About Us

Founded in 1989, Bickerstaff's Books, Maps &c. buys and sells fine books and maps. Our inventory focuses on books and maps of 18th and 19th century America. We specialize in books, maps and other printed material of or related to New England during the 18th century. This includes almanacs, sermons, newspapers and magazines, as well as maps and charts of the colonial and Revolutionary War periods. Early and interesting Maine imprints are also of particular interest. We also maintain a good inventory of nautical charts, primarily of the American coast between the years of 1700 and 1900.

If you have a specific collecting interest with which we may be of assistance, please contact us by telephone, fax, mail or e-mail.

Our Services

We deal in books, maps and ephemera related to America from the colonial period through the first quarter of the 19th century.

We are always interested in buying books, maps and charts similar to those found in our inventory. We are happy to discuss the options you have when selling books or maps.

We perform appraisals of material within the scope of our buying and selling experience for tax and insurance purposes. Please contact us to discuss a potential appraisal.

Memberships

We are proud to be members of the following professional organizations:

  • Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America (ABAA)
  • International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB)
  • Maine Antiquarian Booksellers Association (MABA)
  • Maine Antiques Dealers Association (MADA)

About Our Name

Bickerstaff's is a name that can be traced back to Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) of Gulliver's Travels fame. He created the fictitious astrologer and almanac maker "Isaac Bickerstaff" in the early 1700s. Capitalizing on the popularity of the character, Richard Steele (1672-1729) appropriated Isaac Bickerstaff as his pseudonym as editor of the English periodical, The Tatler.

The Bickerstaff name came to America in the second half of the 18th century when Benjamin West (1730-1818), mathematician and professor at Brown University, adopted the pseudonym as the author of several series of successful almanacs in New England. It is from that most recent incarnation that Bickerstaff's Books, Maps &c. draws its inspiration. It is a pseudonym we proudly carry forward into a new century.