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Booksellers

AN APPRECIATION FOR KNOWLEDGE, HISTORY & CULTURE

ABAA membership is a privilege extended only to those booksellers who have demonstrated the highest levels of professionalism, ethics, and expertise in the trade. Our more than four hundred members hail from an impressively diverse array of backgrounds. Some have spent their entire careers in the book business, while others have been lighthouse keepers, poets, helicopter pilots, and professional musicians. Some members own brick-and-mortar shops, some operate internet-only businesses from their home or office, some fashion livelihoods from exhibiting at book fairs. Many combine these retail strategies, or add services such as appraising and collection development. A few earn additional income and professional prestige from research and writing. But all our members share an appreciation for the printed page and for the scholarly and ethical practices which exemplify professional bookselling.

JOIN THE ABAA

ABAA Membership conveys recognition throughout the book world. A member of the ABAA is a bookseller with proven knowledge, expertise, and ethical standards

Emeritus Members

Archival Video Interviews of Members

A few years ago, Michael Ginsberg embarked upon an archival journey for the ABAA. Recognizing the absence of member histories in the ABAA annals, Michael began conducting video interviews of members at our three annual fairs. The interviews cover members' personal histories as well as their involvement in the rare book trade.

The ABAA extends many thanks to Michael, as well as Taylor Bowie, who has also conducted a number of interviews.

Click here to view the Bookseller Interviews.

Beverly Garcia-Garst of Garcia-Garst Booksellers in Turlock, CA established her business in 1978.  Prior to that she worked for the California State University Stanislaus Library and the UCLA Library system while an undergraduate at UCLA and then had a short apprenticeship with Jerrold Stanoff of the Rare Oriental Book Company. Beverly was a founder of the Central California Booksellers Association and the Central Valley Antiquarian Booksellers Association.Garcia-Garst Booksellers specializes in Children's Books, Illustrated Books, Literature, Fairy Tales, Folklore & Mythology, and California & the West.ABAA Member Since 1986. Interviewed by Taylor Bowie on October 11, 2009 at the Seattle Antiquarian Book Fair.
Chet Ross left his successful career in the high pressure world of art and design for rare books and established his first business in 2001.Chet Ross Rare Books operates out of Southworth, WA, and specializes in Exploration of the Polar Regions, Exploration & Travel, Nobu Shirase, and the Japanese Antarctic Expedition of 1910-1912. ABAA Member since 2009. Interviewed by Michael Ginsberg on February 8, 2014 at the California International Antiquarian Book Fair in Pasadena.
James grew up in a house full of books. As a child he turned his closet into a little library, reading whatever he could get his hands on, no matter the reading level. After studying anthropology he found work as an archeologist unsatisfying. While he was searching for a career path he could enjoy, he happened to purchase a lexicon which started him down the road of collecting. Quickly gathering more books than he wanted, he turned to selling. In 1991, he became a full time antiquarian bookseller. <br /><br />James Gray Bookseller operates out of Princeton, MA and specializes in Early Printed Books and Manuscripts, Incunabula, and Books of Hours. ABAA Member since 2015. Interviewed by Michael Ginsberg on November 17, 2018 at the Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair.<br />