Rare Books LA will soon be staging their Pasadena Book Fair, on February 21st & 22nd.
- by Bruce E. McKinney
Collecting thrives on contact.
Rarebooksla.com will soon be staging their Rare Books Pasadena Book Fair, on February 21st & 22nd. As of 12/27 they have already received 79 exhibitor reservations, prompting them to add a second location to comfortably accommodate exhibitors. Jodi Tolan of Rare Books LA, who is managing the event, indicated there is noticeable enthusiasm.
On Rare Books LA’s website (www.rarebooksla.com) you can already see who is coming. Fifty-three of the 79 announced exhibitors have websites. Use those links to understand their strengths. Compare your interests with their theirs. Collectible paper is complex. If your interest is music, there are music specialists. If it’s manuscripts, maps, or ephemera, you’ll find specialists for that too. These days there are many ways to build a collection in obscure personally interesting ways. To do this, you’ll benefit from professional help. At the upcoming fair, you’ll encounter professionals whose strengths fit your needs.
To be effective, do your homework first.
To do this, create a spreadsheet, listing what you have. And then consider sharing it. It’s probably going to be a history of both success and failure. List your sources. By the end of the show, you may not have bought anything but come home enriched. And in time you’ll connect with several dealers who will build your collection.
A smaller subset of this show’s visitors will be there to sell material. Again, understand what you have before you start to ask questions. If you have a run of old botany books to sell, look for participating dealers whose websites include books about botany. Best of all, create a spreadsheet of what you have. Shows tend to be intense. Be prepared, you’ll get a better outcome. If you have good material, you’ll have serious offers.
Note. * Many of the exhibiting dealers use our services. They are serious professionals.
