Quiet chatter mixed with the rustling of pages as attendees of the Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair browsed through shelves of rare books.
The Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair brought together dealers, collectors and academics from around the globe to showcase its collection of books.
Held at Hynes Convention Center from Nov. 8-10, this year’s event honored two major milestones: the 75th anniversary of the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America and the 46th year of the fair itself. The fair held several programs over the three days.
Nina Berger, the fair’s press representative, said the anniversaries underscore ABAA’s transformation since its founding in 1949 as a predominantly male organization to a more diverse, inclusive one.
“It really moved from being a gentleman’s pursuit to being a pursuit for everybody,” Berger said.
Berger said specifically within the last three years, the fair has evolved to be more multicultural, with increased interest in overlooked female and African American writers.
Berger also said the showcased collections offer an element of surprise.
“A lot of the dealers keep secret what they’re even going to be bringing to the fair and don’t unveil it till you get there,” Berger said. “Boston, being the Athens of America and having so many academic collecting institutions, they bring a lot of really special things from all around the world.”
One dealer was Lux Mentis Booksellers from Maine, who brought a collection of letters and books by Oliver Sacks.
Kim Schwenk, cataloger and occult book specialist at Lux Mentis, said the firm was asked to “take on” Sacks’ library collection, and ensure it would be well-represented, researched and used.
“We are very excited and elated to be able to represent his library so that it lives on with people, individuals and in libraries,” Schwenk said. “As a former librarian, this is the best way for me to engage with people on that level of talking about books.”
The book fair promoted a global perspective by inviting book dealers from all over the world.
Robert Graven, a Dutch book dealer at Konstantinopel Rare and Fine Books, presented what he called an “eclectic” collection of books.
“We sell books across the board, and that means from very early manuscripts, from the Middle Ages until, let’s say, Americana or fine printing, so up to the present day nearly,” Graven said.
Graven has sold books all his life — on the street, on eBay and through ABAA. He said his selection of books offers something for everybody.
Heidi Congalton, co-owner of Between The Covers, her rare books shop in New Jersey, said she saw a “change in buying patterns” at the fair due to internet selling.
Congalton said she’s been coming to the fair for more than 30 years.
“We love the experience of meeting our customers in person and, of course, selling books,” she said.
Despite the existence of many virtual book fairs, Berger said , there is “nothing” like physically seeing a book and touching it, and talking to the dealers about books brings them alive.
“Because with the digital age, so much of what you do is sitting there, looking at a screen and reading it, having a book in your hands becomes really special, especially one that’s 400 years old,” Berger said.
