Many people have a pretty romantic notion of running a rare book shop: they imagine that we come in to work each day, grab a favorite book (and a cup...

A block north of Colorado Boulevard at the northwest corner of Pasadena’s Union Street and Arroyo Parkway stands Whitmore Rare Books.

If you’ve never noticed it, don’t fret — it’s...

A dog-eared punk zine flutters near a vellum-bound folio. An out-of-print tome sits beside a scribbled screenplay. This last weekend, Rare Books L.A. transformed Union Station’s historic ticket hall into...

Antiquarian book dealer Dan Whitmore began his career as an attorney. The Pasadena native graduated with a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania and worked at the prestigious law...

Jane Marcet wasn’t a chemist. She wasn’t a physicist or a biologist or an astronomer – but she probably made a bigger contribution to science than anyone else in the...

In my hands I held a copy of “Les Fleurs du Mal,” by Charles Baudelaire, certainly one of the most famous books of French poetry. And it was not just...

TOMES features a look at 25 artist books from the 1970s and 1980s, emphasizing the works’ poetic and emotional message.

These unique works challenge the notion of the book beyond...

May 18, Saturday, 3-4 p.m., Vroman’s Bookstore, courtyard

Great independent bookstores deserve our admiration—and our money. They host readings with famous and up-and-coming authors, provide a space to meet and...

Podcast: 

Rockwell Kent was on my mind owing to our new spring issue’s feature story about the time when Rockwell Kent, Rex Stout, and Egmont Arens teamed up to publish Casanova’s memoir...

We interviewed Annie Locke Scherer '08, Mackenzie Sikora '13, and Dan Whitmore '99, to learn more about the rewards and challenges of their work, as well as how they are...

Every year, the arrival of the Armory Show sets New York City buzzing with satellite fairs, art parties, events, and more. Among the shows not to miss is the New York...

How is a bibliophile made? How is it that a seemingly reasonable person decides to surround himself/herself with books, beautiful books that clutter whatever space is available as though it’s...

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Recently, a new trend has emerged, with the five ABAA members below opening new stores or significantly expanding their existing ones. 

Whitmore Rare Books (Pasadena, CA)

Whitmore Rare...

Written 10 years before the book that defined the Beat Generation, appeal for a $25 sub is now on sale in California for $22,500

He may have been the godfather...

Rare book dealers sometimes appear as characters in movies and novels -- but what do they really do? Dan Whitmore and Miranda Garno Nesler of Whitmore Rare Books open the...

What could be more mysterious than a book? Even the authors sometimes don’t know where one comes from.

USC professor Percival Everett has written 30 of them, and he told...

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dan Whitmore.

Dan, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I founded Whitmore Rare Books...

Dan Whitmore is a book dealer in southern California.  He is 35 and never experienced the halcyon days of bookselling two decades ago.  He was in high school then and...

It is often said that all of literature can be derived from only seven stories. If that’s true, then the seeds of Dan Whitmore’s dream business—a rare- book dealership based...

You can almost always find a corresponding book to someone’s interests – with a little help from our friends at Whitmore Rare Books. Whitmore is a luxury rare book specialist...

I am a reader. I loved reading literature from an early age and realized during college, that I didn’t have the time to read all the books that I wanted...