I've searched as many book-search data bases as I can find. Found the
data bases, did not find book! Help me with: Diggings From Many
Ampersandhogs; [The Typophiles / Christmas 1936]; Spiral Press.
Copyright Paul A. Bennett, 1937, for The Typophiles.

Hello.

First, the bad news...

Only 125 copies of the book were made, so it'll probably be almost
impossible to find one to buy.

"Diggings from Many Ampersandhogs, 1936, contained 35 inserts; 125
copies were made."
http://www.typophiles.org/history.html


Now, the good news... 
 
More than 20 copies are available in libraries.

Here's the Library of Congress catalog record:
http://catalog.loc.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?v3=1&DB=local&CMD=010a+75301406&CNT=10+records+per+page

I also did a search on WorldCat, available through my local public
library.  The following libraries also have the book:

CA	OCCIDENTAL COLLEGE LIBRARY
CA	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SANTA BARBARA	 
AZ	UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA	 
CT	CENTRAL CONNECTICUT STATE UNIVERSITY	
CT	YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY
DC	LIBRARY OF CONGRESS	 
IN	PURDUE UNIVERSITY
KY	UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY LIBRARY
MA	AMHERST COLLEGE
MA	WILLIAMS COLLEGE 
ME	COLBY COLLEGE
MN	UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA, MINNEAPOLIS	  
NC	UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA, GREENSBORO
NH	DARTMOUTH COLLEGE 
NY	NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
NY	ROCHESTER INSTITUTE OF TECH. LIBRARY  
PA	TEMPLE UNIVERSITY
PA	UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH	  
TX	SOUTHERN METHODIST UNIVERSITY, DEGOLYER LIBRARY  
VA	UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA	
ON	TORONTO PUB LIBRARY

Contact these libraries directly for more information, or contact your
own public library to see if you could borrow a copy through
interlibrary loan.

--------
search strategy:
catalog.loc.gov & worldcat

I hope this helps.

---

Request for Answer Clarification by minot26-ga on 06 Feb 2006 05:07 PST

Hello, and Thank you! Your answer told me what I'd only suspected was
true - now I have the facts. I also have the book, part of a small
collection of Typophile publications. Any idea on how I might find the
value of Ampersands?
(I would consider this a new question (?), thus, payment would increase.)
Thanks.

---

Clarification of Answer by juggler-ga on 06 Feb 2006 11:20 PST

Hi,
Thanks for your response.  It'd probably be a good idea to post a
whole new question about the book's value. Otherwise, Bowler's comment
about the copy that was for sale for $250 should give you an
approximate idea.  Given the rarity of the book, it's somewhat
unlikely that there will be a lot of other recent sales with which to
gauge value.  Good luck!

This comment says that the book is a collector's item (good news for you):

"One of the topics bandied about by the Typophiles, a New York group
of book lovers, at their irregular luncheons in the 1930's was the
ampersand, the useful connector that signifies ''and'' in Latin.
Enamored of its whimsical curves and curlicues, the Typophiles finally
put together in 1936 ''Diggings From Many Ampersandhogs'' (ouch!) a
lively volume of tributes to the ''&'' by American printers and
designers.

This small book, with a title page showing workers affixing a giant
ampersand to a building facade, is now a collector's item. It is one
of 100 on display at the Grolier Club in a show called ''A Century for
the Century: Fine Printed Books 1900-1999.''

From this website:
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9404E7DB153FF937A1575AC0A96F958260

This is a cached website where a copy was for sale for $250.00:

http://64.233.179.104/search?q=cache:sIGsKv5lg7oJ:www.zubalbooks.com/search.jsp%3Ftype%3Dweek%26criteria%3Dweek%26rpp%3D30%26c%3D866%26next%3D631+ampersandhogs&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=3

Thank you, bowler-ga, for providing so many details and resources that
will be of great help if/when I decide to sell this little treasure!
Based on the detailed information you provided for me, maybe you
should consider becoming a researcher. Thanks very much!

Thank you!  It's refreshing to know my comments are useful. 
Juggler-ga is a top-notch researcher, you may want to request him for
book related questions.  No one is better at it.

I have been trying for 4 years to become a researcher but
unfortunately they are not accepting new researchers.

Bowler-ga

If the Powers That Goog ever decide to add any new Google Answers
Researchers to the team, I sincerely hope that Bowler-ga is at the
head of the list. His tireless, insightful, and cheerful efforts
deserve notice.