The ABAA

The most persistent myth that haunts the ABAA is that it's elitist and snooty.

Well not quite.

If by elitist you mean it's been around for more than 60 years and has a distinguished membership of fewer than 500 book dealers -- that's true.

However, anyone who has been in the trade for four years and supplies the necessary references can apply. The application procedure is reasonable and should not deter a serious candidate from applying to join the top tier.

"This is not your father's leather lined library," says Stuart Bennett, organization President. Bennett, based in Mill Valley, California, has been a dealer since 1980. "We're a lot more populist than you might think. Diversity is our greatest strength. We include a wide range. Our members specialize in books and manuscripts, but also postcards, photography and ephemera."

The organization accepts from ten to fifteen new members a year according to Sarah Baldwin of E. Wharton & Co. in Virginia (Think Edith Wharton, and other women writers as well as the days of the Suffragette movement). She is the present membership chair and also ABAA President Elect. Baldwin assumes the helm for the next two years in April of this year.

Both Bennett and Baldwin stress the ABAA has adapted to the internet age. They know modern dealers are often exclusively or largely on-line and may not know each other as well as in the past. "The ABAA is there to assist applicants. We do try to make the match and help with mentors… our role is to make sure members have the necessary level of expertise including ability to accurately describe and price their wares," Baldwin said.

For more information about the ABAA, you may visit their site at http://www.abaa.org/.

The ABAA offers a benevolent fund, which assists those who have fallen on hard times. It is not necessary to be an ABAA member to apply for aid.
http://hq.abaa.org/books/antiquarian/abaapages/benevolent-fund.html