Rare Book Monthly

Articles - March - 2024 Issue

PBA Galleries, Bay Area Auction House Continues to Evolve and Diversify

Bruce MacMakin is Senior Vice President at PBA Galleries, a long running Bay Area auction firm specializing in books and other collectibles including comics, pens, and ephemera.

Bruce MacMakin is Senior Vice President at PBA Galleries, a long running Bay Area auction firm specializing in books and other collectibles including comics, pens, and ephemera.

In October 1978, Bruce MacMakin answered an ad in the San Francisco Chronicle. “Wanted – Cataloger, Antiquarian Books.” He was hired for what he thought was a short term job at a local auction firm. He started the following day. More than 40 years later he’s still there.


That 90 day assignment at San Francisco’s California Book Auctions (CBAG), continued through many twists and turns. CBAG was founded in 1955; it ran into business difficulties and folded. Its successor firm became Pacific Book Auction Galleries (PBA) in 1992. In the process, the company survived bankruptcy, changes of ownership, reorganization and the internet revolution.

 

In the Spring of 2019 the company purchased a two story building on Addison St. in Berkeley, where MacMakin, 68, serves as the company’s senior vice president.

 

Looking back on life in the Bay Area auction trade he recalled that during the mid 1990s the company’s growth was fueled by the sale of several important libraries including the holdings of Roger K. Larson of Fresno, California. These were items related to California and the West, with photographs and art as well as books. The Larson sales stretched over several years. Also notable was the collection of Irving W. Robbins, Jr. a legendary collector of Western Americana, modern literature, fine press books, and aviation. PBA also established a niche as one of the largest auctioneers of rare golf books.

 

MacMakin pointed out that with the advent of the internet, PBA was one of the first auction houses with catalogs accessible online.” In the early days of the world wide web we were conducting live auctions online. At first bidders were cautious, many wanted to be on the phone at the same time just in case there was a glitch (not unheard of), but the systems have improved over the years.”

 

Though books are prominent in the company’s name and business they are not its only business. “We have always handled material other than books,” he said.” Sometimes these were in specialized sales, such as Prints and Graphics, Photographica, or Cartography. Often, we have sections in our auctions, such as clipper ship sailing cards, or scientific Instruments. Much depends on the type of material that is consigned, which can be seen as random, but is influenced by what we have sold in the past, and the knowledge and enthusiasm of our specialists.”

 

MacMakin commented on the growing interest in ephemera: “I do know that overall, the proportion of books, i.e. those things with pages inside and covers on the outside, is lessening. For example, in the catalog we just completed for our March 7th sale I estimate a third or fewer of the lots are books – other items include photographs, maps, lithographs, autographed letters and documents, folding promotional brochures, newspapers, and more. This is one of our main categories of sales.


Some other categories, such as Literature, lean more heavily towards books, but there too, we see great interest in ephemeral material, letters, manuscripts, and non-traditional items. We have sections in literary auctions dedicated to Beat literature and Counterculture material, in which there is increasing interest.”


Company president Sharon Gee noted, "We don't feel that the trend is away from books. We still sell as many (if not more) books in our auctions at strong prices. However, customers are interested in other types of printed materials. Trending actually shows our customers are interested in more than books. Many times these are things related to books they collect. These types of materials have always been in our sales, but we are getting more of this kind of material to sell and customers are appreciative. Although the composition of each sale may have changed, we have more sales in a year with more lots to accommodate the interest."

 

PBA is also moving directly into sales specializing in non-book items, rather than just combining them into related sales. MacMakin said, “We now have specialized auctions of comic books, and of collectible pens and writing instruments. We also have regular auctions dedicated to fine photography and to art.

 

We are always willing to try something new, if we think we can serve the collecting community. Sometimes we meet with success, other times not so much. Our goal is to bring the buyers and sellers together in a fair and honest transaction.

 

We have about 32 auctions a year,” he continued, “invariably on a Thursday starting at 11:00 am. These are live auctions conducted over the internet. Before the Covid pandemic we had auctions in Berkeley open to the public, but few people attended at best. Currently that is really no longer an option – indeed, the staff members conducting the events are dispersed. If I am the auctioneer, I am usually sitting in my living room in Novato, 25 miles away from our Berkeley offices.

 

Our business thrived during the pandemic,” he noted, estimating “sales increased about a third overall since the beginning of 2020. We have more auctions (primarily due to the increase in pen and comic book auctions), are selling more lots, and overall for higher prices than ever before.

 

Everything is not uniformly rosy, of course. Collecting interests change, or shift. More material available on the internet, either at auctions or retail, means more choices, and places downward pressure on prices, especially for material that is more common or not in great condition. But for rare or unique items, or for those in premium condition, record prices are not unusual.

 

PBA Galleries has a large database of customers throughout the world. "Some people sign up then go away, but those are ones that have been active recently enough that we feel they are not dormant. Nearly all those people get our newsletters announcing upcoming sales and soliciting consignments. We also send out a small number of print catalogs, most to subscribing institutions or private customers. The great majority of our bids come from people who view the catalogs on the internet, most through our website,where there are multiple color pictures that can be enlarged to full screen size.

 

We also post catalogs on the LiveAuctioneers.com and Invaluable.com. At these sites customers can place an absentee bid before the auction or participate live during the auction.

 

You can follow us on Facebook and receive additional notifications and highlights. If you want to just watch an auction live, you can do that without even being signed up, just go to our website https://www.pbagalleries.com/ around 11:00 am Pacific Time on most Thursdays and click on the big red Bid Now button.


He advised those interested in becoming either buyers or sellers, to visit their pbagalleries.com, and open a customer account. “There is no fee. You will then receive our newsletters and announcements and can review current and past catalogs to get an idea of the kind of material we handle.”

 

Those who want more specific information on selling, you can email consign@pbagalleries.com, and your email will be directed to a specialist. Or, call us at (415) 989-2665, and there is a 95% chance a real person will pick up the phone, ask what you would like, and help you if he or she can, or transfer you to someone who can.”

 

PBA Galleries

605 Addison Street

Berkeley, CA 94710 USA

Phone: (415) 989-2665

Toll Free: (866) 999-7224

Fax: (415) 989-1664

Email: pba@pbagalleries.com

https://www.pbagalleries.com/

 

Rare Book Monthly

  • 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.
  • Sotheby’s
    Books, Manuscripts and Music from Medieval to Modern
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    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.
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    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
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    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

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