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
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