History on paper

Walsh said 56 dealers from across the U.S. and Canada will be selling at the event. The show continues to be popular in the age of online sales, he said, because collectors prefer to see the items for themselves.

While improving resources have addressed pricing and quality concerns in online shopping, buying a book in person still seems to be the preferred method for collectors of higher-end books. Collectors like the “visibility and touchability” of products, said Walsh, and they can find books and other ephemera that “they never knew existed.”

Some collectibles are brand new. The Historical Society of Greater Lansing is using the show to release its 38-page historical chapbook, “Assassination of Abraham Lincoln,” which is a reprint of a lecture given by Lt. Luther Byron Baker on the flight, pursuit, capture and death of John Wilkes Booth.

Baker was one of the men who led the 12-day manhunt that tracked down Booth and his co-conspirator, David Herold. Baker, who moved to Lansing shortly after the capture, used his portion of the reward money to invest in Lansing real estate. He toured extensively in the late 1800s with his beloved horse Buckskin, delivering the lecture throughout the country.

The chapbook is $5 and will be available at the show and at Curious Book Shop. It was edited by local historian Craig Whitford, who wrote the foreword and provided 19 rare images for the book. Whitford will sign the book during the Antiquarian Book Show.

To the best of his knowledge, Whitford said, this is the first time the lecture has been printed in its entirety. The reproduction was made from a family copy on loan to the Historical Society of Greater Lansing. He said there are only three other known copies of the lecture.

This year’s show, Walsh said, has a variety of sellers featuring everything from postcards to first editions of Hemingway and Fitzgerald books to sports programs and local history items. You can also expect to find books and ephemera relating to special literary or historical anniversaries, such as the 150th anniversary of “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.”

Walsh said many dealers have been stocking up on books relating to the Civil War and the Lincoln assassination, since April marks the 150th anniversary of both events.

Wally Jung of Haslett, known to many as “Postcard Wally,” said he will bring a collection of postcards featuring real photos from all over Michigan. Real photo postcards are black and white cards which became popular after the 1914 introduction of the Kodak Autographic Camera.

“Now is a really good time to get into collecting,” Jung said. “Dealers have dollar boxes crammed full of cards that used to be $3 and $4.”

Jung attributes this trend to aging dealers and fewer collectors.

“The (dealers) left standing have lots of cards,” he said.

Jung still sees a high demand for cards depicting old depots, downtown scenes and cards showing horse-drawn wagons with advertisements on the side.

He also has a secret.

“I carry a bundle of cards to give away to kids,” he said.

Janet O’Brien of Ageless Books, also of Haslett, has been selling books since 1998. She said she always looks forward to the Antiquarian Book & Paper Show.

“I love seeing the people and the books other people have,” she said.

O’Brien specializes in children’s books and books on history. She also has ephemera relating to hunting, cars and other Michigan topics.

“I have a wide range of prices, and I try to bring something for everybody,” she said.

This year, O’Brien plans to bring some original “Wizard of Oz” books, a version of “The Knave of Hearts” illustrated by Maxfield Parrish, a Sonja Henie program and the unusual “Narrative Sufferings in Rebel Military Prisons” from the Civil War era.

“Not something you’d want to read before going to bed,” O’Brien cautions.

A recent Wall Street Journal article about book collecting reported that the Strand Bookstore, an 88-year-old veteran of the used book business, still sees a strong collectible market for books and finds that younger collectors are entering the market. Most agree, however, that you should collect books for love, not money. Collectors rarely get a return on their investment.

61st Michigan Antiquarian Book & Paper Show

9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday, April 19 $5/FREE for children 13 and under Lansing Center 333 E. Michigan Ave., Lansing curiousbooks.com