Book dealers and bibliophiles from all over the world will attend the 46th annual Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair taking place Nov. 8-10 at the Hynes Convention Center.
And this year, there’s special attention on the category of women’s books.
“Not only are more women collecting books, they’re writing books, they’re researching books ... there’s a major expansion,” said Ken Gloss, owner of the Brattle Book Shop and past president of the New England Chapter of the Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America.
Gloss said rare book finds at the fair include topics long overlooked: women’s history; LGBTQ+ literature, such as a gay guide to New York City from the 1960s; and African American history books.
“A lot of these areas are the areas that are collected now. They’re not the items that you can find in every library and they’re trying to build it up,” Gloss said.
The fair includes a range of talks on Saturday and Sunday. Lisa Fagin Davis from Simmons University and the Medieval Academy of America will lead a discussion on medieval women as authors, scribes, artists and readers. Ruth Rogers, curator of special collections at Wellesley College, will speak about what universities need to collect. Dick Johnson, curator from the Sports Museum, will address how to get a great sports memorabilia collection on a budget. And there’s plenty more.
Friday night is opening night and the weekend includes a Boston book fair tour, where attendees will have the opportunity to learn about the book trade, best practices and other book trade members.
The fair hosts more than 100 dealers in one room from 19 U.S. states, seven European countries, and Canada.
Julie Roper, executive producer of the Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair, said it’s like walking into a museum with behind-the-scenes access.
“There are one-of-a-kind items, not just books, but also original artwork, ephemera — which is anything short-lived or transitory, think tickets or an event program, and things like that,” she said.
Roper said the book fair offers something for everyone. There are items into the millions of dollars, but also items less than $100. The event program includes a listing of dealers in all of the specialties.
“If you’re looking for first editions or children’s books, cookbooks or art, we tell you where you can find them, which dealers to go to,” said Roper. “We make it super easy to navigate the fair.”
You can listen to GBH radio’s Henry Santoro interview with Ken Gloss by clicking the “listen” button at the top of this article.
The 46th annual Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair takes place Nov. 8-10, at the Hynes Convention Center (Hall A), 900 Boylston St., Boston. Admission is $25 for the opening night event, and free both Saturday and Sunday.
