A Collection Of Bookstores

Seattle is blessed with antiquarian bookstores - 81 are listed in the Yellow Pages - and there's a dedicated, growing core of collectors who will snap up books priced ``in the middle hundreds.''

But when it comes to selling really valuable books, dealers here agree that they have to look elsewhere for buyers.

``This is not a town for the really high-rollers in the antiquarian market, that is, the kind of collector with a big bankroll,'' says Russell Johanson, the owner of Ravenna Rare Books. ``But there are a lot of sales made in the $250 to $750 range.''

Johanson says a local book collector will occasionally buy a rarity for $10,000 to $25,000, ``but above that range, fairly thin on the ground.''

``We have to take really big books out of town to sell them,'' agrees W.O. Moye, who deals

privately from a stock of 40,000 books in his home (783-8103).

Moye says that the hobby of book collecting - or investing in rare books - has gone through significant changes since the 19th and early 20th centuries. Then, it largely was the province of wealthy professionals and businessmen or East Coast collectors with old family money.

Later in this century, dealers found a new market for valuable books and book collections in universities, museums and other large institutions. World War II changed that, however.

``In the late '40s and the '50s, flea markets grew in popularity, and a whole new class of folks became collectors, not necessarily the wealthy or well-educated,'' says Moye, who has sold used books in New England, California and, since 1978, in Seattle. ``There's a collector here who has the second-best golf-book collection I know of who's a longshoreman.

``The really avid collectors today are just ordinary guys who have this interest,'' says Moye. ``They're just not happy with their six-pack and the TV.''

Many of Seattle's most active book collectors and antiquarian dealers get together regularly at monthly dinner meetings of the Book Club of Washington, while a much larger segment is reached at the Seattle Antiquarian Book Fair, held biannually in October in the Flag Pavilion at Seattle Center. The event was organized last year by Jim Todd of Shorey's Bookstore, who says he probably will do so again in 1991.

``There were nearly 80 dealers at the last fair,'' says Todd, ``and we may be able to outdo that at the next one.'' He said opening night last year drew 2,500 people, while about 12,000 attended throughout the two-day event.

While some large antiquarian operations, such as Shorey's and the Seattle Book Center, sell books in a wide range of subjects, most are focused in narrower specialties, usually reflecting the interests of the bookseller. To give some idea of the range of possibilities, here's a limited selection of other used-book dealers in Seattle:

-- Bibelots & Books, 112 E. Lynn St. (329-6676): Specializes in children's books with a strong sideline in mysteries. The shop also deals in American art pottery from the 1930s through '70s.

-- Bowie & Weatherford, 314 First Ave. S. (624-4100): One of Seattle's newest antiquarian bookstores is a classy Pioneer Square shop that handles general-interest out-of-print and rare books.

-- Gregor Books, 3407 California Ave. S.W. (937-6223): An outpost in West Seattle that deals in quality literature, Western Americana and belles lettres.

-- Helen Harte, 6225 51st St. N.E. (526-5284): This private bookseller, who meets collectors by appointment only, deals in books of Irish interest.

-- Seattle Mystery Bookshop, 117 Cherry St. (587-5737): Another newly opened bookstore, this one specializes in whodunits, detective fiction, thrillers and true-crime books.

-- David Ishii, Bookseller, 212 First Ave. S. (622-4719): A small and inviting shop that is a favorite among book lovers who share the owner's passion for fly fishing. Here's where to look for that first edition of Haig-Brown's ``The River Never Sleeps''; also strong in Asian Americana.

-- Left Bank Books, 92 Pike St. (622-0195): A welcome refuge in the Pike Place Market for fans of contemporary literature and radical politics.

-- Flora & Fauna, 121 First Ave. S. (623-4727): A fine collection of books about nature, including birds, botany, geology and gardening. Seattle dealer Robert Mattila, who specializes in Alaskana, polar regions and music, also operates out of this space.

-- Michael Hildebrand, 1707 N.W. 60th St. (782-7794): This private dealer, who operates by appointment, deals in books about science, medicine, Americana, and wine and food.

-- Arkadian Bookshop, 5232 University Way N.E. (522-6575): Specialties are new, used and rare science fiction, fantasy and horror fiction.

-- Jane's Books, 12348 Lake City Way N.E. (362-1766): A fine collection of cookbooks, with more than 3,000 titles.

-- Horizon Books, 425 15th Ave. E. (329-3586): A wide-ranging general, all-purpose used-book store.