Show History

The show started in 1985 when a stamp and coin show at the armory on Washington Avenue had extra space available.

Allen and Penny Crabtree of Eaton Rapids and Ray Walsh of East Lansing decided to add books to the show.

During the first year, there were only 30 exhibitors, but the show quickly became popular and expanded, first moving to the Lansing Civic Center and then to the Lansing Center.

Today, the show that started on a whim is one of the biggest of its kind in the United States and is the largest book and paper show in the Midwest.

It’s even been listed in the Wall Street Journal’s Futures and Options Column.