Book collecting is the collecting of books, including seeking, locating, acquiring, organizing, cataloging, displaying, storing, and maintaining whatever books are of interest to a given collector. The love of books is bibliophilia, and someone who loves to read, admire, and a person who collects books is often called a bibliophile but can also be known as an bibliolater, meaning being overly devoted to books, or a bookman which is another term for a person who has a love of books.
Bookselling is the commercial trading of books which is the retail and distribution end of the publishing process.
The Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America (ABAA) is an organization in the United States for dealers in rare and antiquarian books. The association is a member of the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB).
The International League of Antiquarian Booksellers is a non-profit umbrella organization of bookseller associations, with its legal location in Geneva, Switzerland. It federates 22 National Associations of Antiquarian Booksellers, representing nearly 2000 dealers in 32 countries. Antiquarian booksellers affiliated to the League adhere to the ILAB Code of Ethics, and the League aims to server as a global network for the rare book trade.
The Antiquarian Booksellers' Association (ABA) is the senior trade body in the Ireland and Great Britain for dealers in antiquarian and rare books, manuscripts and allied materials. The ABA organises a number of book fairs every year including its flagship fair held at Olympia, London in May, which features exhibitors from all around the world, and the Chelsea Antiquarian Book Fair in November. Fairs are held in Edinburgh in March and Bristol in July in conjunction with the Provincial Book Fairs Association. The ABA sponsors the London Rare Books School, the York Antiquarian Book Seminar, and a series of seminars at the University of London. The ABA Office is located on Bell Yard, off Fleet Street and next to the Royal Courts of Justice.
Attic Books is one of Canada's largest independent used bookstores in London, Ontario, Canada. It specializes in antiquarian books, maps, prints, and ephemera.
The Antiquarian Booksellers Association of Austria, formed in 1949, includes those Austrian antiquarian booksellers who exclusively or primarily buy and sell antiquarian books, magazines, prints, autograph letters or music.
La Chambre Professionelle Belge de la Librairie Ancienne et Moderne (CLAM)/Belgische Beroepskamer van Antiquaren (BBA), is the Belgian professional chamber of antiquarian booksellers.
The Antiquarian Booksellers Association of Japan (ABAJ) was established in November 1964 by ten major antiquarian booksellers from Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto. Japan was experiencing an unprecedented economic growth at the time and Japanese collectors, scholars, and curators were avidly selling and purchasing rare material domestically and internationally. The ABAJ was founded with the aim of developing the Japanese antiquarian book trade to meet an increasingly global age. In 1965, the ABAJ became a member of the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers. Since then, the ABAJ has grown to include thirty members.
The Antiquarian Booksellers Association of Korea (ABAK), the national antiquarian book association of Korea, was founded in 1989 and joined the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers in 1990 during the Tokyo Congress, thus becoming its 18th member.
Nederlandsche Vereeniging van Antiquaren (NVvA), the Dutch antiquarian booksellers' association, was founded in 1935 with the object of promoting reliability in the trade of old books and prints.
Vereinigung der Buchantiquare und Kupferstichhändler in der Schweiz (VEBUKU), the antiquarian booksellers association of Switzerland, was founded in 1939 and has been a member of the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB) since 1947.
The Associazione dei Librai Antiquari d'Italia (ALAI), the national antiquarian book association of Italy, was founded in 1947 as Circolo dei Librai Antiquari.
Johannes Philippus de Lignamine was a Sicilian printer/publisher and tax collector from Messina active at Monte Cassino near Rome and a courtier to Pope Sixtus IV. He is best known for his publication of Herbarium Apuleii Platonici in 1481.
Swann Galleries is a New York City auction house founded in 1941. It is a specialist auctioneer of antique and rare works on paper, and it is considered the oldest continually operating New York specialist auction house.
Hoepli Editore is an Italian publishing house and bookstore based in Milan founded in 1870 by Swiss bookseller Ulrico Hoepli. Born in 1847 in the village of Tuttwil, at the age of 23 Hoepli moved to Milan to take over the family's bookshop in Galleria De Cristoforis, a shopping mall built in 1832 between Corso Vittorio Emanuele and Via Monte Napoleone in the centre of the city. Following an urban development plan, the gallery was demolished in 1931 and replaced by new buildings where the Hoepli bookshop was given a spot in the same area where it was originally located. Over the years, Hoepli significantly expanded its premises. With over 500,000 book titles spread over six floors, Hoepli has established itself as one of Europe's largest bookstores. Both the store and the publishing house are still owned by the Hoepli family.
Biblio is a privately owned international online marketplace specializing in rare and collectible books.
The Monkey's Paw is an independent used bookstore in Toronto, Ontario, Canada known for its eclectic, arcane, and absurd books, and for the Biblio-Mat, a random book vending machine.
Robert Frew is an antiquarian bookseller, founder of Robert Frew Ltd, a past president of the Antiquarian Booksellers Association (2005–2007) and a former chairman of the London International Antiquarian Book Fair (2009–2010), Britain's premier antiquarian book fair held annually at the Olympia Exhibition Centre, London. Frew is also the founder of London-based shipping and logistics company RF Shipping.
