Browse rare books at the Boston Book Fair

The 45th annual fair returns to the Hynes Convention Center Oct. 27-29.

Evertgoers at the Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair at Hynes Convention Center. Courtesy of Boston Book Fair

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Rare and vintage book sellers will once again line the Hynes Convention Center as the Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair (or the Boston Book Fair) returns to the city for the 45th year. Over a hundred vendors will flock to Boston to sell rare books, manuscripts, first editions, and maps from around the world.

Book dealers from the U.S., as well as countries such as Denmark, France, Germany, Netherlands, Serbia, and the UK, will sell books and museum-quality artifacts with prices that range from super affordable to well into the millions, making the fair great for both seasoned bibliophiles who collect and first-timers who just want to browse.

The festival is free and open to the public on Saturday, Oct. 28 from noon to 7 p.m. and on Sunday, Oct. 29 from noon to 5 p.m. Tickets to opening night, on Friday, Oct. 27, cost $25 per person. Saturday and Sunday’s free programming includes lectures on topics like Revolutionary-era Boston maps and Japanese aesthetics, and a women’s panel on book collecting.

“This is one of the most important annual events in the country for rare book enthusiasts,” said Julie Roper, CEO of Capricorn Event Management, which has managed the Boston Book Fair since 2015, in a statement. “After the height of the pandemic, we are seeing resurgent demand for in-person fairs, where a global community of the top dealers offer the most sought-after collections of books, maps, illustrations, and ephemera on the market.”

The Boston Book Fair is sanctioned by the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America (ABAA) and the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB).