Appledore Books – Waccabuc NY – CUNY Rare Book Scholars

Bryan and Christine Bilby are the owners of Appledore Books in Waccabuc, just north of NYC. They used to own two successful bookstores in San Francisco before moving to New York. Bryan joined the Antiquarian Bookseller’s Association of America in 2004, and has been exhibiting since then at the annual rare book fairs in New York, Boston and California. Mrs. Bilby is trained in library studies and works as an archivist in the Storm King Art Center in Orange County. They travel to different book shows, auctions and fairs and go online to both sell and buy books, and stated that New York is their favorite place for the book fair because of energy of both the people and place. There are three major topics that Mrs. Bilby and I discussed: niches in the book world, “the hunt”, and the people in the book collecting world.

Niches are the specific area in which a book collector, or book seller specializes in, and this is mainly for two different reasons, one being that being very specific allows the book collector to be very fastidious when making a choice, thereby preserving the bank account. The other reason, one which Christine also mentioned, is that a brand is created, as in a certain bookseller or collector is known for a very specific collection. In the case of Appledore Books, Christine and Bryan are “generalists,” as in they do not have a very specific niche, choosing instead to have a more “eclectic collection,” but nevertheless honing in on children’s, art photography, literature, history, chess and sports books. They say that they prefer the variety and enjoy not conforming to a standard niche, and while it might be harder to establish themselves as a seller of specific books, the diversity is more appealing to them and their customers.

Furthermore, Christine talks about “the Hunt” for books, and how it is quite addictive and fun once a person has been inducted into the book selling and collecting world. The finding of a rare book, manuscript, letter or other document is quite amazing, and therefore the market value of such items is still quite high. Sometimes, what happens is that a person may not realize the value of the book that they hold with them, either from lack of knowledge, or from a “storage situation,” as Christine explained, because the owner may have passed away or put an item into storage. The people who handle it after perhaps do not understand the significance as a book scout would. Christine goes on to say that this is why it is best to view private collections as “having access to that is kind of a privilege, like I always see it as provenance, like you get to know somebody through their stuff.” This also respects the person who owns the collection, as a private viewing instead of a public auction is more likely to help the person who may not know as much, as well as help them move on. Overall, the Hunt is one of the reasons the book world is so interesting and why so many people enter it.

Lastly, Christine talks about the book world itself, and how the connections with the people, the fairs, the thrill of finding a rare source and much more demonstrate that it is quite an exhilarating field to be in. She states that “people who are drawn to it are quite special too” and that to be attracted to this rich world of rare books show a certain character to a person. There are also “a lot of different styles, a lot of different ways to do books, so you can find your way.” Thus each group can really work with their preference and what type they prefer, some more “show gung-ho” than others, and some preferring to just do online transactions. Any way that is chosen, still requires a penchant for books and their value. In the case of the owners of Appledore Books, Christine and Bryan Bilby do not have a personal collection anymore because according to Mrs. Bilby, “becoming dealers made us more aware of buying and selling,” and so at some point everything in their house is for sale. Therefore, while the book world attracts the more whimsical person, it still allows for growth and diversity in its implementation.

In conclusion, the Rare Book World is filled with extraordinary people, events and of course, books. There is so much to learn from individuals like Christine, about the specificities of this, both as a market and a research based profession, but even a small glimpse has been truly magical.

https://www.appledorebookshop.com/