Four Book Collectors and Sellers Share Their Passion for Collecting
- by Michael Stillman
Everyone is a Collector.
The world is filled with readers who love books and who are sort-of collectors in that they place the books they have read on their shelves and keep them there, perhaps forever. Still, they may not think of themselves as book collectors despite the love that makes it hard to part with those treasures. Maybe it's time to become a true collector rather than a de facto one. This is a field where there are knowledgeable people willing to help you share their passion.
In celebration of the 75th anniversary of the American Antiquarian Booksellers Association (ABAA), AbeBooks, the world's largest online book selling website, has put together a group of four short interviews with book people. They will give you a feel for the excitement of intentionally collecting books rather than just accidentally so. One of the great things about book collecting is that everyone can pick their own particular niche in the field. There is no one size fits all. In fact, it isn't limited to official “books,” as many people collect other forms of paper as well, documents, manuscripts, letters, posters, maps, etc.
The four booksellers and collectors who share their stories are Lisbet Tellefsen, Rebecca Romney, Obediah Baird, and Walter Reuben. Lisbet Tellefsen is an Oakland-based collector and community archivist. She has been collecting virtually her whole life, with the focus shifting from pop culture to posters, Afro-Cuban culture, and black LGBTQ culture. Rebecca Romney has been involved in the book trade most of her adult life, now as a co-founder of Type Punch Matrix. You may have seen her as the book expert on TV's Pawn Stars. Obadiah Baird is one of the co-owners of The Book Bin. His specialty is science fiction, fantasy, and horror. Walter Reuben, logically, is the proprietor of Walter Reuben, Inc. His specialty is films and old Hollywood ephemera.
You can hear their messages and better experience the excitement of book and paper collecting for yourself by visiting AbeBooks.com. Click here.
Freeman’s, August 20. President Washington Reaffirms the US Treaty of Friendship and Peace with Morocco, the Longest Unbroken Treaty in US History. $50,000 – 80,000.
Freeman’s, August 20. Weeks After Victory at Yorktown, Benjamin Franklin Promises Repayment of a French Loan that Funded the American Revolution. $200,000 – 300,000.
Freeman’s, August 20. Rare First Edition of the Foundational Text of the Mormon Church. $100,000 – 150,000.
Freeman’s, August 20. President Washington Sends the First Major Law Passed by Congress, the Tariff Act of 1789. $100,000 – 150,000.
Freeman’s, August 20. A Scarce Example of Audubon's Depiction of a Brown Pelican, Plate CCLI from his Birds of America. $30,000 – 50,000.
Freeman’s, August 20. The Official and First Obtainable Broadside Printing of the Lincoln's Final Emancipation Proclamation. $30,000 – 50,000.
