About

Black Dog Rare Books was founded by Steven de Joode in December 2018. Located in Amersfoort, The Netherlands, the company offers a wide range of rare and unusual books, ephemera, and manuscripts, dating from the past five centuries.

The topics covered include science, medicine, occult, travel, Judaica and natural history. We have a penchant for the weird and wonderful, so on our website you will regularly find oddities such as diatribes against prostitution, murder pamphlets, circus pitch cards, rare broadsides, early-modern works banning homosexuality, etc.

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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.

Steven holds a BA (Hons.) in German and an MA (Hons.) in Book and Manuscript Studies from the University of Amsterdam. He has also 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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Our clients include libraries, museums, private collectors, and fellow members of the trade. We regularly send out newsletters to keep our subscribers up to date about new arrivals.