An event today in Westmount demonstrates that the internet has not killed the love of books, or the thrill of a rare find. It's the Westmount Antiquarian Book Fair at the Centre Greene.
Organizer Wilfrid de Freitas says the annual fair attracts all kinds of book lovers.
"We look forward to seeing collectors, readers, people with idle curiosity," he says, emphasizing that while some sought-after items are quite expensive, others are relative bargains, at $10 and up.
Organizer de Freitas admits the internet has changed the book industry, forcing many stores, including used book shops, out of business. But he feels that for people who like to touch before they buy, nothing beats a good old fashioned book fair.
"It's a question of feeling and handling the books, and seeing them, smelling them, even. It's a very tactile thing, buying a book," he says.
14 dealers will be at the Centre Greene in Westmount from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. today.
They'll be selling biographies, art books, cookbooks, good reads for children and more. Collections of Sherlock Holmes books and Leonard Cohen first editions can be perused.
Also for sale will be a fourth folio edition of Shakespeare's play Troilus and Cressida, published in 1685. It is priced at $6,500.