The Seattle Rare Book Fair: October 14th and 15th

- by Bruce E. McKinney

Bill Wolfe, left; Louis Collins, recumbnt

Over the weekend of October 14th and 15th in Seattle at the 1962 World’s Fair Grounds the Seattle Antiquarian Book Fair will be held as it has been over the past four decades.  The fair throughout its history has reflected the ups and downs of the rare book field, contracting occasionally, selling out in recent years.  Whatever the year brings, this show has and continues to hang out the welcome mat to a changing field that, for decades has been moving from Main Street to the Web and to book fairs such as this event that reflect the new world order supported by databases such as Abebooks and Rare Book Hub.  We know much more about the material anymore but know much less about the dealers to whom we occasionally send 4 and 5 figure checks.  At shows we meet the people on the other side of the counter, can compare their descriptions with their examples, and sometimes negotiate.

 

Robert Rulon-Miller, a long-time exhibitor at this fair calls it “an important event.  I’ve had some wonderful years here.  The truth is you never know what you’ll sell but I always find the buying very good.”

 

The established promoter, Louis Collins, for the past few years has co-produced this event with a thirty-something, Bill Wolfe, who has, over the years become a rare book guy himself.  When I asked Louis about the future he said, “You can call me the present and Bill the future.”

 

So put this event on your calendar.  If you are in the field, have a heartbeat, and are within a few hundred miles we’ll expect to see you there.

 

Days and Hours

 

Saturday, October 14th:  10am-6pm

Sunday, October 15th:  11am-4pm

 

Admission is $5.00 and is good for both days

 

Here is a list of exhibitors:

 

 

Participant Address     Location
Aardvark Books PO Box 5252 Eugene  OR 104
ABAA Pacific NW Chapter  2143 NW Highway 101 Lincoln City  OR  
abebooks.com 655 Tyee Rd, Ste 500 Victoria  BC  
Annette & Larry Hancks Booksellers 4169 Eaton St Kansas City  KS 309
Anthology Booksellers 9405 NE Hancock Dr Portland OR 808
Antiquariat Botanicum 1113 Bridgeview Dr Lynden WA D
Arundel Books 212  1st Ave S Seattle WA 210/209
Asian Steppes 1443 McAllister St San Francisco CA  802
Avant Retro  5855 13th St Sacramento CA 602
B & L Rootenberg Books PO Box 5049 Sherman Oaks  CA 506
B Brown & Associates 3534 Stone Way N Seattle WA 102
Back of Beyond Books 83 N Main Moab UT 207
Barbara Mader Children's Books 4816 95th Ave W University Place  WA  408
Barbarossa Books  5660 NE Tolo Rd Bainbridge Island WA 206
Bauman Rare Books 1608 Walnut St, 19th Floor Philadelphia PA A
Ben Kinmont Bookseller 684 North Main St Sebastopol CA 107
Blakeney Griffin Booksellers LTD 15 Stratton St  London   507
Book Arts Guild 515 N 49th Seattle WA T1
Book Club of Washington PO Box 12314 Seattle WA T3
Books as Issued  Po Box 7176 Petaluma  CA 805
Booktryst  133SE Ford St McMinnville OR 407
Carl Mautz Vintage Photography 329 Bridgeway  Nevada City  CA 509
Carpe Diem Fine Books 245 Pearl St Monterey CA 609
Charles Seluzicki Fine Books 3733 NE 24th Ave Portland OR 103
Chet Ross Rare Books PO Box 200 Southworth WA 302
Columbia Basin Books 7210 Helmick Rd Monmouth OR 404
Cultural Images 8890 NW Ash St Portland OR 706
David Morrison Books  1420-A SE  37th Ave  Portland OR 807
David Spilman Fine Books  PO Box 577 Sebastopol  CA 106
E.C. Rare Books  1455 Crown St North Vancouver BC 504
Easton's Books 701 S 1st St Mount Vernon WA 702
Ed Smith Books 14283 Sunrise Dr NE Bainbridge Island WA E
Edition de Luxe 8050 13th Ave, Ste 206 Portland OR G
Elena Gallego Rare Books PO Box 15486 San Antonio  TX 310
Elk River Books 120  N. Main St  Livingston MT 106
Ephemerania 4825 Mt. Ararat Dr San Diego CA 101
Fairlook Antiques 81 1/2  S Washington St Seattle WA 108
Fantasy Illustrated PO BOX 248 Silvana  WA 401
Garcia-Garst, Booksellers 1516 N Daubenberger Rd Turlock CA 403
Giant Nerd Books  709  N. Monroe St. Spokane  WA 508
Gregor Rare Books  PO Box 1491 Langley WA 510
Horizon Books 1423 10th Ave Seattle WA 809
J. Michaels Books 160 E Broadway Eugene OR 103
James Graham, Bookseller 109 Tesori Dr Palm Desert CA 305
John Howell For Books 5205 1/2 Village Green Los Angeles CA 205
John Michael Lang Fine Books 5416 20th Ave NW Seattle WA 501
John Michael Lang Fine Books Annex  5416 20th Ave NW Seattle  WA 801
John Windle, Antiquarian Bookseller 49 Geary St #233 San Francisco CA B
Johnson Rare Books & Archives 134 N Citrus Ave Covina CA 307
Judith Rafferty Fine Art PO Box 66745  Portland OR 208
Ken Sanders Rare Books 268 South 200 East Salt Lake City UT 303
Kenneth Karmiole, Bookseller PO Box 464 Santa Monica CA 502
Live Oak Booksellers 271 Laurel Loop Langley WA 505
Louis Collins Books 13005  3rd Ave NE Seattle WA 605/606
Michael Laird Rare Books PO Box 299 Lockhart TX 406
Michael R. Thompson Rare Books 8242 W 3rd, Ste 230 Los Angeles CA 604
Michael R. Weintraub Inc. 231 West 29th St Suite 1401 NYC NY 405
Mike Maslan Vintage Posters & Photos PO Box 4099 Seattle WA 109/110
Montford Press 3741 33rd Ave SW Seattle WA T2
Montgomery Rare Books & Manuscripts  1696  SW Montgomery Drive Portland  OR 105
Nat Des Marais Rare Books PO Box 86506 Portland OR 707
Nick Adams & Co. Rare Books PO Box 189266 Sacramento CA F
Nick Aretakis Americana PO Box 4218 Manteca CA 610
Nudelman Rare Books PO Box 25339 Seattle WA 202
Pacific Coast Books 2143 NW Highway 101 Lincoln City OR 701
Peter Harrington, Antiquarian Bookseller 100 Fulham Rd London UK 409/410
Peter L. Stern & Co., Inc. 15 Court Square #101 Boston MA 603
Phillip J. Pirages Fine Books 1709 NE 27th St.  Ste G McMinnville OR C/301
Plant & Hutchison Books PO Box 1133 Cedar Ridge CA 304
R.F. Wald 5 Becket St Lake Oswego OR 601
Rare Photo Gallery 1-41 Spadina Rd Toronto  ON 708
Recollection Books 1423 10th Ave Seattle WA 810
Richard Bishop, Bookseller 1235 SE 26th Ave, Apt 7 Portland OR 503
Riverow Bookshop Inc. 187 Front St Owego  NY 607
Rob and June Edwards  PO Box 5469 Salem  OR 601
Robert Dagg Rare Books 3288 21st St #176 San Francisco CA  
Robert Fulgham Booksellers  1352 Mojave St Idaho Falls ID 306
Robert Gavora Fine & Rare Books PO Box 448 Talent OR 603
Rulon-Miller Books 400 Summit Ave St Paul MN 203
Sherburne Antiques 100 E 4th Olympia WA 709/710
Ten Pound Island Book Co. 76 Langsford St Gloucester MA 203
The Book Bin  215 SW 4th St Corvallis OR 806
The Book Lair  8 Twelve Oaks Drive Pleasanton   CA 308
The Cook Book Lady 5768 Robin Hood Dr El Sobrante CA 803
Thorn Books 5721 N. Killdeer Dr Tucson  AZ 402
Triolet Rare Books PO Box 1821 San Luis Obispo CA 307
Twice Sold Tales 1833 Harvard Ave Seattle WA  
Vashon Island Books 22100 Vashon Hwy SW Vashon  WA 804
Walkabout Books 25401  Cabot Rd Laguna Hills CA 204
White Fox Rare Books  974 Cemetery Rd West Windsor  VT H
William James Bookseller 829 Water St Port Townsend WA 608
Woodies Collectibles  1084 Sanders Drive  Moraga  CA 705
Xenophile Bibliopole  5107 S Dayton Place  Kennewick  WA  306
Zephyr Used & Rare Books PO Box 55 Vancouver WA 703/704