Another person with an enviable life style in the book trade is Lynn DeWeese Parkinson.
The former Oregon attorney and Latin American specialist, is living a very different book seller fantasy in Tijuana, Mexico, where from all reports the weather is warm and life is good.
Though some of you may have read about Tijuana as a place where gun fights and decapitations are a regular event, Lynn claims “if you’re not in the narco trade it’s a pretty good place to live.”
Some of you already know him as the “Great Poohbah” of the long-running biblio list.
His list is a by-subscription on line meeting place for the bookish for going on 15 years. It has about 1,000 subscribers who each pay $30 a year to belong. Members buy, sell, chat and commiserate daily. It’s one of the liveliest groups on the internet. As the owner he does not so much “moderate” it as keep the tone civil and the discussion mainly on-topic.
That, in itself, is a reinvention of the form: it is fun, he’s the boss of it (as the name would imply in kind of a Gilbert and Sullivan way) and, it brings in a regular income stream.
In the meantime he uses his exalted position to praises of his new home town and his new favorite sport - surfing.
Mind you he is not a kid and surfing as a beginner in your 60s can be physically demanding. Never the less, at regular intervals we are all treated to his musings on the cultural resources of folks south of the border and the joys of riding waves. In addition, at least some of the excitement of his present life comes from running with the bulls, Pamplona style.
Since moving to Mexico a few years back Lynn reports his business has become more focused on ephemera, posters, photos related Tijuana and bull fighting. He and his wife bought a house on the beach. He is part of a co-op, he still has a presence on-line, but most of his trade is retail.
Sotheby’s Fine Manuscript and Printed Americana 27 January 2026
Sotheby’s, Jan. 27: An extraordinary pair of books from George Washington’s field library, marking the conjunction of Robert Rogers, George Washington, and Henry Knox. $1,200,000 to $1,800,000.
Sotheby’s, Jan. 27: An extraordinary letter marking the conjunction of George Washington, the Marquis de Lafayette, and Benjamin Franklin. $1,000,000 to $1,500,000.
Sotheby’s, Jan. 27: Virginia House of Delegates. The genesis of the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. $350,000 to $500,000.
Sotheby’s Fine Manuscript and Printed Americana 27 January 2026
Sotheby’s, Jan. 27: (Gettysburg). “Genl. Doubleday has taken charge of the battle”: Autograph witness to the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg, illustrated by fourteen maps and plans. $200,000 to $300,000.
Sotheby’s, Jan. 27: President Lincoln thanks a schoolboy on behalf of "all the children of the nation for his efforts to ensure "that this war shall be successful, and the Union be maintained and perpetuated." $200,000 to $300,000.
Sotheby’s, Jan. 27: [World War II]. An archive of maps and files documenting the allied campaign in Europe, from the early stages of planning for D-Day and Operation Overlord, to Germany’s surrender. $200,000 to $300,000.
![<b>Sotheby’s, Jan. 27:</b> [World War II]. An archive of maps and files documenting the allied campaign in Europe, from the early stages of planning for D-Day and Operation Overlord, to Germany’s surrender. $200,000 to $300,000.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/9d2762bc-9f26-47ef-96de-1c28070e19f6.png "<b>Sotheby’s, Jan. 27:</b> [World War II]. An archive of maps and files documenting the allied campaign in Europe, from the early stages of planning for D-Day and Operation Overlord, to Germany’s surrender. $200,000 to $300,000.")