The ABAA: What Works - Data, Knowledge, Charm & New Blood
- by Susan Halas
ABAA President Stuart Bennett.
By Susan Netzorg Halas
All other things being equal, it takes data, knowledge, and charm, not necessarily in that order, to make it in the ABAA. It also doesn't hurt to have deep pockets.
The Data Model
A good example of the data model is Joachim Koch of Books Tell You Why based in South Carolina. Koch is a German trained engineer who had an extensive corporate tech career before joining the ranks of book dealers. While Koch stresses that his is a family business, a team effort, he also stresses that there is no substitute for numbers.
Even a brief conversation makes it clear that his style of bookselling is organized, systemized and the company makes decisions based on an impressive array of factual information. Want to talk click-through ratios and pay-for-placement? Interested in what's hot and what's not? Want all the data all the time? This is your guy.
Koch knows his customers: He knows who bought, what they bought. He knows how they found him, what they spent, if they buy frequently or occasionally. Having a plentiful amount of information is only the first step. He's willing to pay for the tools and techniques he thinks will drive traffic to his site and he wants those numbers to be BIG.
Books Tell You Why Had a good year in 2009 and they're expecting a better 2010. Though not for publication it's all sliced, diced, analyzed and driven by data; books are only the top layer. www.bookstellyouwhy.com
The Knowledge Guy
Another way to get ahead in high-end bookselling is to know more, a lot more, than other people and have a sterling reputation. It is helpful to have an opinion that collectors and libraries can take to the bank or feds as needed and to have the credentials to back up the reputation.
Vic Zoschak of Tavistock Books in Alameda www.tavbooks.com fits that profile. This is a go-to guy when you want to get serious and take it to the next level.
Zoschak has an MBA in Finance from NYU. After a career in the Coast Guard he segued from a highly respected Dickens collector to an equally respected ABAA book dealer. It is his knowledge and willingness to share his knowledge that sets him apart from his contemporaries.
He is always helpful, well informed. Though all the ABAA dealers who spoke with AE knew their stuff, Zoschak seemed to truly understand that God is in the details. He is qualified for and frequently does appraisals for IRS purposes. He asks and gets hefty fees for these services. For a more modest sum you send the book to him and get back his thoughts on its value.
Zoschak is a supporter of the University of Virginia Book School where students, some of whom are would-be ABAA members, can learn the bibliographic niceties and are introduced to the work of special collections.
He's serious about the importance of bringing along the next generation of dealers and he also stresses the importance encouraging college students to take a serious interest in collecting.
Zoschak is widely appreciated as a person who is willing to mentor younger dealers who want to join the ABAA. Several who spoke with AE credit him with at least part of their success in the trade.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 11: Darwin and Wallace. On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties..., [in:] Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society, Vol. III, No. 9., 1858, Darwin announces the theory of natural selection. £100,000 to £150,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 11: J.K. Rowling. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, 1997, first edition, hardback issue, inscribed by the author pre-publication. £100,000 to £150,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 11: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Autograph sketchleaf including a probable draft for the E flat Piano Quartet, K.493, 1786. £150,000 to £200,000.
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…
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Swann Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books December 9, 2025
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 156: Cornelis de Jode, Americae pars Borealis, double-page engraved map of North America, Antwerp, 1593.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 206: John and Alexander Walker, Map of the United States, London and Liverpool, 1827.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 223: Abraham Ortelius, Typus Orbis Terrarum, hand-colored double-page engraved world map, Antwerp, 1575.
Swann Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books December 9, 2025
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 233: Aaron Arrowsmith, Chart of the World, oversize engraved map on 8 sheets, London, 1790 (circa 1800).
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 239: Fielding Lucas, A General Atlas, 81 engraved maps and diagrams, Baltimore, 1823.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 240: Anthony Finley, A New American Atlas, 15 maps engraved by james hamilton young on 14 double-page sheets, Philadelphia, 1826.
Swann Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books December 9, 2025
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 263: John Bachmann, Panorama of the Seat of War, portfolio of 4 double-page chromolithographed panoramic maps, New York, 1861.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 265: Sebastian Münster, Cosmographei, Basel: Sebastian Henricpetri, 1558.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 271: Abraham Ortelius, Epitome Theatri Orteliani, Antwerp: Johann Baptist Vrients, 1601.
Swann Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books December 9, 2025
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 283: Joris van Spilbergen, Speculum Orientalis Occidentalisque Indiae, Leiden: Nicolaus van Geelkercken for Jodocus Hondius, 1619.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 285: Levinus Hulsius, Achtzehender Theil der Newen Welt, 14 engraved folding maps, Frankfurt: Johann Frederick Weiss, 1623.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 341: John James Audubon, Carolina Parrot, Plate 26, London, 1827.
![<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 11:</b> Darwin and Wallace. On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties..., [in:] <i>Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society,</i> Vol. III, No. 9., 1858, Darwin announces the theory of natural selection. £100,000 to £150,000.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/00d5fd41-2542-4a80-b119-4886d4b9925f.png "<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 11:</b> Darwin and Wallace. On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties..., [in:] <i>Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society,</i> Vol. III, No. 9., 1858, Darwin announces the theory of natural selection. £100,000 to £150,000.")
![<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.")
