The antiquarian book trade in the United States is an aspect of book collecting and publishing. The term '' antiquarian'', in general, refers to

antiquities Antiquities are objects from antiquity, especially the civilizations of the Mediterranean: the Classical antiquity of Greece and Rome, Ancient Egypt and the other Ancient Near Eastern cultures. Artifacts from earlier periods such as the Meso ...

and collectible items usually considered old and rare, usually in reference to books, but is not limited to books. The word antiquarian could also be used to describe a person who collects rare books or other antique items. Two key figures who have written a great deal on the U.S. antiquarian book trade specifically are

Leona Rostenberg Leona Rostenberg (December 28, 1908 – March 17, 2005) was an independent scholar and rare books dealer born in New York, New York. Biography Rostenberg was born in the Bronx on December 28, 1908. Her father Adolf was a dermatologist. Rostenber ...

(1908–2005) and

Madeleine B. Stern Madeleine Bettina Stern (July 1, 1912 – August 18, 2007), born in New York, New York, was an independent scholar and rare book dealer. She graduated from Barnard College in 1932 with a B.A. in English literature. She received her M.A. in Eng ...

(1912–2007), both of whom were also in the business of collecting and selling

rare books Book collecting is the collecting of books, including seeking, locating, acquiring, organizing, cataloging, displaying, storing, and maintaining whatever books are of interest to a given collector. The love of books is ''bibliophilia'', and someo ...

. Other histories having covered the topic include Isaiah Thomas, writing in 1810 his ''History of printing in America''; Henry Walcott Boynton’s ''Annals of American Bookselling, 1638-1850'', first published in 1932; Hellmut Lehmann-Haupt’s ''The Book in America: A History of the Making, the Selling, and the Collecting of Books in the United States'' (1939). The antiquarian book trade has roots in Colonial America, and may be considered in the study of American history and literature, print culture, and book history. Antiquarian book fairs have long been an important aspect of the trade. Today, the

Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America The Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America (ABAA) is an organization in the United States for dealers in rare and antiquarian books. The association is a member of the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB). History Fou ...

(ABAA) is the primary organization of the trade in the United States. Other organizations include the

Society for the History of Authorship, Reading and Publishing The Society for the History of Authorship, Reading and Publishing (SHARP) formed in 1991 in the United States on the initiative of scholars Jonathan Rose, Simon Eliot, and others. Its members study the history of books and the "composition, mediati ...

(SHARP). The

Rare Book School Rare Book School (RBS) is an independent 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based at the University of Virginia. It supports the study of the history of books, manuscripts, and related objects. Each year, RBS offers about 30 five-day courses on t ...

at the University of Virginia is the premier institution for those seeking an advanced education in the field.

History

The beginnings of the antiquarian book trade can be traced to British North America, specifically Boston of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. There is no established date of when this business of book collecting actually begins, however Stern attributes the beginnings to

John Dunton John Dunton (4 May 1659 – 1733) was an English bookseller and author. In 1691 he founded The Athenian Society to publish '' The Athenian Mercury'', the first major popular periodical and first miscellaneous periodical in England. In 1693, for ...

’s visit to Boston in 1686, in which he brought along numerous books from his native England. Printed materials and books however were already available in Boston, the first book shop having been opened in 1647 by

Hezekiah Usher Hezekiah Usher (1615 – May 14, 1676) of Boston was the first known bookseller in British America. The first books printed in the thirteen colonies were published and sold by Usher. Early life Usher was born in 1615. The medieval records ...

. The act of collecting and selling books as a form of business increases later in seventeenth century, with 1693 being the date of the earliest printed catalogue of books in the American colonies. Events in Boston during the eighteenth century proved both difficult and advantageous for the antiquarian book trade. For example, a fire broke out in 1711 that consumed nearly every bookshop then in existence in Boston. In the next two decades antiquarian booksellers rebuilt and gradually began to thrive, with the presence of

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

, as well as a certain literary and educational milieu in Boston allowing the development of the antiquarian book trade. In the later eighteenth century, the heart of the antiquarian trade shifted to Philadelphia and New York City, growing with an increasingly educated public and independence from Britain. With the movement of people westward bookselling spread, and soon, small cities like Cincinnati become known in the book trade.Sutton, W. (1961). The Western book trade: Cincinnati as a nineteenth century publishing and book-trade center. Columbus, OH: Ohio State University. p. 58. The trade spread to Richmond and New Orleans, then to Texas, St. Louis, Chicago, and eventually, following the gold rush, to California.

Notes

References

*Amory, H. Hall, D. (2000). ''A History of the book in America'' (D. D. Hall, ed.). (Vol. 1.). Cambridge. *Boynton, H. W. (1932). ''Annals of American bookselling, 1638-1850''. New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll. *Stern, M. B. (1978). ''Books and book people in 19th century America''. New York: Bowker. *Stern, M. B. (1956). ''Imprints on history: Book publishers and American frontiers''. Indiana University. {{Books Book collecting Antiquarian booksellers Publishing in the United States

History

See also

Notes

References