It is difficult to overstate how large the trade in rare books was [in the 1920s and 30s] or how many people depended on it. The antiquarian book trade now is a niche industry that caters to a very small percentage of the American buying public. But in 1930, the trade, particularly in Manhattan, did a lot of business--and received a corresponding amount of press coverage. The New York Times Book Review had a section in each issue called "Notes on Rare Books." More than just "notes," this regular column was roughly 1,500 words of rare book boosterism, reporting on auctions, major acquisitions, the state of the trade, and the health of individual businesses...And in addition to the display advertisements throughout each issue, the Book Review had a full page of classified advertisements for dozens of local booksellers, buying and selling rare and antiquarian books. Publishers Weekly also offered excellent coverage of the antiquarian book trade.
Travis McDade, Thieves of Book Row: New York's Most Notorious Rare Book Ring and the Man Who Stopped It, 2013
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