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Those whose works he collected became his friends and he followed their lives and mourned their deaths, but always went
on gathering what they had written and what they made through the added skills of master bookmen.
One dedicated book dealer, who still concentrates on Irish literature, has written of him:
“I would describe him as an extremely dogged and enthusiastic collector; and he was, naturally, “a completist”, a term other
collectors will recognise He wanted everything if he could get it, but not at any price. Inevitably the collection is missing
a handful of the most expensive Heaney items, which were often ridiculously priced in the first place. If he thought it was
too much money, he would very wisely walk away. At the same time he would regularly be the first to unearth new Heaney
things or hitherto unknown Jack Yeats things, long before the hungry pack of professional dealers woke up to what was
available.”
Just occasionally I rivalled him, notably when I was given a unique le Brocquy drawing presented to Jack Lynch. Most of the
time Tim was way ahead of us all.
He was also renowned for his bartering skills, managing to obtain items in exchange for a spare copy that he had. And the
former were inevitably worth much more than the latter. This Adam’s sale of his collection will show the distinction of his
judgment and the wide range of his taste.
Bruce Arnold
December 2015