Welcome to the ILAB website!

ILAB keeps you informed of everything that matters in the rare book world:

Book Search

We search the ILAB dealers’ inventories using a variety of commercial sites where they show their books, as for example Abebooks, Antiquariat.de, abaa.org, antikvariat.net, votrelibraire.fr, livre-rare-book.net, booksatpbfa.com, uniliber.com, maremagnum.com, and many others. This means that you will be able to buy your books direct from the ILAB dealer or choose to buy it from the same dealer through one of your favourite sites, shown on a list with the book description. Of course dealers and customers will continue to have all of the backing of ILAB regardless of which book selling site you choose.

Meet the ILAB Booksellers

Look behind the scenes and meet the ILAB booksellers: read the interviews, watch the video clips, or look back into the history of famous rare bookselling companies. The booksellers' database can be searched by name, country, specialisation, city or proprietor.

Catalogues

Many ILAB dealers issue catalogues. Because of the great expertise of our dealers these are often kept as reference works in their own right. Nearly 400 catalogues have already been uploaded to the ILAB site. Catalogues of the Month are especially recommended. LAB keeps you informed about recently published catalogues. Create your ILAB account and receive our special ILAB catalogue announcements!

Calendar of Events and ILAB Book Fair Reports

ILAB lists all book related events that it is aware of from all around the World. Be it a Book Fair, a lecture at the State Library on early science books, a book auction or an exhibition, look first on ILAB.org. All ILAB fairs are highlighted to help you find special reports and picture galleries about these premier events.

ILAB Library and ILAB Glossary

Barbara Werner van Benthem, the ILAB web editor, is hard at work gathering articles, bibliographies, interviews, collecting tips, a glossary of terms, news and much, much more. Why not visit the ILAB library? Or the ILAB Glossary, the multilanguage jargon buster, and other dictionaries, inevitable for the rare book trade: John Carter's "ABC for Book Collectors", Anne Lamort's "La Bibliophilie" and much more.

ILAB's Expertise, ILAB's History and its National Associations

Today ILAB has 23 member National Associations. They represent the expertise of the world’s finest booksellers in 33 countries. Only the best are allowed to become ILAB booksellers. There are 1,850 ILAB affiliates  worldwide. With maybe 20,000 antiquarian booksellers in the internet, the high standards required to become an ILAB dealer are clear.

Become part of the ILAB community!

Create your own ILAB account, subscribe to our monthly ILAB newsletter! You will receive catalogue announcements and get in touch with ILAB dealers. Recommend articles of interest or any book-related event. Feel free to send an email to Barbara Werner van Benthem, our web editor!

Arnoud Gerits
ILAB President