When people desire to collect a complete set of cards but can't get a specific one, they naturally consider trading with others. As soon as James saw this opportunity, he immediately cleared a space in the second-hand book section of his bookstore for the paper dolls of *Helen*, and Nancy's surplus cards, including those two extra white skirt cards, became the first items on that shelf.
Yes, his bookstore had a second-hand book section. Books were generally quite expensive, so when people were moving, clearing out their luggage, needed money, or inherited a batch of unwanted books, they would consign them at bookstores, markets, or specialized second-hand bookstores. These books would typically be sold at half or three-quarters of their original price, though scarce books could be sold at a higher price than their original cost.
Similarly, surplus paper doll booklets, just like cards, were put up for sale. As the bookstore owner, James was tempted to put a spare card on the shelf for resale, but it wasn't his conscience stopping him. The truth was, his new shelf definitely needed some stock to serve as an example.
"Do you think anyone will buy it?" the employee asked in confusion. "It's just a free gift, after all."
James understood the confusion—after all, he didn't have a wife obsessed with collecting cards. "Let's wait and see," he said, not wanting to sound too definitive.
The colorful paper doll that originally sold for three pennies, being opened and missing its included card, was priced at two pennies. As for the cards, James wasn't sure about the price, so he decided to post a sign offering a trade, allowing customers to suggest their prices or trade other cards.
Soon, his second-hand shelf attracted a new crowd— a group of innocent and cute children, accompanied by their teacher.
These children were students from a nearby private school. The children of middle-class parents could afford private tutors, while the working class could send their children to cheaper private schools. The poorest families sent their children to Sunday schools run by the local church, or some children didn't attend school at all and worked alongside their parents.
They were taking lessons at their teacher's home. These teachers were generally impoverished middle-class widows or young unmarried women in need of income. The children were mostly the offspring of nearby merchants or workers. While secondary schools were generally segregated by gender, elementary schools were co-ed.
When they entered the bookstore, they were immediately attracted to the *Helen* paper dolls on the second-hand shelf. As soon as one of them discovered the paper doll booklet, they rushed to the shelf, surrounding it tightly.
"It's still brand new!" a little girl exclaimed in surprise, her eyes wide. She turned to the employee and asked, "Why is the previous owner selling it? It looks so new."
"They wanted the cards inside," the employee shrugged. "So they bought more than they needed. If you want it, it's three pennies new, but now only two."
Unlike typical bookstores, Muses Temple had a no-bargain policy—what was stated was what you paid. This was one of the reasons for its success. The children were no strangers to the shop, so they didn't try to haggle.
The little girl blinked, thinking for a moment, then suddenly had an idea. "I want to buy it," she said to her companions.
"You're crazy! It's two pennies!" her friend exclaimed, shocked. "That's so expensive!"
They usually earned pocket money by selling flowers, matches, newspapers, or running errands. The slightly wealthier children might help at home with laundry or babysitting and earn a little extra. But two pennies was still a large sum for them, requiring them to save up for a while.
"My sister has one," the little girl tried to persuade them. "Hers is in black and white and costs half a penny. This one's in color, so two pennies is really cheap."
"It's just some pictures," her companion said, trying to protect their wallet. "What's the point of it?"
"You can cut out the pictures and play with the clothes," the little girl replied confidently. "I've seen my sister play with hers for hours. She wouldn't even let me touch it."
"So," her clever friend began to calculate, "once we're tired of it, we can sell it second-hand?"
"It's in color," the little girl defended. "Even if we sell it second-hand, it won't be that cheap. At least more than half a penny, right? Or we could rent it out!"
This practical reasoning quickly convinced her friend. "But we don't have enough money," they said, chattering among themselves before soon digging into their little purses.
When children wanted to read books, they usually rented them. Sometimes, they couldn't even afford the rental fee, so they would pool their money together, each contributing a little, and share the books. This was the earliest form of a reading club.
These children had clearly already developed this habit. They gathered together, pooled their two pennies, and politely bought the second-hand paper doll booklet, leaving the bookstore with excitement.
"That's unbelievable," the employee said, watching them leave. "Do their parents not come back to question us for selling it so expensively?"
James firmly defended, "It's already quite cheap. It's just missing one card."
Later in the afternoon, a lady walked into the shop and traded a yellow skirt card for a white skirt card, although it wasn't the red-green skirt that Nancy was so eager for. She also asked the employee to keep an eye out for other cards. This was enough to prove the potential of card trading.
The employees, having put aside their confusion, began to praise their manager's vision and foresight.
A few days later, James went on his usual trip to the town to buy books. This was another key to the success of Muses Temple—other booksellers would destroy most of their unsold books to artificially inflate their prices. But James bought large quantities of books to reduce their prices, making them affordable for more customers while still earning more profit. Books from the printing factory were not enough, so he also purchased all the stock from small, closed-down bookstores and libraries.
When James returned to Lunden a few days later, he found bookshops, stationery shops, and toy shops all displaying signs announcing card exchanges.
"Damn it," James walked into the store in frustration but found the second-hand shelf surrounded by people, bustling with activity.
The employee had already seen this many times. "They're just registering the cards they don't need and the ones they want. Clearly, their needs are hard to meet."
"One series only has three books, but twelve cards!" a customer couldn't help but complain, pointing at the books on the shelf. "It's just ridiculous. At least there should be twelve books! Otherwise, even if you don't get duplicates, you'd only get three cards per series. To complete the collection, you'd have to buy four sets of duplicates. This doesn't make sense."
"That's true," hearing the employee's words, James felt it was indeed a bit unreasonable. As a bookstore owner, he could understand the printer's thinking. "Maybe they didn't have time, and color printing isn't easy. Besides, they might not have considered that so many people would want to collect a full set. Or, you could just collect a few cards?"
"They put a catalog of all the cards in the booklet!" the angry customer continued. "I want every single one! Especially the red-green skirt card. I rarely see skirts with this color combination, and it's not even ugly. But now, no one wants to trade that card!"
"Could the printer have intentionally printed fewer of that card?" James wondered, beginning to doubt.
Elena, of course, didn't deliberately manipulate the card's rarity. Since they were all rare, the chances of getting any specific one were the same. The red-green skirt card was popular simply because such color combinations were rare for women's skirts, making it highly collectible—people thought, "Collect one, play with one."
She was also collecting cards, but she had a backdoor. She had instructed the butler to arrange for a full set of cards to be sent to her from the printing factory. True, she had lost the thrill of randomly collecting them, but she wasn't really bothered by that.
Now, with the twelve cards laid out in front of her, she had to admit her initial thoughts were wrong. "What kind of box should I use to store these cards?" she wondered.
In modern times, people would store small cards in albums and card protectors, and second-hand sales of cards were strictly regulated. Any slight imperfection could greatly reduce a card's value. But back then, things were different. She now feared that she might accidentally create a slight flaw in these perfect cards. Even though they wouldn't be resold second-hand, her perfectionist mindset was taking over.
At that moment, everyone was collecting stamps and sticking them in scrapbooks. Although people revered the backs of cards, no one had yet tried sticking *Helen* cards into scrapbooks. But if there was a way to store them in an album without causing any damage, it would surely appeal to many collectors.
The only problem was how to make such a scrapbook. After all, there was no plastic back then. Maybe they could use paper pockets or create special card holders?
"Looks like it's time to sell some card albums," Elena thought, inspecting the reflection on the card's surface in the sunlight. After confirming that the cards had survived the rough transport without any flaws, she felt a little more relieved. "I'm a genius! I should make one specifically for *Helen* cards. That way, when the next series of cards comes out, I can sell another batch of albums."
She had always been the type to
act on her ideas immediately. Without hesitation, she rang the bell and called for the butler.
"The Duke hasn't been able to come recently," the butler said after hearing her idea. He was impressed by her endless stream of new ideas. "If Elena returns to her normal self, she could make a great businesswoman."
"Ah?" Elena grew worried. "What happened to him?"
As the club owner and her superior, if Duke Berkeley was in trouble...
"There were just some minor issues with inspections," the butler reassured her with a gentle shake of his head. "You know his position. He's often targeted."
Elena couldn't do anything at that moment. She could only anxiously sit down to write him a letter.
At the same time, her competitor—the magazine company—could no longer sit still.