Rare Book Monthly
The ABAA: What Works - Data, Knowledge, Charm & New Blood
Charm Still Works
"It's as easy to sell a $10,000 book as a $1,000 book," claims Ian Kahn of Lux Mentis in Maine. That's his mantra and he makes it sound easy. His enthusiasm for booksellers, collectors, libraries, and keeping the whole circus in motion is contagious.
What's not to like about a man who starts off by saying his wife's much smarter than he is? Kahn, formerly an attorney, went on to buy and flip companies, and then moved into the antiquarian trade using his own collection as a base. He's quickly made a name for his firm and is apparently having the time of his life.
The company set its sights on the high end, reports high six figure sales and solid growth in year-over-year revenues. Like many others he emphasized the development of the client, the need to find and cultivate and nicely bring along people with the resources and taste to become serious about books. He also stressed the need to mold, shape, refine and where necessary sell some or all of their collections.
Where Kahn has the edge is he makes you WANT to do it. It sounds effortless, it sounds like fun.
He and his wife see customers in Maine on by-appointment basis and they are high profile on the web. Besides the gift of gab and a travel schedule that would fell an ox, he has all the latest techie bells and whistles: a website, Twitter, Facebook and whatever else is coming next.
He was one of the few who could point to specifics: collections, clients, contacts and sales that have come to him specifically because he uses Twitter or posts frequently on social media. His website displays an interesting and diverse inventory but surprisingly few pictures. www.luxmentis.com
New Blood
Data, knowledge and charm are all essential attributes for ABAA success, but the organization knows it needs new blood to survive.
Brian Cassidy, formerly of Monterey, California who recently moved to a Maryland suburb of Washington, DC is a good example of what's coming next.
Cassidy not only survived the cross country trek, but reports his business seems to be thriving. In his 30s, he was by far the youngest ABAA dealer to speak with AE. Cassidy characterizes his career as "the graduate school model." He was always working in book stores and eventually ended up as a bookseller.
He joined ABAA not long ago after attending the Colorado Book Seminar. Though he can no longer afford to have a shop as he did in Monterey (because "commercial rents in the DC area are a killer") his future in the trade looks bright.
He has good stock, nice manners, and specializes in interesting subjects such as popular culture; The Beats; poetry; the avant-garde; small journals and magazines (especially those associated with the Mimeo Revolution); as well as vernacular, folk, and outsider books. www.tomfolio.com/mall/BrianCassidy
Space does not allow us to mention all the upcoming candidates for membership in this prestigious organization, but if a quick review of the list of dealers who have attended the Colorado and Virginia courses is any indication, there's a new crop on the way to ABAA.
