FAQs
...
Marginalia denotes hand-made marks left in the margins or blank edges, of a page in a printed book or written manuscript. These signs of use are evidence of how past people interacted with a text – whether they left thoughtful annotations, sketches and doodles, or even unrelated notes and to-do lists as they went about their daily lives. At Marginalia Rare Books we value these physical reminders of the past, and we seek them out in the books we buy and sell. We also value and focus on communities who have been traditionally treated as “marginal” or “marginalized” – communities pushed to the side by mainstream groups in power. Our name is a constant reminder of where we tend to find the most exciting and vivid aspects of history.
The hunt for good books is constant and daily! While we’re always keeping an eye out wherever we are, the most significant places where we source books are during scouting trips to colleagues in different cities and during book fairs. Leaving our home base and being out in the world with other book people opens up new possibilities for finding new material or thinking about new ways of seeing, researching, and describing that material. We also rely on the goodwill of our fellow booksellers and the public to offer us relevant material when they find it. For more on selling books, click here.
While we would never disclose the names of the people and organizations who purchase from us (we always respect your privacy!), the majority of our inventory is placed with library and museum special collections. Supporting the work of librarians is one of the most rewarding aspects of our job. In addition, we often collaborate with donors to these collections, or with collectors who have identified these communities and their works as their area of focus.
Absolutely! As we work on building our website and while we wait to list our inventory online, we invite you to reach out with want-lists of books you’re seeking or areas of interest. If we have something currently in inventory, we can share information with you; similarly we can reach out if and when such an item comes across our desks. In the event the piece is outside of our scope or you have more immediate need, we can also source material on your behalf (for more on sourcing, click through here).
If you have a book that meets some of the criteria listed on our Books to Sell page, we welcome you to reach out via our Contact page with basic information. Our purchasing is fairly narrow given that we are subject specialists; but in the event your books aren’t a fit for us, we will do our best to refer you on to one of our brilliant colleagues at another shop.
Marginalia Rare Books does not maintain a location that is open to the public. The majority of our work is conducted through private offers and quotes via email, Zoom, and phone. On occasion, we do travel out to our clients to show or hand-deliver materials.
We are indeed! You can find us on Instagram at @marginaliararebooks or on LinkedIn.
To better navigate rare book condition descriptions or understand a rare book in your hand, we recommend the fantastic glossary put together by the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America (ABAA) which you can locate here.
Once you start connecting with the community, you’ll be amazed at how many opportunities there really are for connecting. Book fairs, often hosted by organizations such as the ABAA (Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America) or Rare Books LA bring together a range of dealers from around the world in addition to librarians and collectors. There are often talks and workshops associated with the book fairs, as well as the main purpose of browsing booths. There are also a range of bibliophilic clubs including the Zamorano Club in California, the Caxton Club in Illinois, and the Grolier Club in New York. These groups often maintain a club house or hold monthly meetings to bring book lovers together.
As a small and very subject-focused shop, we have no plans to hire a staff. That said, we do occasionally have need for talented contractors to assist us with short term projects. In the event we are searching for assistance, we will list that on our website as well as putting out a call via rare book listservs.
These books and manuscripts have lived long lives – often longer than our own! The keys to maintaining them are to avoid extremes:
-
If the temperature is comfortable for you, it likely is for the books.
-
Avoid exposure to harsh, direct sunlight.
-
Avoid exposure to water or extreme moisture.
-
Handle with clean, dry hands and not gloves (for more on that, consult the Smithsonian’s article No Love for White Gloves, or The White Cotton Menace here).
-
Open to a roughly 90 degree angle to protect tender and vulnerable joints and hinges.
-
Pull books from the center of the spine and not from the delicate top (crown) of the spine.
-
Keep books straight and upright or lying flat, and work to prevent leaning that can damage them.
-
The answer is both “yes” and “no.”
-
In the event that you are seriously seeking a book for your library or collection, are considering something in our inventory, or are collaborating with us on growing the collection and its area, our specialist is available to work with you.
-
In the event that you have curiosity about rare books as an idea or rare books that you have simply found in the wild, we regret that we cannot assist. As a small company, we do not have the resources and are unable to provide research services to gratify general curiosity.
-
Other members of the rare book community are the deepest resource available to you. Booksellers come from such a range of backgrounds and hold knowledge in such diverse topics that talking with them at book fairs and other events can help you identify subject areas that fascinate you, people whom you can trust to locate and describe books for you, and the budgetary limits in which you need to operate.
Training programs are available for those who are seeking more formal jumpstarting. To that end we fully recommend CABS-Minnesota, which often has a range of scholarships available for their summer program. The ABAA (Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America) also has mentorship and training programs.
On a more general level, really think about what excites you about books and why. Whether you are collecting or selling, you will spend a vast amount of your mental energy and time thinking about the area you choose; it should be something that fulfills you and is personal, rather than guided by someone else’s notion of what counts as valuable or important.
