About

The International League of Antiquarian Booksellers is an organisation that encompasses national associations of antiquarian booksellers around the world. It speaks for twenty national associations, thirty countries and two thousand leading booksellers. Its sign stands for the integrity and professionalism of the trade worldwide.

Beginnings

The League (or ILAB, as it is often known among English-speakers; LILA among French) was founded in Amsterdam at a meeting of major European booksellers in 1947. It was born of the spirit of international co-operation and fuelled by the determination to sweep away national differences that inspired the postwar world. Since that time its aims, objects and ideals have been adopted across the continents, and the ILAB network now extends into America, Asia and the Southern Hemisphere.

Objects

The objects formulated in 1947 are still little changed. Put briefly, they are to uphold and improve professional standards in the trade, to promote honorable conduct in business, and to contribute in various ways to a broader appreciation of the history and art of the book.

Presidents > more

Committee Members > more

Activities > more

Customs & Usage

The League publishes, and upholds, a code of ethics based on the wide experience of all its affiliated nations. It is binding on all its members. It is a mark of the success of this code that disputes are rare. If disputes should arise, the national associations mediate in accordance with the code of ethics devised by the League. The League presides over the network that links the antiquarian booksellers of the world. > more

Bookfairs

The League has long supported and been associated with antiquarian book fairs, the remarkable movement for the display and marketing of books that has developed since the Second World War. Its biennial Congresses, always staged in a different city, provide the occasion for the grandest fairs in the world, fairs distinguished for the eminence of exhibitors and for the quantity and quality of exhibits. These fairs are organised in accordance with the League's guidelines, which guarantee the authenticity of materials and integrity of the booksellers. > more

Bibliographical Prize

The support of scholarship and research into the history of the book is an important part of the League's work. Its US$ 10,000 Bibliographical Prize is awarded to publications of outstanding merit in the field. A distinguished panel of judges drawn from the academic and bookselling professions adjudicates on entries submitted from all over the world. > more

Publications

Current publications of the League are obtainable from ILAB booksellers, or from the offices of the national associations below. > more

National Associations

There are twenty national associations of antiquarian booksellers that together constitute the League. Most have brochures or lists of members available on request. > more