April Fools! It's Rare Book Cafe fun this Saturday!

This Saturday, April 1, Rare Book Cafe stirs the coffee cups with another exhibitor at this year’s Florida Antiquarian Book Fair, Kurt Sanftleben of Read ‘Em Again Books. A member of the American and international associations of antiquarian book dealers, Sanftleben has made a uniue niche for himself in the field of “personal histories”- journals, diaries, letters and other ephemera “that tell a story.”

Here’s how Read ‘Em Again describes itself:

Read’Em Again Books is actually just me and my wife. My name is Kurt Sanftleben, and my wife's name is Gail. 

We first started buying and selling collectible books in 1992 as a hobby.  At the time I was on active duty, serving as an Army officer at the joint command located in Norfolk, Virginia, and Gail was working as a Navy civilian at the regional Healthcare Support Office.  After I retired from the military, we moved to Northern Virginia when I accepted a dual-hatted civilian position as the Director of the Marine Corps Research Center and a Vice President at the Marine Corps University, and Gail became the Deputy Director for DoD/VA partnerships at the Office of the Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs.  Although we are both now completely retired from our day jobs--we are still selling books. 

After we jumped on the eBay bandwagon in 1999, our book sales increased considerably, and we decided to open an on-line store and start selling at regional book fairs and antique shows. We now do about twelve to fifteen fairs or shows each year, primarily within the Atlantic Coast region, and Read'Em Again Books is an eBay Top-Rated Seller. Although we don't have a brick-and-mortar store, we do have a booth in an antique mall in Fredericksburg, Virginia. 

Our memberships in professional trade organizations include the Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America (ABAA), the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB), the Independent On-Line Booksellers Association (IOBA), the Manuscript Society, the Ephemera Society of America, the American Philatelic Society (APS), the U. S. Philatelic Classics Society, and the Military Postal History Society (MPHS). 

We often get asked if Read’Em Again Books has a "specialty." The truth is that there really isn’t one in the traditional sense. We buy and sell things we like. Generally that includes most Americana (especially unique items--such as diaries, journals, correspondence collections, photograph albums, etc.--that tell a interesting personal narrative) as well as hard-to-find titles in children’s series, photoplays, fairy tales, illustrated books, pop-ups and movable books, scouting items, and unusual non-fiction, especially baseball and other sports, cooking, and military. We also have  trade cards, postcards, stereoviews, billheads, advertising covers, maps, prints, and other assorted ephemera available for sale.  Additionally, we buy and sell some other collectibles--primarily antique children's toys and games, breweriana, and tobacciana. 

We welcome telephone calls, but you’ll probably get to us faster by sending an email message to info@read-em-again.com.

How to contact them:

We pride ourselves on our availability. Call or e-mail us anytime to discuss how we can help you with your web presence. If you miss us, please leave a message and phone number so we can return your call immediately. 

Read'Em Again Books
4393 Kevin Walker Dr., #107
Montclair, VA 22025
Phone: 703-580-6946 

Email: info@read-em-again.com

Read ‘Em Again also has a fine website, and pages on Facebook and Pinterest.

Rare Book Cafe is sponsored by the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair. It’s broadcast every Saturday from 2.30 to 3.30 pm EDT and features interviews, panel discussion and stuff you can learn about book collecting whether you are a regular at Sotheby’s or just someone who likes books.

The program airs live on Rare Book Cafe’s and the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair’s Facebook page; the Book Fair Blog, and the Book Fairs YouTube channel. Shows are archived on YouTube and can also be viewed on the Facebook pages and the blog after their first run.

Hosted by Miami book dealer, appraiser and WDBFRadio.com’s Bucks on the Bookshelf radio show creator Steven Eisenstein, the program features a revolving set of cohosts and regular guests including Thorne Donnelley of Liberty Book Store in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida; Lindsay Thompson of Charlotte’s Henry Bemis Books; miniature books expert Edie Eisenstein; and program creator/producer T. Allan Smith.

Rare Book Cafe program encourages viewer participation via its interactive features and video: if you've got an interesting book, join the panel and show it to us! If you’d like to ask the team a question or join us in the virtually live studio audience for the program, write us at rarebookcafe@gmail.com.