Questions about the collection, appraisals, or the trade? Reach out below.
Randall House was based in Santa Barbara, California, for the greater part of its life. Although the bookshop has closed, enquiries about the house, its former stock, or the antiquarian book trade in general are welcome. Please use the form below and we will do our best to point you in the right direction.
Before You Write
Many questions are answered elsewhere on this site, and a moment spent browsing may save you a message. If you are curious about how the house valued books, see Our Services, which describes appraisals, the want-list search service, and auction representation as the firm practiced them. If you are thinking of parting with a book or a collection, Selling to Us explains in plain terms what determines a rare book's value — edition and issue, condition, scarcity, and association — and how single books, collections, and whole estates were handled. And if a term in a description has ever puzzled you, the Glossary of Book-Collecting Terms is the place to start.
What This Archive Can Help With
Because the shop is closed, we can no longer buy, sell, or formally appraise books. What this archive can offer is orientation: an explanation of how the antiquarian trade works, a map of the fields the house specialized in, and a sense of where to turn next. General questions about the house and its former departments — from the American Revolution to Jack London and the Grabhorn Press — are always welcome, and we are glad to point serious enquirers toward reputable dealers and institutions who can help further.
Location
The house made its home in Santa Barbara, on California's central coast — a fitting setting for a firm with deep Californiana holdings, and a city with a long literary and bibliophilic tradition of its own. Although the doors have closed, this site now serves as the house's archive and as a small standing tribute to the pleasures of the rare book. Thank you for visiting.