Bibliophiles delight in 'smallest' book fair

“It’s like a spring fix for bibliomaniacs,” said organizer Wilfrid De Freitas, who characterized turnout at this year’s event as “slow but steady.”

The fair was held in the Selwyn House gym, which was curtained off to create a smaller, more intimate space for the dealers, who formed short aisles of tables and bookshelves. Unlike a book sale, typically held by an organization to raise money, a book fair brings together an assortment of dealers, each of whom rent separate tables and maintain their own stock. “It’s like going to so many little bookshops, all in one place,” said De Freitas. “Many of these exhibitors don’t have a shop; the only place you’ll see their stock is at the Westmount fair. For the exhibitors, it’s a good place to meet the public, and for the public to meet you.”

A wide range of goods was available at the Westmount Book Fair, including prints, posters, and even reading lights. One dealer specialised in old maps. De Freitas and Ravdin themselves were showcasing 19th century documents, including grants of nobility and official pardons.

The books at the fair were of all sorts, including fiction from G.K. Chesterton to D.H. Lawrence, as well as vintage non-fiction, biography, and picture books. One dealer displayed old children’s books, as well as a set of miniature editions of Shakespeare’s plays. Canadian books seemed to predominate; one dealer had an 1875 history of Montreal on sale for $1,250. “It’s very convenient,” observed De Freitas. “It's easy on the shoe leather, and you can find books you didn’t know you needed.”

The spring book fair has been held at Selwyn House for 10 years, after six at Victoria Hall. “It was very successful from the first time it was held,” said De Freitas. “You could tell people wanted to come to it. Initially it was supposed to be a regional fair for the Montreal area, but things developed, and now it has dealers from Ontario… We advertise it as the smallest book fair in Canada. Everybody wants to be biggest, we want to be smallest!”