The Oak Knoll store-front is unfortunately closed to the public until further notice.

All of our inventory is available online for shipping or contactless pick-up, and we welcome the opportunity to answer any questions you may have!

Welcome to Oak Knoll

Welcome to the Oak Knoll website, home of Oak Knoll Press, publisher, and Oak Knoll Books, rare and out-of print bookseller. Our database contains the world's largest inventory of books about books and bibliography. Please sign in for advanced features. We want to hear from you, so please email any questions or comments.

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September Sale: 50% Off Select Titles on Watermarks

Sale ends September 30, 2023
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A New Publication from Oak Knoll Press!

I GIVE THESE BOOKS
THE HISTORY OF YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY, 1656-2022
by David Alan Richards

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Check out featured titles in the PDF Catalogue...

Download the PDF Catalogue

About Philadelphia Rare Books & Manuscripts Company...

Philadelphia Rare Books & Manuscripts Company was founded in 1984 by David Szewczyk and Cynthia Buffington. Szewczyk, born and raised in Philadelphia, developed a passion for the art of the book as a physical object after meeting Lilly Library librarian David Randall while a graduate student at Indiana University. After receiving a post-graduate degree from the University of Texas, Szewczyk returned to Philadelphia to work in the Rosenbach Museum from 1972 to 1979. In 1979, Szewczyk began dabbling in bookselling, working for the bookseller George H. Allen at William H. Allen, Bookseller. At the time, educator Cynthia Buffington was also working for George Allen, helping to modernize the business by incorporating computer databases as part of her dissertation. It was through this work that Buffington became involved in antiquarian bookselling and "the books 'won,'" she says. Szewczyk and Buffington partnered together to create the Philadelphia Rare Books & Manuscripts Company in 1984. PRB&M would go on to specialize in rare, early Americana books and manuscripts, as well as a variety of other subjects, while also providing professional appraisals for noted private and institutional collections. Oak Knoll Books is proud to have purchased the reference library of such a prestigious bookseller as PRB&M.

 

Now Available for Immediate Order!
Third Printing, with Corrections

The Private Library
The History of the Architecture and Furnishings of the Domestic Bookroom
by Reid Byers

Read the article 'How Many Books Does It Take to Make a Place Feel Like Home?' from the New York Times, featuring The Private Library and an interview with author Reid Byers!

In this book, Mr. Byers examines with a sardonic eye the historical influences that have shaped the architecture of the private library, and the furnishings, amenities, and delightful anachronisms that make the mortal room into what Borges so famously called Paradise.

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Featured Books

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