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A Few
Words About Dealers and Publishers:
In the new world of
internet commerce where practically
every publisher has a website and
where publisher-direct ordering is
possible, one might logically ask: “Why buy
from a dealer rather than from the
publisher directly?” Here is
our take on that question.
Book publishers and book sellers have
existed side by side for centuries
(not unlike the similar co-existence
of parchmenters, paper makers,
binders, etc.). Although today
publishers and dealers share one
similarity—they both sell books to
retail customers—each are very
different businesses. The publisher’s
primary function is publishing:
creating a product—a book—by seeking
out, selecting and presenting
important intellectual material, and
then selling the book it has created.
Dealers, on the other hand, promote
and distribute the publisher’s
products. More importantly, dealers
directly and broadly serve their
customers by providing one-stop access
to many publishers encompassing many
genres and many nationalities. Unlike
publishers, dealers provide their
customers with guidance, analysis and
intimate knowledge of the full
spectrum of available materials,
regardless of source. We at OMI are
proud of our tradition of building
strong and continuing relationships
with our customers; we do this by
offering the following:
- a unique understanding
of and enthusiasm for the
subject material
- "one-stop" shopping
for the entire discipline,
regardless of country of
origin
- comprehensive
catalogues—representing all
publishers—arranged by subject
- easy price comparison
of similar products offered by
different publishers
- consolidation, on one
clear invoice, of publications
imported from diverse sources
- special invoicing
that meets the client's needs
or requirements
- professional
packing & concern for
fragile & delicate
bibliophile editions
- attention to shipping costs,
shipping alternatives &
customs regulations
- reciprocal support of
clients' organizations
Some
customer comments:
"The
[Klinger] Brahmsphantasie just arrived
today, and I am absolutely thrilled
with it! It is more beautiful than I
imagined, and the reproductions are
impeccable. Somehow it's larger than I
had initially envisioned it to be, but
this is definitely to the benefit of
the art inside! Considering the saga
of the shipping process of the book,
it was 100% worth the wait, and this
is now a wonderful addition to my
collection of art and music books.
Thank you for fighting so hard to get
the book delivered, and I hope you and
everyone at OMI are doing well!" [TS,
Coral Springs]
"Thank you again for such a nice and
interesting visit! My friends are so happy
because of you!" [NML, Brooklyn]
"The score
[Mozart K.370b + 371] has just arrived. I
want to thank you for the care you put in
making the package, the score is nothing
short from perfect! I really hope to make
business with you again. Thank you" [MER,
Cadelbosco di Sopra, Italy]
"The Bach Bible is here! I rushed home
after class when I heard from my husband
that it had arrived. We carefully
unpacked ALL the packing material – great
job! I’m beyond thrilled. This
Friday we have a special honors chapel for
our graduating seniors. I’m going to
bring the huge volume 1 to read from the
book of Psalms. Thank you for making
this happen sooner rather than
later. I’d still be daily checking
the euro exchange rate if you hadn’t been
proactive in talking with your
publisher. I think it’s a win-win!"
[RB, Santa Clarita]
"It’s always such a pleasure to work with
you both, and to be able to add such rich
resources to our collection. Just
before in-person teaching became a
temporary thing of the past, we offered an
instruction session to our cello studio;
we had just received those wonderful Jost
Thöne volumes and L’archet from you, and
we laid them out on our long seminar room
table for the students to see. They
were absolutely entranced, and it gave our
cello professor an opportunity to talk
about various instrument and bow styles so
beautifully on display in these volumes."
[LM, Durham]
"I was JUST going to give you a
call! IT IS BEAUTIFUL and PERFECT
for the occasion. I am always
grateful that I can lay my eyes on these
scores we purchase for our special donors
even if they stay in the library for just
minutes... Thank you very much for
the discount. I appreciate
your customer service and for the
care you both always take in your work."
[KM, Los Angeles]
"I thought
I'd walked into Ali Baba's cave when I
came across your website!" [AB—France]
"I have heard very favourable reports of
your emporium from SR who spoke of you as
the genie in Aladdin's cave, able to
produce the most obscure and sought-after
publications for her at the drop of a
hat." [NB—London]
"I just want to let you know that your
last shipment just arrived safely and
unharmed. Thank you very much and I hope I
can make an appeal on you when something
new (!) comes out related to the Bach
facsimiles. I'm very pleased with the
Wolff-essays and with the fact that you
went on looking for them! It was a
pleasure to work with you."
[AFB—'s-Hertogenbosch]
"I received my order a little while ago,
and to FEDEX's credit they made the time
up lost from Hurricane Irene. I am very
grateful for such great packing for these
precious works which are beautiful and
inspiring, and for that I am very grateful
to OMI for offering and presenting true
facsimile and press reproductions. Very
illuminating and superbly printed. The
very good work that lay ahead is a
lifetime of enjoyment and respect towards
these gifted composers and players."
[PWM—Houston]
"I received the Canti C volume yesterday
and was very impressed with the meticulous
packaging that had been carried out. The
book was so neatly shrink wrapped and
tightly bound in its box, with the ends
cushioned, then all sealed up with tucked
in filament tape. Just wanted to let you
know that is was noted and much
appreciated. Thank you for making it such
a pleasure to do business with OMI."
[GH—San Francisco]
"I received the facsimile on Monday, and
have thoroughly enjoyed studying it... it
has been really fascinating to try to play
the sonata from the autograph, and savour
the experience of seeing the music as it
was written down by Beethoven himself.
Having the other elements—the sketches,
the first edition and the commentary—also
adds a great deal to the appreciation of
the process of composition and
publication. I've only ever seen glimpses
of autographs before in museum cabinets,
and it's been a real joy to be able to sit
at the piano and look at different
passages with reference to all the related
resources." [MB—Conventry, England]
"Today was an other great day with the
arriving of the slipcase and the
introduction by Oleg Grabar to the Maqamat
al-Hariri! All in perfect
condition—beautifully done! Really, very
clever of you to organize the shipment
this way! Thanks a lot, and please excuse
my first reaction. I wish you a lot of
success and if you should ever be in Basel
one day you are welcome for an arabic
meal, or maybe you prefer a 'Swissy' one."
[HB—Basel]
"I really had a good time visiting with
you and of course catching up on what's
new in the various facsimile publications.
I think OMI could well become the
musician's Shakespeare & Co.—a true
gound zero for meeting and discussing."
[FEG—Washington DC]
"Many thanks for looking after my
concerns. Both facsimiles are of great
interest to me and I am very grateful to
you for drawing my attention to them,
especially the 1512 part-books, which I am
sure I would never have located."
[RL—Somerset NJ]
"I waited until late last night, when
there were no distractions, to open your
package. I was very pleased. The size was
larger than I imagined. The endpapers look
great, the old inscription very nicely
attached. I now look forward to spending
more time with the music. (Already I
wonder why he began the sonata, crossed
out the page and used it instead as the
title page!) Thank you again!" [SB—Cape
Elizabeth ME]
"I stumbled into your treasure chamber a
month or so ago looking for some reliable
Rameau editions and couldn't believe what
I was seeing. I am so thankful you have
put this stuff on the web and that one
doesn't have to go searching every obscure
publisher for something. I hope I'll be
purchasing things from you for the rest of
my life." [SL—Ljubljana, Slovenia]
"Thank you very much and I am sorry for
all the hassle. I hope your hearts won't
sink when I get in touch again quite soon.
I want some two-part renaissance facsimile
to help make others as addicted as I am to
playing from facsimile... Just to
say the music arrived this morning,
beautifully packed and in perfect
condition. I am delighted." [KLP—Norwich,
England]
"Thanks once again for all of your help
with this—for your prompt service, for
your courteous replies to my questions,
and (especially) for taking an interest in
providing such esoterica to what must be a
rather small market!" [JB—Saskatoon,
Canada]
"I just wanted to let you know of the safe
arrival of Il Codice Laurenziana
yesterday. I have never seen anything like
it—it is absolutely beautiful and has
already been much admired by my
colleagues. It seems far too good to pass
over to the library, but then again there
is no point keeping such a splendid volume
tucked away with no-one to admire
it!... I would like to thank you
again for Il Codice Laurenziana and its
magnificent packaging (people were asking
me what was in the 'body bag') and look
forward to receiving the Manuscript
Chantilly." [AC—Nottingham, England]
Bird
decoration, Libro d'ore di
Alfonso d'Este – Offiziolo Alfonsino,
Ferrara, 1505-1510. Lisbon, Museu
Calouste Gulbenkian, inv. L.A.149,
fol.63
(Il
Bulino)
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