Welcome!
Bibliomania is an antiquarian bookshop located in the heart of Schenectady, NY. "Where browsers are always welcome" was our motto when we first opened in September, 1981, and we extend this invitation to you, our online customer. Our site is updated almost every day, making a stop here the next best thing to visiting the shop.
September 1st, 2007 - 26 years! On the
Friday before Labor Day in 1981 we officially opened our doors for business, so
we are declaring this day to mark our 26th anniversary. There have been ups and
downs, but it has always been a pleasure doing business, and I still look
forward to going to the shop every day. We have many fine
customers who have been with us since we opened, but whether you have purchased
books from us for years or are ordering from us for the first time, we
appreciate the opportunity to serve your needs for books, autographs, and
ephemera. Thank you!
Visit Us! Even if we say
this web site is almost as good as our store, you will find much more if you visit our shop.
Only a fraction of our inventory is - or ever will be - on the web. We have thousands of books in all fields for readers and collectors, as well as autographs,
maps, ephemera, photographs, and more. Click here for
directions; we plan to have a map soon, but we are easy to find in the heart of
downtown Schenectady.
Catalog No. 107 is available! (see below)
A new ordering system! We are almost finished setting up a new shopping cart system to permit fast, safe, and secure orders via Paypal. You can use your credit card safely even if you do not have a Paypal account, too. It is a time-consuming process creating the shopping cart, but every day more categories are completed, and everything should be done in the next few days. In the meantime - and always - you can call us concerning any items not yet listed. This should eliminate any ordering problems you may have had in the past, and we look forward to completing this new improvement in our service.
To check our online stock, please
check the site map above or start with one of these categories:
HIGHLIGHTS
View some of our most interesting items - new and improved format. More than forty items, and
more to come.
BOOKS Books in more than twenty categories
AUTOGRAPHS Signatures, letters, and documents, American & international
MAPS American and foreign historical maps
ART Original paintings, prints, drawings, and posters - and a new page for Marbled Paper!
PHOTOGRAPHS Historical images of the Adirondacks and elsewhere
EPHEMERA Historical and cultural paper items, advertising, sheet music, broadsides, and unusual paper items
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS Guitars, mandolins, violins, and other stringed instruments for sale
CURRENT CATALOG
View our current mail-order catalog online
What's New?
As always, we have been adding some new books, autographs, and ephemera, and you might also see a price reduction or two. As much as we love these things, we want to see others own them. No prices in color or bold print, but you will find some lowered prices in every category.
For years we have sold books in our shop, by mail-order catalogs, at shows, and on this web site, but we have finally faced the modern era and started listing some of our books on Abebooks.com. Check our listings at www.abebooks.com/home/bookhunter52 Those listings will include some books not found on this web site (although they are in our shop). It's another way to serve our customers. We now also take payments through Paypal in addition to VISA, Mastercard, and of course the usual cash, check, or money order.
Would a picture help? Many
customers have requested scans or photos of items listed on our site when
considering a purchase. If you haven't thought of it, please ask; we can
usually e-mail a photo or scan of almost any item to you in a day or so.
We are almost finished setting up a new online ordering
and payment system with a shopping cart to eliminate lost and misdirected
orders. In the meantime, feel free to give us a call if you find something of
interest.
What is my old book worth? We get that question a lot, and while we do not appraise items we cannot personally examine, we can try to answer some of your questions. If you live near Albany, NY, Bill Healy, Bibliomania's owner, periodically gives a one-night seminar on that subject for the Knowledge Network (www.knowledgenetwork.org). The next class will be on Wednesday, May 21, 2008. Check their web site for enrollment information.
Serving the book community
Last September
we celebrated our 26th year in business - we never doubted it
would happen when we opened, but our business has developed over the years in
ways we never imagined. One of my first
equipment purchases was a good typewriter to produce catalogs. I never dreamed
of using a computer, and could not even conceive of the internet or a web site.
We are still first and foremost a real book shop, though, open Monday through Saturday from 12
noon
to 5 pm (and until 9 pm most Thursdays). Since not everyone can make it to
Schenectady, you can view some of our best offerings on this site. These are only some of our better items; in the evening, when I
update the site, I am surprised at the number of good books we have sold that do
not appear on these pages. I'm working as fast as I can, however.
We were once featured in an article in
The Capital District Business Review,
where an editorial called us "the internet done
right." As I struggle with computer
glitches and other problems I have my doubts,
but we will try to make your internet experience with us as pleasant as
a visit to our shop.
What we sell
Bibliomania offers a wide selection of good used books in
most fields, as well as first and rare editions of literature and
Americana. Bibliomania is particularly
well known for its books and materials on the Adirondack Mountains and New York
State history.
We usually have strong holdings in literature, photography, music, biographies, and books about books. In the past few years this store has also acquired some interesting autographs, trade cards, photographs, pamphlets, prints, bookplates, illustrations, and other antiques & ephemera. Our stock changes daily, and while some of our best offerings will appear online, visitors will always find something new in the shop. Only a small portion of our stock is available here, but we try to add new items every day.
Bill
Healy, the owner, is the author of two books, The Adirondacks: A Special World (Utica: North Country Books, 1986, 1998) and The High Peaks of Essex: The Adirondack Mountains
of Orson Schofield Phelps (Fleischmanns: Purple Mountain Press, 1992).
Inside Bibliomania: For a closer look click on any photo
below.
CATALOG No. 107 is now available! It has been mailed, or you can get a
look on this site. If you are not on our mailing list or do not receive one
in the next few days, please e-mail us to receive a copy -
or click here to view our last catalog now.
This is also the first online listing with a shopping cart, so you can order
immediately if you find something of interest. In addition to this
site and our shop, we issue fairly regular catalogs in various
subjects. In 2002, we reached our longtime goal of issuing one per month, and
have mostly continued the practice in 2003, 2004, and 2005. To request a copy, please e-mail your address to
us at info@rare-books.com
We may still have copies of some past catalogs available on request. Many
items have been sold, of course, but some very fine ones are still in stock. You
will usually find them on this web site, since available items are listed in
their appropriate subject categories.
Please feel free to order on line with us or send us your
order. You can still call and talk to us on the telephone as always, but our order page is
now ready for orders with your VISA or MasterCard. We are also happy to accept payments by Paypal,
especially from international customers (it seems to work best of any method).
Information can be found on our order form.
Links:
THE STRING DUSTERS
American acoustic music; bluegrass, country, and more. Check our schedule and
other musical activities. Always up-to-date.
THE LOCKHART MOUNTAIN BOYS
Traditional bluegrass ad acoustic country music.
Books are not our only business - for a unique
product to pick up your
tennis game, go to
www.tennispocket.com
For portraits and weddings please try In the Moment Photography
******
Visit Us
In the age of the Internet, many people think that every item
in a store is online. All the items on this site are not even 10% of our
total stock, and many fine items are only available to those who visit our
store. A collector stopped by recently, and I realized that none of the fifteen
really interesting items he purchased were on our site. We are not trying to
keep things from you, but many books never get listed online, even when they have been
in the shop for a while. It's
usually worth a visit if you are passing by Schenectady - we are just a short distance
from the New York State Thruway (Interstate Route 90), perfect for buying books
and a quick lunch.
Thank you for visiting!
