president was just a toddler.
“He used to fall asleep in her arms,” Gloss said, to appreciative chuckles. The lady had kept handwritten letters from the president and invited him to appraise them, Gloss said. They were authentic, he said, but in the end she couldn’t part with them.
“Who knows, maybe someday I’ll hear from her again.” Sam Schreiner, left, talks with rare book expert Kenneth Gloss about a couple of books he brought to Gloss’s presentation in Derry. Gloss once was summoned to a Boston museum to provide an insurance appraisal for a priceless bit of American history that the institution was loaning to another museum.
And that’s how he found himself “holding a four-page handwritten account of Paul Revere’s ride — by Paul Revere.” “It was amazing,” he said. He has examined an original copy of the Declaration of Independence — the first one that printed the names of its signers.
And once at a private home, a trunk yielded a large manila envelope; inside were letters from Thomas Jefferson. Another time, he was called by a university to appraise some of its rare books, including a first edition by Sir Isaac Newton. “A first edition of that in good condition, which this was, is a million dollars,” he said.
“This copy was Isaac Newton’s copy, with his notes in the margins.” One woman at the Derry event wanted to know if old textbooks are ever valuable. In general no, Gloss said.
But there are exceptions — like the time he came across a Spanish textbook that had been used at West Point. “It was very obvious the student was really bored; there were doodles all through this textbook,” Gloss said. “That student happened to be Dwight Eisenhower.
“So yes, that textbook is valuable.” Rare book expert Kenneth Gloss speaks to the audience at the Derry Public Library. Gloss once learned that he was the model for a character in a John Grisham book — but he was less thrilled when he found out the character ran a book shop that served as a fence for stolen books.
He shared his dismay in a phone call with the author: “I don’t mind so much being called a thief, but a failing business, that bothers me,” he told Grisham. “I owe you a dinner,” Grisham replied. “That was five, six years ago now,” Gloss laughed.
“He still owes me a dinner.” He got to meet actor Paul Giamatti when they filmed a scene in the 2023 film “The Holdovers” at his shop. The star later returned to the shop to buy some books.
“He was very friendly and nice,” Gloss said. Gloss has been part of PBS’s “Antiques Roadshow” for more than 20 years, a gig that has taken him to every state in the union, usually accompanied by his wife. And those travels reveal a truth about America, he said.
“Anywhere you go in this country, and spend any effort at all, it’s beautiful everywhere,” he said. “The people are absolutely wonderful.” “Maybe everybody should get to know each other better, and that would maybe solve a few problems,” he said.
Gloss used to worry about breaking the news to people that their cherished book had no real value other than sentimental, but he soon learned that “most people are thrilled,” he said. “They go, ‘Great, now I don’t have to worry about it.’” People often ask him what’s the most valuable book he’s ever encountered.
He’s given it a lot of thought, he said, and has settled on an edition of “The Night Before Christmas.” It’s not particularly old, just from the 1970s. But he said, “I have read that to my children and my grandchildren every single Christmas Eve.
” And that makes it the most precious book of all, he said. [email protected].
