Rare books, rare collectors: antiquarian book dealers seeking new blood to bolster market.

It's a rare reader who would salivate over a 17th century book on bloodletting.

That's just the problem for antiquarian book dealer Ed Glaser, owner of Napa-based Edwin V. Glaser Rare Books. The antiquarian book market, always a small niche, has been stagnant for roughly three decades.

"Wherever you are, our market is very small," said Glaser, who hopes to find broader exposure for his 1621 version of "Il Barbiere" at the 37th California International Antiquarian Book Fair in Los Angeles this week. The work, published by Tiberius Malfi, is one of the earliest illustrated books on bloodletting--the practice of barbers, who were the surgeons of the day, draining patients' blood to "release" diseases.

"The book fair gives us the opportunity to be introduced to a wider audience," he said. "It gives us exposure that we couldn't possibly get on an individual basis."

Even if the fair meets its organizers' expectations, only about $9 million worth of rare books and manuscripts will be sold this year. That's despite L.A.'s position as home to one of the largest collections of rare book dealers in the nation. Along with San Francisco, Los Angeles pioneered the first-edition modern literary classic market. Southern California is home to about 50 of the nation's 500 dealers, but the attraction simply isn't there.

Someone with $30,000 to spare, for instance, could purchase a pristine first-edition copy of J.D. Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye," published in 1951. Or they could pick up a dog-eared version of "Catcher" (36th printing, also 1951) on eBay for less than $100.

"We're surviving," said Gordon Hollis, vice president of the Southern California chapter of the Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America, which is hosting the book fair. Hollis owns Beverly Hills-based Golden Legend Inc. "Every dealer I know, from the wealthiest to the poorest, is concerned with the future because we need new collectors."

The nation's Top 10 dealers generate $10 million to $15 million in sales annually, while the average dealer brings in $500,000 per year. Generally, they try to sell a book or manuscript for at least twice what they paid for it.

The market was strong enough 30 years ago to support dozens of antiquarian bookstores in Los Angeles alone. Today there are perhaps six.

Part of the reason is that dealers realized they could lower their overhead by operating out of a small office or their homes. This negated the hassle of "walk-ins" who usually weren't looking for a rare book. But the strategy also made booksellers less accessible, and hence, the book fairs all the more vital.

The Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America schedules its major fairs each February in California (alternating between L.A. and San Francisco), April in New York and November in Boston. Its parent organization, the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers, holds major book fairs in London, Paris and Stuttgart, Germany each year.

The impetus for forming the ABAA--irst as a single national chapter in New York with regional chapters to follow--came in 1948. A group of rare booksellers throughout the nation realized that by banding together, they could establish a high level of quality control and recognition by book collectors and libraries as a major player in the industry.

California found its niche in the 1970s by promoting the modern first editions, which go back to Charles Dickens, Mark Twain and Henry James and continue with Ernest Hemingway, James Joyce, John Steinbeck and F. Scott Fitzgerald.

The books appealed to younger generations because the first editions were old enough to be considered a collectible. With these books, the condition of the dust jacket is of prime importance.

"The value of something begins with the complete item as it was issued," said Mark Himes, owner of Beverly Hills-based Biblioctopus. "With any first edition book, a perfect dust jacket is worth 30 or 40 or 50 times more than the book without a dust jacket."

The Los Angeles market contrasts with New York's long-held focus--the true "antiquarian" books, or those published before 1850, when technological advancements in printing and binding spawned the era of mass publishing.

This year's fair is at the Los Angeles Airport Marriott Hotel, from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. Feb. 6, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Feb. 7 and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Feb. 8.