The ABAA is pleased to announce the 2013 recipients of the Edwin Glaser Scholarships to the Colorado Antiquarian Booksellers' Seminar: Rebecca Bott (Botolphston Books), Lawrence Hammar (Blue Jacket Books), and Zachary Stacy (Books-O-Rama). Congratulations!
Rebecca Bott offered an extensive background in antiquarian books and manuscripts. She worked as a student assistant at her university's rare book and manuscript library, earned an MLIS degree and has catalogued texts and manuscripts for private collectors and institutions. Presently living in Cambridge, Massachusetts, she recently established Botolphston Books, with stock in early printed material. She noted in her essay: "my discussions with booksellers have confirmed that an appreciation for, or even a deep knowledge of books is not enough to make one a good bookseller. The antiquarian book trade is a business, and a complex one."
Lawrence (Larry) Hammar came to bookselling as a later profession. His Blue Jacket Books in Xenia, Ohio is a general antiquarian bookstore with social sciences and humanities as a strong focus. The bookstore is now in its third location, having outgrown one and then forced into a third after a flood. He has needed resilience to keep Blue Jacket Books going. His ambition is to make Blue Jacket a better store and himself a more knowledgeable bookman and businessman. As he wrote, "We don’t have any money, but we have more space, seemingly boundless energy, and a lot of community good will."
Zachary Stacy, the youngest of the three recipients, is the owner of the Fort Worth-based "Book-O-Rama." In and around working as a part-time boutique grocery store clerk and volunteer repertory film programmer, he is building his nascent firm's stock and profile. He and his partner exhibited at a book fair for the first time at The Austin Book and Paper Show this January: "we were the youngest exhibitors, and our stock — heavy in transgressive literature—was pretty unique in Texana paradise." His goal is to apply again in four years as a prospective ABAA member.
As the diversity of the recipients' background and businesses suggest, this year's pool had a number of talented and well-qualified applicants. The trustees had committed to giving two scholarships. Given the quality of the applicants, we decided to award three. We could have given six. Our thanks to those who support the Elisabeth Woodburn Educational Fund, with special thanks to the Southeast Chapter members and "Friendship Dinner" participants who made the third CABS scholarship possible. We hope such initiatives will continue.
-The Benevolent & Woodburn Fund Trustees: Sarah Baldwin, Stuart Bennett and John Thomson