This will probably, eventually, be the most comprehensive and fully-featured section of my "Bookseller's Labels" pages, mostly because L.A. is my stomping grounds. Not only does that mean that I'm just (obviously) more likely to find labels from L.A. bookstores, but also because I want this page to reflect the region's long and distinguished literary heritage. In addition to posting images of the labels themselves, I hope, over time, to add small bits of historical background related to the individual stores that are represented here. This will take some time, though, so don't be surprised if there's not much here yet along those lines.

In the meantime, you couldn't do much better than to check out Kevin Starr's Material Dreams: Southern California Through the 1920s (Oxford University Press, 1990) for a succinct introduction to the importance of books and book collectors (and booksellers) to the cultural history of Los Angeles.