End of another era

Serendipity Books is changing ownership. Peter Howard is leaving the business.

None of this is news to the bookseller community. For those outside that community, in short, Serendipity Books is recognized as one of the pinnacle examples of its kind in North America.

Times have been hard on archivists, so we take work where we can get it; we love what we do so we tend to orbit around "old" or "unique" or "fragile" stuff, be it books, photographs, maps, letters or postcards. It's how I ended up working for an antiquarian bookseller myself. It's how I found out about Serendipity Books.

During my two-and-a-half-hour visit, I heard Peter explaining a bit about what was going on: someone, and it certainly sounded like Peter didn't know or care who, had called up after finding the store online. The someone said they wanted to buy out the store. Peter put them in touch with his lawyers, and has washed his hands of the rest of the negotiations. He had no idea whether the new owners intended to keep him around or give him the boot, and he didn't seem to care either way. He'd even cherry-picked some of the genre's, spiriting away the best for his family members.

Even with Peter's awkward nonchalance and the knowledge that the collection held few if any true gems, it was worth the visit. It is a true misfortune that it was my first visit, as it was also my last. New ownership means change, and no matter how necessary or well-meaning the change is, it will destroy the fragile, organic collection that has been carefully and strategically cultivated over decades. I could have spent days there.

I snapped a few pictures while I was there. Click here if you'd like to take a look.