By Bruce McKinney

As he has for thirteen years Bill Ewald of Argus Books is again hosting the Sacramento Antiquarian Book Fair. This year sixty exhibitors are expected for the one day event which will be held at the Scottish Rite Temple, 6151 H Street, in California's capitol. Participating dealers are mostly local with a contingent from Oregon completing what is expected to be a full house by show time.

Dealers will be selling used, collectable and rare books, pamphlets, paper, ephemera, autographs, photographs, etc. in almost all categories including first editions; art books; aviation; California history; children's books; cookbooks; local history; military books; natural history; science fiction and western Americana.

The show owes its origins to Bill's desire to offer a satisfying and efficient event for both buyers and sellers. The show's life roughly corresponds with the emergence of the internet as an increasingly important venue for book buying. Over the years the net has been the uninvited guest that has increasingly affected both prices and what actually sells.

As Bill recently explained "Today the emphasis is on the more unusual material because multiple copies of the 'standard rarities' are available online, often at competitive prices." What you see at shows today are unique examples, signed copies, interesting ephemera and manuscripts. "Such material has always been uncommon and always will be."

Participants will bring as many as a thousand items but in almost every case it's only a small percentage of what they have in stock. For buyers then there are two purposes for attending: to see what's available to buy on the spot and to better understand which dealers have inventory that merits a trip to see their entire stock. Often the most important thing obtained at a show is the knowledge of who has interesting material at home.

The show is on Saturday September 16, opens at 10:00 am and runs until 5:00 pm. Admission is $5.00 for adults and free to all 17 and under when accompanied by an adult. About 800 visitors are expected.

Here is a partial list of exhibitors:

Argus Books & Graphics; Auburn, CA
B. W. Henry, Bookseller; Florence, OR
Bea & Peter Siegel Books; Walnut Creek, CA
Blake St. Books; Berkeley, CA
Book Merchant; Napa, CA
Books Remembered; Cameron Park, CA
Bud Plant & Hutchison Books; Cedar Ridge, CA
Carl Blomgren ?Fine Books; San Rafael, CA
Chanticleer Books; Sonoma, CA
Christophe Stickel Autographs; Pacific Grove, CA
Cobblestone Books; Sacramento, CA
CookBook Lady; El Sobrante, CA
Cultural Images; Portland, OR
Dan Glaeser Books, Modesto, CA
Discovery Bay Old Books; Walnut Creek, CA
Don Connor Fine Books; Sacramento, CA
Garcia-Garst; Turlock, CA
Geiger's Books; Scott's Valley, CA
Gilbert Trading Company; Lodi, CA
Good Sheppard Fine Books; San Francisco, CA
James Harrington Bookseller; San Francisco, CA
Kings River Press; Lemoore, CA
Macola Books; Loomis, CA
Magus Books; Sacramento, CA
Margaret Mannatt; San Diego, CA
Maxwell's Bookmark; Stockton, CA
Nick Adams & Co. Fine Books; Sacramento, CA
Patty Warren Antiques; Sacramento, CA
Picturesque Barque; El Sobrante, CA
Reed's Rare Books; San Francisco, CA
Robert Gavora, Fine Books; Talent, OR
S. Howlett-West Books; Modesto, CA
Sequoia Sunrise Old Books; Sacramento, CA
Stan Beecher Books; Oroville, CA
T. Cadman WW2 Books; Carmichael, CA
Tavistock Books, Alameda, CA
Toad's Haul Antiques, Merced, CA