Great Catalogues by Master Booksellers: A Selection of American and English Booksellers' Catalogues, 19th-21st Century. By John R. Payne. Introduction by Kurt Zimmerman. Austin , Roger Beacham, Publisher, . One could be forgiven for thinking it odd that something as ephemeral as the bookseller's catalogue should be treated to such a sumptuous production as John Payne's Great Catalogues by Master Booksellers (GCMB). But, as the author reminds us, “Bookshops open and close. Booksellers retire, change professions, and pass on. What remains, other than memories and reputations, are their catalogues, the lasting tangible record of a bookseller's creativity and expertise – a remembrance, a talisman.” (Preface, page xi). The author has selected one hundred forty catalogues from amongst tens of thousands viewed during his time at the Lilly ... [more]

Welcome to the new ABAA website. We hope you'll find it an exciting place to explore rare books, find items to purchase, and meet some of the best booksellers in the US. The site is packed with new features and possibilities. Many of these features are there to emphasize the individual booksellers, all of whom are members of the Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America and are held to the strict standards of the ABAA Code of Ethics. Throughout the site, the booksellers are front and center, giving you more information about the seller on the item pages, more details on the bookseller pages, and a richer sense of what booksellers are up to on the blog and through various social media. The ABAA blog is brand new as well, now called The New Antiquarian, and featuring multiple contributors. Booksellers have richly different backgrounds... [more]