THE CHANGING RARE BOOK TRADE, 1950–2000

The changes that have transformed the American rare book trade over the past fifty years have been welcomed by some but have daunted others. Due largely to the introduction and almost universal acceptance of computerization, along with major economic shifts, so-called reforms in education, and advances in the technology of travel, the results are apparent in the altered relations among the triumvirate of rare book dealer, collector, and librarian, as well as in their attitude toward their quarry. The traditional sources of supply and the markets for distribution have suffered a sea change. Yet, despite all this, the trade of . . .