ABAA’s San Francisco book fair draws 121 exhibitors and over 3,300 attendance

“We had the largest opening night of any California ABAA fair in recent years,” said Alexander Akin of Bolerium Books, who chaired the Northern California book fair committee of the recent 56th California International Antiquarian Book Fair in San Francisco. The event based at Pier 27 featured 121 national and international exhibitors.

Akin pegged attendance at 3,337 for the event which ran from Feb. 9-11. “It looks like bringing it back to San Francisco really paid off in terms of boosting the fair," Akin said. “That figure,’ he continued, “includes librarians, students and guests of dealers who received complimentary passes.”

It did not include members of the media. Advance coverage was substantial and the media also turned out in force for the show itself. His favorite was the story in the San Francisco Standard . This article he said captured the enthusiasm and youthful energy of the event.

“Before the pandemic, when the fair was based in Oakland, total attendance averaged around 2,500-2,700. That’s in the range of what we have traditionally seen for the ABAA’s larger Pasadena fair. There were quite a few librarians and archivists among the attendees, much prized by our exhibitors because some of them are serious customers.”

Aikin appreciated a very close working relationship with the ABAA’s Book Fair administrator, the staff at headquarters, and the other members of the local committee. “What that means in practical terms is,”I can’t take credit for things that went well, because it was such a team effort. For anything that went wrong, though, I see it as my personal responsibility to work on making the next time better.”

Turning to the financial side, he said, “What we aim to achieve for both exhibitors and attendees is value for their money." A 10x10’ booth cost $3,950. But booth prices varied depending on size. “Those deluxe, spectacular booths near the entrance cost more, and their fees help to keep the regular booths more affordable, relatively speaking. So yes, it isn’t cheap, but (in real dollars) it has stayed remarkably consistent over time.”

The fair, which filled the sprawling two story waterfront venue to capacity, was fully subscribed. “Participants had to be a member of the ABAA or one of our sister organizations overseas under the umbrella of ILAB,” he said.

Akin felt that ABAA membership helps ensure customer satisfaction. “Every exhibitor on the floor adheres to a code of ethics, and the authenticity of everything you see is guaranteed. We had two exhibitors who completed the process of joining the ABAA just in time to exhibit. I spoke with one of them after the fair and he was enthusiastic about both the ‘feeling’ of the fair and his sales. The fairs are just one of the benefits of membership, but they’re a significant one.”

One of the most notable changes from years past was the influx of a much younger and more diverse crowd. Akin agreed: “Yes, wasn’t that fantastic? Part of it is the vibrant population of the Bay Area, but part of it is also thanks to our policy of giving free admission to students. This hobby, passion, whatever you want to call it, has something for everyone. Every attendee deserves our respect – you never know what lies in store. I think I spent maybe $20 at my first ABAA fair in Boston, back when I was a student. Here I am now as a bookseller!”

This was the first time the booksellers had gathered at Pier 27, a spectacular waterfront location which also boasted ample free parking. Aikin said “the site was scouted out a couple of years ago by the ABAA’s Executive Director, Susan Benne. It took some twists and turns to get here and we’re hopeful to have it at Pier 27 again in two years.”

Making the rounds on Saturday, the first day open to the public, the dealers were cordial and welcoming, except for the ones who were so busy writing up sales they didn't have a moment free to chat.

“I’m glad that’s what you saw too,” Akin replied. “That was certainly my own experience; on opening night I sold 52 items, ranging in price from $25 to $2,500. I was happy with the results. It was one of our better fairs.

“There’s a little bit of a roll of the dice in every fair. For those considering attending in the future I’d suggest setting aside enough time to really explore a book fair – don’t jump to conclusions about what you’ll find in a particular booth based on first impressions. With a fair this size, you could attend all three days and still not finish looking at everything. Also, don’t be shy about telling dealers what you’re looking for – we want to hear from you.”

On the feedback front, Akin said the event survey hasn’t been sent out yet, though his general impression was that the second floor was not quite as busy as the first.

As for glitches, there weren’t many but they did tend to be annoying. These included long waits at the coat check, signage that was not as informative as might have been desired and a floor plan that some fairgoers found confusing.

“I think lighting was probably the most frequent concern from dealers," Akin said. "There’s a lot of glass, including that panoramic view of the Bay, so the amount and direction of light changed over the course of the day. We’re definitely going to focus on that next time, learning from this experience.

“The other main difference from other ABAA fairs is that this one was split between two floors. Our count shows that there was about 10% less traffic on the second floor. That’s where I was, near the back; I was quite happy with the crowds, but I know that they didn’t necessarily reach every part of the venue. Next time we’ll definitely adapt the signage based on this experience, and work on other ways to foster circulation.”

As for the speakers, "We had them in a separate room – we don’t want to disrupt the fair. Fortunately all the talks were recorded, so if you missed them in person, the ABAA will be posting videos later.”

All those who spoke with Rare Book Hub (RBH), both exhibitors and fairgoers, were unanimous in praise of the location. RBH publisher Bruce McKinney, who attended both Saturday and Sunday put it succinctly, “Pier 27 is a big step up. Having drifted from one worn building to another, to have the book fair in such a stellar location really presented the field in the strongest possible light. The venue was spectacular, the best venue ever in my life, truly worthy of the many fine offerings on display.”

And the material offered was wide ranging and in many cases exceptional.

“All the major dealers brought world-class material,” wrote John Windle, veteran San Francisco antiquarian bookseller, in a post-fair email, “ -- especially the Europeans. Sophia, Chamonal, Clavreuil, Maggs, Quaritch, Crouch, and Harrington for example were amazing -- where else can you see and handle firsts of Copernicus, Galileo, and Newton let alone all the major classics of literature, voyages and travels, color-plate books, etc.? Swan's Fine Books had the finest press books at the fair, including copy #1 of almost all the major Arion Press books. Ephemera was also red hot -- Marc Selvaggio and Kate Mitas were next to each other and seemed constantly busy writing invoices galore!

“We took a triple booth," he continued, “so as to show some prints that had just come in and a collection of voyages to Hawaii that is fresh to the market. We did not sell any, despite pricing them well below market. Our sales were mostly from the fair list, in the shop, and least of all at the fair itself. Combining the three we did in the low six figures (i.e. a bit over $100,000), which is fine. Being a local open bookshop (the last downtown, with the passing of Bob Haines), I think a lot of people didn't visit our booth as they can see our books etc. any time. Next time I'll probably do the opposite and take a small booth (or share one), and hope it's downstairs.”

According to Windle’, “The general chatter about the fair amongst the dealers (online) was (as expected) mixed. The location was generally a big hit although for us upstairs it was very cold and the a/c could not be turned off or at least down. Sitting in a cold breeze all day resulted in a nasty cold for me. Downstairs was much warmer and the crowds seemed bigger, partly because the booths were closer together.

“The opening night crowd was the largest ever for an ABAA Fair. I think the move back to San Francisco played a large part in that. Going to Oakland on a dark Friday night was never very appealing, although collectors will go anywhere if there's a good book to be had. Sunday as expected was pretty quiet. (San Francisco being in the Superbowl didn't help).

“I didn't hear of many problems with the load-out -- the load-in at 6 am was a burden, but the fair team had no choice as the Port Authority took Thursday away from us at the last minute. It could have been much worse -- a cruise ship a few piers away had an outbreak of some GI issue and if that had happened at our fair the event might have been canceled!”

Oakland based Kate Mitas also sent an informative follow up email. “I” had a pretty good fair selling a wide range of ephemera and archival material: everything from a little, inexpensive booklet on champagne cocktails. to a plaque made by Samuel Steward, aka Phil Sparrow, to give himself legitimacy as a tattoo artist, to a large collection of Japanese American Buddhist material from central California.

“One of my most popular items was a collection of invitations and other ephemera documenting early gay nightclubs in San Francisco and New York during the 1970s and '80s. It didn't sell, alas, but it was a great conversation starter, especially with the younger crowd.

“And there was a younger crowd there! Young people who collect, that is, or who are starting to collect, and who are excited to find material that fit their interests as well as their budgets. The energy was contagious -- I think I sat down for all of five minutes the entire fair.

“There are definitely some things that need work if we're at the same venue next time, as not everyone in the crowd knew there were booths on both floors, and the experience overall needs to be a better one for all exhibitors. But all in all, for being the first time in a new venue? I'd say there was a lot that went right.”

Kol Shaver of Zephyr Books, Vancouver WA also contributed post-fair comments by email.;

“Although not the most successful California ABAA Fair I’ve ever exhibited at, it was double either of the previous post-COVID fairs in 2022 & 2023, so we’ll take it!

“As usual I brought far too much material to shoehorn into a 10 x 10’ booth, and survived a table collapse mishap at the 8th hour into the set-up on Friday just a couple hours before our opening. Still, Susan Benne, Julie Roper, et al were responsive, secured me another table, fixed the issues with the passes for customers, and even managed to procure a couple extension cords from the lighting people, along with a power-strip so I could break out my back-up lights to enhance the shadowed shelves against the glare of the stunning view out over the Bay to the Bay Bridge.

“I saw, spoke to, laughed with, and even wrote a few invoices amongst the approximately 95 of my customers I identified as having sent cards and passes to prior to the show (I think I saw ALL of the 20 or so people I had either mailed, or left free passes for), and wrote a total of 63 invoices.

“My institutional sales were largely just before the fair and mostly out of the two catalogs written & printed just for the show, but nonetheless, I saw and spoke with perhaps 20 different librarians and curators from New York to Toronto, to Minnesota, Utah, Montana, and yes, Los Angeles.

“The lighting was an issue for some of the booths I noticed, but I believe the type of lighting arms used at the Seattle Antiquarian Book Fair would easily solve some of those issues moving forward.

“As this was our first time in this venue, I think it went pretty smoothly, and believe that the floor plan could be massaged to cope with vagaries that emerged. I would also concur that going forward, some more signage, and definitely a better food service.”

Rounding out the response came a brief note from Adam Schachter of Langdon Manor in Houston, Texas, “It was great to be there. Sales on the floor were not that good, but post-fair has potential to make up for that and the fair catalog did well. Seeing friends and customers was the highlight.”

Reach RBH writer Susan Halas at wailukusue@gmail.com