Thursday, May 15, 2008

MICHAEL SHARPE RARE BOOK STORE IN PASADENA

Michael Sharpe Rare Books
The Heritage Book Shop story continues (see previous post here):
From Mike Garabedian
As is true of the larger antiquarian book trade the rare book business in Los Angeles is certainly in a period of transition, and many brick-and-mortar shops have indeed fallen by the wayside, the latest being Heritage Book Shop. However, there is at least one new dealer who intends to capitalize upon this attrition. By summer's end LA businessman, philanthropist, and bibliophile Michael Sharpe will launch Michael Sharpe Rare and Antiquarian Books at 569 S. Marengo Avenue in Pasadena, 91101
Staffed by former Heritage employees, including Nat Des Marais and Mike Garabedian, initially the shop will boast an inventory worth $10 million. The stock will derive largely from Mr. Sharpe's personal library (he was a Heritage customer), and will include holdings in voyages and travels, science and natural history, literature, fine printing, Western Americana, and books from Printing and the Mind of Man.
Also noteworthy, somewhat soothing, and of aesthetic importance in a bustling and impersonal city like Los Angeles is the fact that Sharpe Books will be open to the public at one of the handful of homes on the National Historical Register -- a beautiful, two-story Craftsman home that was once the residence of Pasadena hotel magnate Colonel G.G. Green. This fact, combined with a stock that will be be second-to-none, indicates that this new concern will go a long way to fill the "large void" created by the closure of the grand old dame on Melrose Avenue . . .

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