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Post-Erattum In the previous issue, we used “Errata” for the column heading in this space. Errata, of course, is actually a list of writing or printing errors in a given work, usually provided on a small slip of paper and laid in loosely or inserted. I have been taken to task by a British editorial colleague (on the Fourth of July no less, though a bit of a tempest in a teapot as nobody else complained) over my apparently ignorant misuse of the term, as “Addenda” more clearly

Ye Olde Booksellers Here is a small volume with red pebbled boards entitled, Forty Years Among the Old Booksellers of Philadelphia, with Bibliographical Remarks, by W. Brotherhead (Philadelphia, PA: A. P. Brotherhead, 1891). This 122 page gem must be well known to those interested in the early history of our profession in this city. He tells his own story first. “In 1849 I commenced to sell old books at the northwest corner of Sixth and Market streets. My stock was worth abou

Table of Contents From the editor Father Richard Reed of St. Gabriels Bookstore A Guide to Improving Your Online Book Sales Seeing Shelley Plain: Memories of New Yorks Legendary Phoenix Book Shop The Team Behind Books Tell You Why Ephemeral Assays: Pulp Frisson Ethics & eBay – No, Really: Perspectives from a Modern Library Collector House Calls, Estate Sales and Auction tales Caite Stevens of Vivarte Books The Colorado Antiquarian Book Seminar Addendum

Welcome back to the IOBA Standard, which has been on a bit of a hiatus. I read somewhere once that hiatus often means goodbyatus, but we are back with a new team, a new look, and ambitious plans. If you ever come across premier issues of periodicals, take a look at the opening remarks. Back in the early days, they used to call this the plan of the magazine, where rosy intentions are announced. These messages are remarkably similar through the decades, though the language was

Hello, I am Father Rick Reed, the Pastor of Saint Gabriels Chapel and online bookstore. Our aim is to meet and greet each customer with the golden rule of treating others as we would wish to be treated. I opened our online bookstore as an extension of our ministry to all! As a bookseller and book reader, I love books of all kinds and wish to spread this love of reading and learning to everyone I come in contact with. I was not sure where to start when asked to do an autobiogr

There is little doubt that the internet has changed the nature of the book business, just as it has altered many other trades and industries. For many booksellers, this has resulted in a substantial additional revenue stream for their existing brick and mortar, and for others it has allowed them to become professional booksellers, selling exclusively online. However, for many booksellers, it can pose a challenge as they struggle to adapt to the changing expectations of custom

Back in old Europe, many years ago, Andrea and Joachim Koch started collecting books, well before this fascinating hobby took on a much more significant role in our lives. The house was always filled with books, for everyday reading as well as rare items brought back from travels in different countries. Coins were scraped together for those titles more expensive than reasonable to buy. Grandpa’s nineteenth century treasures built the initial collection and made us curious to

Seeing Shelley Plain: Memories of New Yorks Legendary Phoenix Book Shop, by Robert A. Wilson. New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Press, 2001. Sell me a book tonight, Larry. You havent sold me a book in weeks. Why dont you buy all of them? Okay, how much? Wilson quickly realized that he was in over his head and the figures were not adding up, so he threw all his energy into printing and mailing out catalogs (some 1500), following the pattern set forth by fourth Phoenix owner Larry Wa