We amassed about five Trader Joe's bags and two boxes over the next couple of hours. I got a couple of costume books, some good botany, architectural stuff, an old but good Joy of Cooking, quite a few Native American Indian and Western History books (our current specialty), and quite an eclectic mish-mash of other yummy stuff.
When we were sated (and out of money), I went to the back room to talk with John Burt, a ten-year veteran of the Friends organization. He said they had their first sales beginning in the 1970s in a single room at the main library. In the mid-1980s they moved to an old high school where they had seven rooms, and have been having sales every month since that time. When they moved to the Community Center they spread out to several large classrooms. Their sales went from about $8000 per month in the 1990s and now exceed $200,000 a year. They do have some books set aside to be sold through Amazon-online.
They have about 150 volunteers and John told me that they are presently revising their volunteer handbook. Volunteers are permitted to buy books between and during the sale for the price on the book, but they are restricted in how many books they may purchase in a section, they can't buy any books they have priced themselves, and many of the books must be offered for sale once to the public before the volunteers may purchase them, at the manager's discretion. They do not encourage professional booksellers to become volunteers - for obvious reasons. Too bad!
According to their FOPAL History Sheet, "The Friend's book sales receipts over the last twenty years have funded over a million dollars worth of gifts and grants to Palo Alto’s Libraries." It helps that they have one of the best universities in the west nearby and have all those studious students and profound professors from whom to glean donations.
As with most Friends organizations, the sales provide stock for booksellers from all over the area, they provide good books with good homes, and they thrill readers of all kinds with "the cultural and educational benefits of reading."
I asked John if the Main Library goes through all the donations before they go to the FOPAL sales. He said that the donations are not vetted by the library as they have so many that it would take forever. If they find a book they think the library might want or if a library staff person finds one they do want, then the book is immediately given to the library.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("Martinus Luther") to His Friend the Theologian Gerhard Wiskamp ("Gerardo Xantho Lampadario"). $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: An Exceptionally Fine Copy of Austenís Emma: A Novel in Three Volumes. $40,000 - $60,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Presentation Copy of Ernest Hemmingwayís A Farewell to Arms for Edward Titus of the Black Mankin Press. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript Signed Integrally for "The Songs of Pooh," by Alan Alexander. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript of "Three Fragments from Gˆtterd‰mmerung" by Richard Wagner. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Preliminary Artwork, for the First Edition of Snow Crash. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("T.R. Malthus") to Economist Nassau Senior on Wealth, Labor and Adam Smith. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides Finely Bound by Michael Wilcox. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: First Edition of Lewis and Clark: Travels to the Source of the Missouri River and Across the American Continent to the Pacific Ocean. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Artwork for the First Edition of Neal Stephenson's Groundbreaking Novel Snow Crash. $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: A Complete Set Signed Deluxe Editions of King's The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("John Adams") to James Le Ray de Chaumont During the Crucial Years of the Revolutionary War. $8,000 - $12,000.
Sotheby’s Book Week December 9-17, 2025
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Hooke, Robert. Micrographia: or some Physiological Descriptions of Minute Bodies made by Magnifying Glasses. London: James Allestry for the Royal Society, 1667. $12,000 to $15,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Chappuzeau, Samuel. The history of jewels, first edition in English. London: T.N. for Hobart Kemp, 1671. $12,000 to $18,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Sowerby, James. Exotic Mineralogy, containing his most realistic mineral depictions, London: Benjamin Meredith, 1811, Arding and Merrett, 1817. $5,000 to $7,000.
Heritage Auctions Rare Books Signature Auction December 15, 2025
Heritage, Dec. 15: John Donne. Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death. London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.
Heritage, Dec. 15: Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan of the Apes.
Heritage, Dec. 15: F. Scott Fitzgerald. Tender is the Night. A Romance.
Heritage, Dec. 15: Jerry Thomas. How to Mix Drinks, or the Bon-Vivant's Companion, Containing Clear and Reliable Directions for Mixing All the Beverages Used in the United States…
![<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/8caddaea-4c1f-47a7-9455-62f53af36e3f.jpg "<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.")
