About

Our mission is like being matchmakers for books—except instead of setting up awkward blind dates, we're finding the perfect homes for rare and unique books, ephemera, and manuscripts from the last five centuries, connecting people to our shared past.

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The topics covered include Astrology, Coloured plate books, Ephemera, Judaica, Literature, Medicine, Science and Travel. We've got a taste for the weird and wonderful, so you never know what you'll stumble upon on our website—maybe it's a murder pamphlet, a circus pitch card, or an early-modern work banning homosexuality.

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Black Dog Rare Books was founded in Amersfoort, The Netherlands, in December 2018 by Steven de Joode. Steven holds a BA (Hons.) in German and an MA (Hons.) in Book and Manuscript Studies from the University of Amsterdam.

He has worked as a bibliographer at the National Library of the Netherlands and as a cataloguer and dealer at Antiquariaat Forum, giving him a wealth of experience in the rare book industry. He is a member of the Independent Online Booksellers Association (IOBA).

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Steven is joined in running the company by his partner, Chantal Germaine Haak, who has a background in psychology and previous experience as a broker. She brings a blend of business savvy and a curious mind to the company, along with a keen eye for the unusual.

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Our clients include libraries, museums, private collectors, and fellow members of the trade. We like to keep everyone in the loop with our newsletters, so if you're not already subscribed, what are you waiting for? Trust us, you won't want to miss out on our new arrivals. It's like Christmas morning for book lovers, except it happens every time we hit send.