A Well Read Book Fair

PRX

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A Well Read Book Fair

From: Emma Jacobs
Length: 00:04:17

Dealers of Americana talk about the allure of old books. Read the full description.

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Piece Description

Sellers of rare books and American ephemera at the Annual Books at the 25th Street Armory Manhattan talk about the appeal of holding a piece of history. They discuss the impact the internet has had on their business of selling very old paper.

Broadcast History

This is a re-produced version of a piece put on PRX several months ago. I finally found a place for it in a podcast I'm working on, but it has not yet aired on the radio.

Transcript

[low voices]

The annual book fair Books at the 25th Street Armory, is underway in the early afternoon. There’s a big domed hall in the center of the 69th Regiment Armory on Manhattan. Collapsible tables have been set up. Dealers of rare books and collectibles have finished arranging their merchandise. Buyers circulate among their booths

Gary: A book fair is essentially an extraordinarily large book shop.

Gary Austin is a regular on the book fair circuit. He’s a rare books dealer based in Wilmington, Vermont.

Gary: Each dealer comes in and brings what is fresh to their stock, is what they’re known for in terms of their specialty or what they’re particularly excited about. When you step into each booth you step into a particular bookseller’s world because each booth reflects the personality of that bookseller.

Peter Luke is from New York, near Albany. He grew up upstate and specializ...
Read the full transcript

Intro and Outro

INTRO:

A lot of trades have found new life on the internet. Some things have a more difficult transition than most to the digital age. Independent producer Emma Jacobs reports from a stop on the rare books circuit.

OUTRO: