Peter Howard - In response to the ABAA Newsletter

I first met Peter in Tokyo in 1990. I was walking along the streets of the Ginza when I spotted this man, dessed untidily (who am I to make a comment like this) , and wearing a tee shirt with the ABAA logo displayed. So I approached him and introduced myself as a bookseller from Sydney. He introduced me to his wife Allison and we became firm friends, He invited - no - demanded that I come and stay with him in California which I subsequently did.

Peter and I met in many cities in the world and went scouting together. I loved his love of books and his knowledge and I had never met anyone like him and I am not expecting to.

His generosity was fantastic. If I was coming to San Francisco he would demand to know when my plane was arriving so he could pick me up and was offended when I did not give him the infomation. Sometimes I stayed in his house but more often I stayed in a hotel and this always caused him to berate me. He could not understand why I would stay in a hotel in preference to his house.

I spent a few hours with Peter the day after the last San Francisco Bookfair and we both knew that it was farewell and we said tender words to each other as we hugged as I was leaving.

Of course Peter was mad but I loved him and his madness inspired me. He could be rude and shout and he did shout at me more thn once but this shouting never upset me. And I used to laugh when Alison was present and she would chide him for his rudeness. Alison was the big part in their successful partnership and Peter would not have been the man he was without her. She provided a soft and gentle side to him and their love, care and concern for each other was always there to see.

Peter cared for his fellow booksellers and collected many eccentric and normal booksellers around him. He believed in bookselling as a great profession and in his eyes it was the most noble profession. He performed many acts of great generosity to booksellers and at times was almost a charity.

One of the great highlights of my bookselling career has been my friendship with this mad, eccentric, lovable and generous man.

I shall miss Peter.


Paul Feain
Cornstalk Bookshop

Royal Books / Steinbach / McConnell / Fang Ling / PBFA & The wrap

 Kevin Johnston from Royal Books

Kevin Johnston from Royal Books

The first time I met Kevin was at the Colorado Rare Book School. He was a lecturer there. He got up and spoke about his past life and what excites him about book selling. He loves books about movies, which isn't surprising really because he wrote two wonderful bibliographies called  “The Dark Page 1 and 2. Illustrated volumes of first editions  books that that inspired films in dustwrappers.

On Kevin's stand a poster of a Hitchock film. “The 39 Steps” that was originally a book by John Buchan. The film staring Robert Donat and Madeleine Carroll,  from 1935.

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Michael Steinbach – Rare Books

Michael Steinbach – Rare Books

I remember the first time I met Michael. He had a grin on his face from ear to ear and he wore the same grin today. Another charming man with beautiful books. He is a very respected man in the book trade and at one time was on the committee of Ilab.  Michael may not look it, but he has been trading in the book business for a very long time.

I look over his stand. He has some very graphical beautiful books. I grin back at him and say "Those books are a little bit naughty". Hidden, although not that well, on the bottom shelf sit a sort of pillow book.

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McConnell Fine Books in Deal, Kent. UK

McConnell Fine Books in Deal, Kent. UK

ROUSSEAU, Jean-Jacques

The Confessions of Jean-Jacques Rousseau.
Preface by Jules Claretie.
 Illustrated by Maurice Leloir. (In English).

ROUSSEAU

The first time I met Nick was in our shop in Sydney. He was visiting a relative, but still manage some time to go to some bookshops while he was in town. He has been specialising fine bindings for over 30 years. And I can see why he does it. 


Why not surround yourself with full leather gilt bindings?   


When I see his books, I think of learned gentleman sitting in their study or library in front of a fire reading and sipping tea.

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 Provincial Booksellers Fairs Association  - Another fair

This fair was inviting. Not quite as impressive as Olympia fair, the stalls are just tables of books. It feels like an old school hall or market. The books are not as grand, but the atmosphere was slightly more exciting. Why? I think it is because people hope to find a bargain. 

I definitely had fun rummaging. For me it was like a good house call. You know the collection in front of you has something good in it, but you just haven't found it yet. 

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Fang Ling Jong

Fang-Ling Jong and myself

Fang-Ling and I worked together during the first two International Antiquarian Bookfairs in Hong Kong. She was a very hard working publicist. I found out that she has moved on to bigger and better things. She was in London to promote her new book: - Tales of Bookshops. Tawain, Vista, 2010.

".... uniquely exploring the Western book world through an Asian's eyes; though its text is in Chinese, its color photography is unmatched in any language, with an emphasis on antiquarian bookshops, particularly in the Bay Area." (www.abaa.org)

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The wrap

I sit on the plane and reflect. Have I had a successful trip? Well, the answer is, yes. I spoke to many people about the fair. Most people seemed enthusiastic about it and they all seemed to be talking to one another about it. I walked around the room and people I had never met already knew who I was and what I was here for. 


And then I thought about the other booksellers. Did they have a successful fair? Well, I know that a lot is riding on a book fair. Booksellers not only need to be at the fair but they have to bring their books to sell. They are heavy and awkward to carry. They often travel great distances. But this is only half the battle. Once books and booksellers arrive they battle different time zones, unfamiliar and uncomfortable surrounding, different languages, lack of sleep and small installation crisis's. They need to stand for long periods of time and be polite to colleagues and customers. If they can do all this and then only if they get a lucky will they may have a successful fair.

So, why and how do they do it?

Booksellers are a rare breed. A friend once said that it was a "gentleman's trade". But it is much, much more than this. A book selling is a as much about the books as about the friendships made along the way.

Michael Graves-Johnston

My first book fair was the International fair held in Melbourne. At the time I was young and attending university. I worked part time for Paul at his second hand store in Newtown. I had never been to any book fair before so it was a real learning experience. Hordes of people came though the doors to fill the beautiful Melbourne Exhibition Hall. They ask me questions that I was not yet able to answer. People threw money into Paul's hands. I wrote receipt after receipt and gently wrapped the books up for the customers.

At the end of the first day I was utterly exhausted, but Paul said we were going to dinner and I should wear something nice. We walked into the centre of town and I was taken up a flight of stairs to a very nice Chinese restaurant. Paul walked over to a large table with two people sitting at it. It was Michael Graves-Johnston (Oscar) and his wife Carol.  We sat and ate beautiful food and sipped delicious wine. The book sellers reminisced about old times, joking and laughing. A very pleasant night.

It was at this point that I figured out what book selling was really all about. Book fairs are hard work, but it is the friendships made along the way that are important.

Every time I see Oscar and Carol I think about this moment, a moment that altered my path in life.

Michael Graves-Johnston display

Michael Graves-Johnston has been a bookseller for over thirty years. He specializes in Africa, the Pacific, and tribal and ancient civilisations. 

Oscar, Paul, Ellie, Gabrielle, Carol

The Opening

Just before the opening I head outside for a quick bit to eat. There is a long line of people trailing down the street waiting to get into the book fair. I enter the hall that is now filled with  nervous booksellers.

When the doors open and the people flood in the temperature rises within the venue. People zip from stand to stand hoping they haven't missed out. These customers may look like gentlemen, but when they are after a book you better move out of their way!

The space stays lively until a few minutes to close. People walk from the venue with bags of books under their arms. I think this is a good sign. 

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James Hallgate of Lucius Books

James Hallgate of Lucius Books

James would have to be one of the most level headed and lovely booksellers that I have ever met. There is always an air of calm about this man, even when setting up for a fair one of the most exhausting times. From time to time James will visit us in Australia. He will fly all around the world to get that special book. The books he has on offer look pristine. He deals in modern firsts, in many ways a very tricky field. Whinnie the Pooh and artwork for a James bond cover are amongst his wares.

Edmund Brumfitt from Pickering and Chatto

Edmund Brumfitt from Pickering and Chatto

Edmund Brumfitt was one of the first international bookseller that I ever met. I'd just started working at The Cornstalk Bookshop and one afternoon had gone to an old friend's house for a get together. Edmund was there and spoke of a book shop in London that he worked called Pickering and Chatto. Quite a few years later I walk through Olympia fair I run into his familiar face. I ask him how he is going. 

He has a big grin on his face as he tells me that he is well and still enjoying book selling after 12 years. Pickering and Chatto have been in operation for nearly two hundred years so Edmund is a relatively young bookseller. His stand is filled with interesting nick-nacks and ephemeral items. My eyes dashed around excitedly. I was unsure about which thing looked most interesting and so I said. "What is your favourite thing on the stand?" He picks up and international fair book with glossy elaborately decorated covers. Within the covers is a sort of scrap book with among other things photographs and memorial cards. It was a really lovely item, and I immediately understood why he chose it.

Opening Morning

At the beginning of the fair, there is an exciting buzz. Trading has already begun before the doors have even opened.

Some people are stressfully putting the finishing details on there stands at the very last minute. Others have grins on their faces as they say hello to their good friends and colleagues. It is  the greatest moment in every book fair. A room full of hope.

The books here are fantastic and at times to me unbelievable. Some things here I have only read about in books. Today, I look up close and even touch some pages.

There are beautiful books all over the hall. I like beautiful books, but today my favourite books are the fashion books. There are displayed men in military uniforms and women in various dresses. These images often coloured by hand. It is at this point today that I think, I was to open my own bookshop today, this is the material I'd like to deal in. Of course yesterday it was philosophical books, the day before medical books. But here lies the pleasure of a book fair. You see those books, those objects that hold something important in your heart, are important for you because of some small memory you have as a child or an adult.

Frank Werner of Brockhaus Antiquarian from Germany

Frank Werner of Brockhaus Antiquarian from Germany

As I strolled the book fair this morning, I met a man who quite striking, turns out to be a charming and jolly man with an obvious love for ethnology.

I see some objects on his stand, things that I have never seen before. Palm bark books with a language that I don't recognise, and next to these, bamboo sticks about the length of a ruler with a similar script. Frank told me that these books are from a Batik cannibalistic tribe who designed their own language possibly before the Europeans. They were very beautiful objects, ones that I would have like to touch but didn't dare because of their meaning in history.

Cannibal palm leaf book from Brockhaus Antiquarian 

The were four objects in total. The first two were recipes for magical and medical positions which were illustrated with pictures to show the causes of the ailments. Another objects, this one bamboo, he tells me is a threatening letter. “oh?” I say and he replies "I would not like to receive a threatening letter from a cannibal." I nodded my head in agreement.

A fun day at set-up!

I went to the book fair yesterday and helped and watched most people set up. It was interesting just to be there to watch people and not have the stress of the situation take over me. I was very impressed by the use of porters at the show. It gave it a much nicer quality than if you have to do these things like moving boxes around yourself.

Douglas Stewart Fine Books display

I walked around the fair and said hello to all those people I recognised. It was nice to see so many familiar faces. Although it was a little daunting to see how many people I will be introducing myself to. I don't think much will happen today because it is the first day of trade and I would hate to get in people's way.

After the fair, I went to dinner with Douglas Stewart. It was his first time exhibiting at Olympia. He explained  that coming to this fair, was something he aspired to as a young bookseller. It was very obvious how excited he was and how much it meant to him. In celebration he produced a very sexy catalogue. A high gloss thick card with a strikingly beautiful cover. He told me that while he is at the fair he will be sending this same catalogue to his special customers!

For dinner we went to this cute little place called Maggie's in Kensington Street. It had hanging baskets of lavender and posies of dried roses and large bowls of fruit for decoration. The lighting was low and intimate and there was a jolly feeling within the cosy atmosphere. The meal and the staff was lovely. I had a great time with Douglas and his sweet, smart assistant Caitlyn Littlewood.

Caitlyn Littlewood and Douglas Stewart

Douglas Stewart began his life in the book trade when he was still at school. He now runs a very successful business in Prahan, Melbourne that specialises in rare, collectible and antiquarian books. To find out more  go to his beautiful web site: http://www.douglasstewart.com.au