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.