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maltatoday SUNDAY 11 FEBRUARY 2018 News 17 Robert Thake: "Only books can give you these two things at the same time – beauty and knowledge" INSET: Jean Baudoin's Histoire des Chevaliers de l'ordre de s. Iean de Hierusalem (Paris, 1659) Carmelo Caruana Company Ltd wishes to advise that KARL NAUDI & JULIAN ATTARD have no connection whatsoever with Carmelo Caruana Company Ltd, Hili Logistics, or Hili Ventures. NOTICE Carmelo Caruana Company Ltd Nineteen Twenty Three, Valletta Road Marsa, MRS 3000, Malta T 00356 2568 1555 E info@carmelocaruana.com www.carmelocaruana.com Carmelo Caruana Company Ltd is part of Hili Logistics, a division of Hili Ventures "When I got the 'Codice', it had an ex libris, so I could see who its previous owners were. This made it clear to me that I was a part of this venerable book's history, now. I was a part of its life. And it made me realise that I, like other collectors, am a custodian of these books. And this is an extremely important task. Because these books are repositories of Malta's cultural identity." Though by definition a sedentary pursuit – its in- herent nerdiness is not something Thake shies away from – acquiring antique books is not without in- stances of adventure, as Thake was soon to discover, and continues to wholeheartedly embrace. "Technically, I could get them all shipped over by DHL or whatever, but really – whenever I can, I like to fly over and pick them up in person, since it's al- ways more fun to be able to attach a story to an ac- quisition." One notable journey happened back in 2010. Thake's original, quaintly Romantic idea was to travel to Paris's Antiquarian Book Fair at the Grand Palais – "beeeeautiful", he croons wistfully – and 'escort' a precious book he had managed to acquire ahead of time, 'Mustafà Bassà di Rodi schiavo in Malta' (Naples, 1751). The book, which ended up forming the basis of Thake's first published work in 2013, certainly sounds like it would have deserved the international TLC treatment – being a rare and controversial text banned by Grandmaster Pinto at the time. But the Eyjafjallajökull volcano had other ideas. "I got stranded in Paris! Now, granted, there are far worse places to be stranded in, but I couldn't relax since I had a pretty important and scary Law exam to sit for at University in a few days' time." He set off to Marseilles, but – "comically enough" – the ash cloud caught up with him there too. And so, the journey back to Malta ended up being something of a road trip, with Thake going through Monte Carlo, Nice, Ventimiglia and Genoa – "with this priceless book in my satchel" – before finally managing to catch a flight back home from Rome. "Though as luck would have it, the second I landed to Malta, I noticed that a flight from Paris had just arrived... but in the end, I think this little round trip made my 'escorting' of the book even more Roman- tic," he concedes. Neither did this episode scare off Thake from im- promptu trips to Paris that feed his obsession. "This one time, I got an email right before 6am to alert me that a book I was after was available at this Paris bookshop. I got confirmation that it was complete, and in good condition, later on that day – while I was in the middle of a particularly hostile work meeting. So I had to excuse myself very awkwardly to take that call. I knew the shop opened at 10am, and I didn't want to miss this chance." In short, Thake was in Paris the following morning. "I took leave and went to the bank to get the cash... needed to do that due to withdrawal limits. I'm tell- ing you, when I told them that it was for a book, they looked at me funny..." But it's not just bank clerks and – one would pre- sume – more sober members of society that would look at Thake "funny". Given that his official profes- sion is that of a lawyer (who also teaches Law as a casual lecturer at the University of Malta), his publi- cation efforts mark him out as that much-maligned thing – the independent researcher. It's a stigma he's well aware of, and he confesses that it does make him feel "uneasy" at times. "But what encourages me is the fact that, in Malta, some of our best writers of history have in fact been lawyers, doctors, even architects... rather than more 'mainstream' historians." Further encouragement – even, in a lot of ways, complete validation – would come from overseas, however, and from some pretty decorated sources, too. Eschewing local publication – "It was difficult, for reasons I don't want to go into" – Thake sent the manuscript for his latest work, 'A Publishing History Of A Prohibited Best-Seller: The abbé de Vertot and his Histoire de Malte' to his favourite publisher, the US-based Oak Knoll Press. To Thake's delight and awe, not only did the publisher respond to his query – they opted to publish the book. It has subsequently been reviewed by the likes of the venerable Times Literary Supplement (arguably the benchmark for UK letters), where David Coward described it as, "scrupulous, meticulous, sumptuously produced and painstakingly researched biography of a book". Perhaps its triumph also validates an opinion Thake holds with some earnestness. "What people often don't realise is that sometimes, the life of a book is far more interesting than the life of its author." treljic@mediatoday.com.mt