Rare Book Monthly

Articles - October - 2018 Issue

The Seattle Antiquarian Book Fair: October 13-14, 2018

The Seattle Book Fair:  good books and good company

The Seattle Book Fair: good books and good company

Book fairs are annual events that come and go with a rapidity that startles the aging even as they encourage the young. These events seem to say “we’ll be back soon,” even as the older participants simply hope to come back one more time. The Seattle Antiquarian Book Fair has now been with us for two generations and participation become the norm because success on both sides of the counters has come to be expected.


One aspect this year will be different though. The show’s cofounder, Louis Collins, passed away on January 2nd so this fair will be the first to be managed by his successor who has, for some years, already been doing the show’s heavy lifting: Bill Wolfe

Louis leaves behind a community of exhibitors and thousands of institutions and collectors who have, over the years, come to look forward to the changing of the leaves in the northwest, knowing that the seasonal colors harken the arrival of the best regional book fair west of the Mississippi.

On Friday, during set-up for the show, Bill will leave an open mike for those who have the time and perspective to tell some anecdotes and experiences with Louis. The rare book business is after all a sentimental field. As welcome at the mike will be those remembering Michael Thompson and Bill Reese. All three made an impact and made many friends over the years.

This year’s fair is expected to have 95 exhibitors.


Booth Name ABAA City State Country
606 William Reese Company ABAA New Haven CT USA
608 William James, Bookseller Port Townsend WA USA
101 Whitmore Rare Books ABAA Pasadena CA USA
204 Walkabout Books ABAA Laguna Hills CA USA
307.5 Triolet Rare Books ABAA San Luis Obispo CA USA
402 Thorn Books ABAA Tucson AZ USA
605 The Literary Lion ABAA Thousand Oaks CA USA
203.5 Ten Pound Island Book Co. ABAA Gloucester MA USA
603.5 Peter L. Stern and Co. ABAA Boston MA USA
601 Scott Emerson Books ABAA El Cajon CA USA
203.5 Rulon-Miller Books ABAA St. Paul MN USA
506 B & L Rootenberg Rare Books ABAA Sherman Oaks CA USA
603.5 Robert Gavora Fine & Rare Books ABAA Talent OR USA
503.5 Richard Bishop, Bookseller Portland OR USA
806 Barry L. Ruderman Antique Maps ABAA La Jolla CA USA
T4 Rare Book School Charlottesville VA USA
708 Quill & Brush ABAA Middletown MD USA
C, 301 Pirages Fine Books & MSS ABAA McMinnville OR USA
409, 410 Peter Harrington Rare Books ABAA London UK England
505.5 Pelican Bay Books Anacortes WA USA
202 Nudelman Rare Books ABAA Seattle WA USA
509 Michael R. Weintraub, Inc. ABAA New York NY USA
604 Michael R. Thompson Rare Books ABAA Los Angeles CA USA
503.5 Mortlake & Company Seattle WA USA
701 Locus Solus Rare Books ABAA Los Angeles CA USA
802 Asian Steppes Antiquarian Books San Francisco CA USA
709, 710 Sherburne Antiques & Fine Art Olympia WA USA
303 Ken Sanders Rare Books ABAA Salt Lake City UT USA
607.5 The Kelmscott Bookshop ABAA Baltimore MD USA
607.5 John W. Knott, Jr., Bookseller ABAA Laurel MD USA
B John Windle, Antiquarian Bookseller ABAA San Francisco CA USA
307.5 Johnson Rare Books & Archives ABAA Covina CA USA
205 John Howell For Books ABAA Los Angeles CA USA
501 John Michael Lang Fine Books Seattle WA USA
103.5 J. Michaels Books Eugene OR USA
305 James Graham, Bookseller ABAA Palm Desert CA USA
105.5 Taylor Bowie ABAA Seattle WA USA
803 Heartwood Books & Art ABAA Fort Lauderdale FL USA
510.5 Gregor Rare Books Langley WA USA
105.5 Thomas A. Goldwasser Rare Books ABAA San Francisco CA USA
308 Long Brothers Fine & Rare Books Seattle WA USA
310 Far West Maps & Books Springfield OR USA
401 Fantasy Illustrated Silvana WA USA
108, 109.5 Fairlook Antiques Seattle WA USA
109.5, 110 Maslan Vintage Posters & Photos Seattle WA USA
807 David Morrison Books Portland OR USA
508 Giant Nerd Books Spokane WA USA
104 Aardvark Books ABAA Eugene OR USA
106.5 Elk River Books ABAA Livingston MT USA
E Ed Smith Books ABAA Bainbridge Island WA USA
504 E. C. Rare Books North Vancouver BC Canada
702 Easton's Books Mt. Vernon WA USA
407 Douglas Stewart Fine Books AAADA Melbourne VIC Australia
106.5 David Spilman Fine Books ABAA Sebastopol CA USA
H, 801 Collins Books Seattle WA USA
302 Chet Ross Rare Books ABAA Southworth WA USA
208 Judith Rafferty Fine Art Portland OR USA
609 Carpe Diem Fine Books ABAA Monterey CA USA
T2 Montford Press Seattle WA USA
805 Books As Issued Petaluma CA USA
T3 Book Club of Washington Seattle WA USA
G Book Bin ABAA Corvallis OR USA
T1 Book Arts Guild Seattle WA USA
306 Bill Leone, Bookseller ABAA Palos Verdes Estates CA USA
201 Robert Dagg Rare Books ABAA San Francisco CA USA
808.5 Recollection Books Seattle WA USA
808.5 Horizon Books Seattle WA USA
507 Dale Steffey Books Bloomington IN USA
102 b. brown and associates Seattle WA USA
A Bauman Rare Books ABAA New York NY USA
206 Barbarossa Books Bainbridge Island WA USA
207 Back of Beyond Books ABAA Moab UT USA
404, 405, 406 Arundel Books Seattle WA USA
D Antiquariat Botanicum ABAA Lynden WA USA
703, 704.5 Zephyr Used & Rare Books ABAA Vancouver WA USA
610 Nick Aretakis ABAA Manteca CA USA
510.5 Munster & Company Corvallis OR USA
505.5 Live Oak Booksellers Langley WA USA
706 Cultural Images Portland OR USA
804 Circle City Books Tucson AZ USA
408 Barbara Mader - Children's Books University Place WA USA
602 Avant Retro Books Sacramento CA USA
F Nick Adams & Co. Rare Books ABAA Sacramento CA USA
707 Nat DesMarais Rare Books ABAA Portland OR USA
502 Kenneth Karmiole, Bookseller ABAA Santa Monica CA USA
403 Garcia-Garst, Booksellers ABAA Turlock CA USA
103.5 Charles Seluzicki Fine & Rare Books ABAA Portland OR USA
304 Bud Plant & Hutchison Books ABAA Grass Valley CA USA
107 The Lost Book Issaquah WA USA
209
210
309 Annette & Larry Hancks, Booksellers Kansas City KS USA
809
810
704.5 - 705 Woodies Collectibles Moraga CA USA

 

Hours

Saturday, October 13th, 10am-6pm

Sunday, October 14th, 11am-4pm

 

Admission

Tickets are $5.00 at the foor, good for both Saturday and Sunday emntries.

 

Directions


Aim for the Space Needle!
From Interstate 5 North or South, take the Mercer Street exit. Exhibition Hall is located at 301 Mercer St, Seattle, WA 98109 (#6 on the map above). We are on the north side of the Seattle Center, between 3rd and 4th Avenues North, next to McCaw Hall. All attendees must enter/exit Exhibition Hall from the Mercer Street entrance, through a lobby that includes a box office and a coatroom.

 

Parking


A 1200 vehicle parking garage is located directly across the street from Exhibition Hall, and there are other pay-for-use parking lots and street parking opportunities nearby.


Hotel


The Hampton Inn & Suites, located just a few blocks from Exhibition Hall at 700 Fifth Avenue North in downtown Seattle, will once again host exhibitors needing nearby accommodations. Special room rate for 2018 is $179.00 (plus 15% tax) for a standard room with one king or two queen beds. Suite upgrades subject to availability. Please contact SABF producer at 206.323.3999 for your online reservation link, or call 206.282.7700 to reserve by phone. For cancelation policy and inquiries regarding amenities, please call 206.282.7700. Dates and rates are subject to availability; extended stays before and beyond the nights of October 10-15 may be negotiated with The Hampton Inn directly. Parking is available on-site for an additional $15.00 per car per night.

 

Venue Contact Info


Seattle Center customer service - 206.684.7200.

 

Rare Book Monthly

  • Sotheby’s
    Books, Manuscripts and Music from Medieval to Modern
    Now through July 10, 2025
    Sotheby’s, Ending July 10: Book of Hours by the Masters of Otto van Moerdrecht, Use of Sarum, in Latin, Southern Netherlands (Bruges), c.1450. £20,000 to £30,000.
    Sotheby’s, Ending July 10: Albert Einstein. Autograph letter signed, to Attilio Palatino, on his research into General Relativity, 12 May 1929. £12,000 to £18,000.
    Sotheby’s, Ending July 10: John Gould. The Birds of Europe, [1832-] 1837, 5 volumes, contemporary half morocco, subscriber’s copy. £40,000 to £60,000.
    Sotheby’s
    Books, Manuscripts and Music from Medieval to Modern
    Now through July 10, 2025
    Sotheby’s, Ending July 10: Ian Fleming. A collection of James Bond first editions, 8 volumes in all. £8,000 to £12,000.
    Sotheby’s, Ending July 10: J.K. Rowling. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, 1997, first edition, hardback issue. £50,000 to £70,000.
    Sotheby’s, Ending July 10: J.R.R. Tolkien. Autograph letter signed, to Amy Ronald, on Pauline Baynes's map of Middle Earth, 1970. £7,000 to £10,000.
  • Rare Book Hub is now mobile-friendly!
  • DOYLE
    Rare Books, Autographs & Maps
    July 23, 2025
    DOYLE, July 23: WALL, BERNHARDT. Greenwich Village. Types, Tenements & Temples. Estimate $300-500
    DOYLE, July 23: STOKES, I. N. PHELPS. The Iconography of Manhattan Island, 1498-1909. New York: Robert H. Dodd, 1915-28. Estimate: $3,000-5,000
    DOYLE, July 23: [AUTOGRAPH - US PRESIDENT]FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT. A signed photograph of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Estimate $500-800
    DOYLE, July 23: [ARION PRESS]. ABBOTT, EDWIN A. Flatland. A Romance of Many Dimensions. San Francisco, 1980. Estimate $2,000-3,000.
    DOYLE, July 23: TOLSTOY, LYOF N. and NATHAN HASKELL DOLE, translator. Anna Karénina ... in eight parts. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell & Co., [1886]. Estimate: $400-600
    DOYLE, July 23: ROWLING, J.K. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. London: Bloomsbury, 2000. Estimate $1,200-1,800
  • Freeman’s | Hindman
    Western Manuscripts and Miniatures
    July 8, 2025
    Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. FRANCESCO PETRARCH (b. Arezzo, 20 July 1304; d. Arqua Petrarca, 19 July 1374). $20,000-30,000.
    Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. CIRCLE OF THE MASTER OF THE VITAE IMPERATORUM (active Milan, 1431-1459). $15,000-20,000.
    Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. CIRCLE OF ATTAVANTE DEGLI ATTAVANTI (GABRIELLO DI VANTE) (active Florence, c. 1452-c. 1520/25). $15,000-20,000.
    Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. FOLLOWER OF HERMAN SCHEERE (active London, c. 1405-1425). $15,000-20,000.
    Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. An exceptionally rare, illuminated music leaf from a Mozarabic Antiphonal with sister leaves mostly in museum collections. $11,500-14,000.
    Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. Exceptional leaf from a prestigious Antiphonary by a leading illuminator of the late Duecento. $11,500-14,000.
    Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. CIRCLE OF THE MASTER OF MS REID 33 and SELWERD ABBEY SCRIPTORIUM (AGNES MARTINI?) (active The Netherlands, Groningen, c. 1468-1510). $10,000-15,000.
    Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. Previously unknown illumination from one of the most renowned Gothic Choir Book sets of the Middle Ages. $6,000-8,000.
  • Forum Auctions
    Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    17th July 2025
    Forum, July 17: Lucianus Samosatensis. Dialogoi, editio princeps, second issue, Florence, Laurentius Francisci de Alopa, 1496. £10,000 to £15,000.
    Forum, July 17: Boccaccio (Giovanni). Il Decamerone, Florence, Philippo di Giunta, 1516. £10,000 to £15,000.
    Forum, July 17: Henry VII (King) & Philip the Fair (Duke of Burgundy). [Intercursus Magnus], [Commercial and Political Treaty between Henry VII and Philip Duke of Burgundy], manuscript copy in Latin, original vellum, 1499. £8,000 to £12,000.
    Forum, July 17: Bible, English. The Holy Bible, Conteyning the Old Testament, and the New, Robert Barker, 1613. £4,000 to £6,000.
    Forum, July 17: Bond (Michael). A Bear Called Paddington, first edition, signed presentation inscription from the author, 1958. £4,000 to £6,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    17th July 2025
    Forum, July 17: Yeats (William Butler). The Secret Rose, first edition, with extensive autograph corrections, additions and amendments by the author for a new edition, 1897. £6,000 to £8,000.
    Forum, July 17: Byron (George Gordon Noel, Lord). Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, bound in dark green morocco elaborately tooled in gilt and with 3 watercolours to fore-edge, by Fazakerley of Liverpool, 1841. £4,000 to £6,000.
    Forum, July 17: Miró (Juan), Wassily Kandinsky, John Buckland-Wright, Stanley William Hayter and others.- Spender (Stephen). Fraternity, one of 101 copies, with signed engravings by 9 artists. £6,000 to £8,000.
    Forum, July 17: Sowerby (George Brettingham). Album comprising 22 leaves of original watercolour drawings of fossil remains of Cheltenham and Vicinity, [c.1840]. £6,000 to £8,000.
    Forum, July 17: Mathematics.- Blue paper copy.- Euclid. De gli Elementi, Urbino, Appresso Domenico Frisolino, 1575. £12,000 to £18,000.

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