nce upon a time two letterpress printers lived in Manhattan in a tiny apartment, together with a lot of books. (The letterpress equipment lived a few blocks away.) Given our interest in using historical techniques, as well as being members of the Typophiles and the Center for Book Arts, we developed an appreciation for all aspects of the art of the book and book collecting.

Over several years we accumulated seven large storage locations stuffed to the brim with books, three antique printing presses, and cases of handset type. We would compose type in the semi-darkness of storage with mountain-climbing lights on our heads, and volunteered periodically at the Bowne & Co. printing museum. But alas this was at best a leisure pursuit, and books we loved remained packed away due to the demands of our day jobs. Finally in 2001 we moved to Connecticut, and pursued our dream of starting our own business.

Casting around for a name, we adapted a favorite Latin dictum, carpe diem, to create Carpe Libris^® “seize the book”. (Or, for you Latin scholars, “seize [the day] for the book” — we thought carpe libris was more bookish (ex libris means “from the library of”) and sounded better than carpe libros.) The whimsical nature of the expression seems to fit, and we certainly never hesitate to practice that advice ourselves: see a nice book? Carpe Libris!

We’ve been in an active acquisition mode for inventory, honing our skills on all aspects of the book business and rare books (which includes taking formal courses at the Rare Book School, University of Virginia), and building our systems, processes, and our ecommerce website. We are very proud to be exclusive dealers for three fine private presses, and are currently in the process of cataloging our other books for sale on the Internet. We look forward every day to growing our business and making new friends who share our love of books.