History

The history of antiquarian booksellers in Finland goes back a bit over 150 years. The first antiquarian bookshop was founded in Turku in the 1840s.

The Finnish Association of Antiquarian Booksellers was established in Helsinki in 1941 to represent the interests of its members. The first and a long-standing chairman of the association was Erik Olsoni. During his time the association also became a member of the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB). The members of the association abide by the code of ethics of this international umbrella organisation.

In the founding meeting of the association, there were ten antiquarian booksellers represented and today we have 24 members across the country.

The logo of the association was designed by the artist Signe Hammarsten-Jansson. The logo has a large calligraphic letter A in the middle of a circle and an open book in front of it.

The purpose of the Finnish Association of Antiquarian Booksellers is to promote the interests of its members and bring the actors in the field together. The international book fair we organise have been the most visible part of our activities. The first fair took place in Helsinki in 1988. It has no become an annual event, that used to take place in the White Hall in Helsinki, but since autumn 2001 it has been organised as part of the International Book Fair in the Helsinki Fair Centre.

Our members wish to help their customers in all queries relating to old literature and books. We want to establish a good relationship with our customers and make them feel that they can rely on the expertise of our member booksellers at all stages of the purchase. To guarantee this, the Finnish Association of Antiquarian Booksellers requires all its members to be well-established and have a high level of expertise in the field.

Should you have any questions about old literature, their evaluation, selling or buying, please do not hesitate to contact any of our members. Some of our members also trade with maps, graphics and postcards. Our member list shows you what our members are specialized in.