{image1} Perhaps you've stumbled about in your grandparent's attic and uncovered a dusty trunk filled with old books. Maybe you poked around at rummage sales and found some interesting titles. Or possibly, you have a fondness for a noteworthy author from your early childhood and wondered where you could attain an original copy of his work.
For one reason or another, droves of bibliophiles have pursued these vintage collections for their value or simply to preserve times past. Today, more and more have realized that there is a definite market for rare and antique books.
Kelly Voss is one of these antiquarians. She goes to great lengths to buy and sell these rare literary treasures. She's a major player in the antique book industry, operating Martha Merrill Bookstore in Racine. She even has a steady presence online.
With the success of her outlet in Racine, Voss now opens shop in Milwaukee's Historic Ward. That's good news for consumers.
Voss Books, located at 229 N. Water Street, makes great use of its resources. Booksellers, like Voss, usual go to auctions or estate sales, looking for those rare pieces that perhaps, no one else knows the true worth of the items.
"We seek, find and pay," Voss says. "We're real active like that. I have found that since I was the only rare and unique bookstore in the Racine area, I didn't have to do a lot of that. People came to me. Now here (in Milwaukee), that may change. I may have to search for those jewels. This will be a new challenge for me."
But Voss has developed a reputation well respected not only in southeast Wisconsin, not only in the Midwest, but appreciated worldwide.
"In August, a woman found me through the Internet," Voss began. "She asked me to visit with her because he had a collection of books that had been around for awhile. Some needed attention and others were not so bad. I found in her collection books like 'The Odyssey' and 'Dante's Inferno.' Books from another era are presented much differently than today. Some have gold page edgings.
"I had another customer in Milwaukee who collected interesting things. He called wanting to know if I had something that would interest him. At the time, I happened to have a second English edition, first American edition, of one of Darwin's works. That one is a superbly valued book. He was interested in it because of the way it was bound."
Making rare books and similar items available online is an emerging and exciting field of library services. It represents a tremendous benefit of Internet technology, making what were once restricted antiquarian materials freely available to the world. Voss is astutely keen and has taken advantage of that outlet.
"Fifty percent of my business is conducted online," she says. "I ship about 10 books a day, literally around the world. I recently sent some books as far away as Zimbabwe."
A UW-Parkside graduate with degrees in English and Spanish, Voss worked her way into the business while at school.
"I worked at Martha Merrill's Bookstore," Voss explains. "After two years, I realized how much I cared for the store. I tried to modernize it. I really took pride in making the place look clean and inviting."
So when the owner, a retiring Parkside professor wanted to sell, she was there ready and willing to carry on the traditions that began in 1947. That was two years ago.
"It's more than being a bookseller, it's being an entrepreneur," Voss adds. "I really love that part of it. But I also love books. Reading was always a strong point in my life. Literature affects me.
"I enjoy turning a customer on to a new author. I tell customers to pick out books that have good notes in them because it will help make for an interesting read."
That's what Voss is all about. She gets pleasure from reaching out to people.
"It's fun to get e-mails from someone in Spain, who says 'I've been looking for this book for 20 years and I'm so excited to have found it, global priority it to me,'" she says. "To me, the most rewarding books to send out are children's books. Customers would say, 'my mom used to read this to me and now I'm having a baby and would love to have that book."
Voss says she gets a kick reading notes from people who share their experience of opening a carefully wrapped package and finding their personal treasures in a book. "All the memories come flooding back to them," she says.
Voss, who was instrumental in Racine's downtown revitalization, is now on the cutting-edge of Water Street's renaissance.
"The vertical growth in this area is phenomenal," she points out. "The art and theatre district growth in this area is so exciting for someone like me. This bookstore will fit well in the mix.
"I've been very pleased with the Third Ward Neighborhood Association and they have been very helpful.
"People feel that this neighborhood is its own entity. They made me feel welcomed.
Once we open it'll be very open, very urbane. People are going to want to come here. Atmosphere is everything."
And Voss experienced that spirit firsthand when she searched for a location in Milwaukee.
"I've been frequenting this neighborhood more and more, as have other people," she says. "I happened to be at the Ale House (just two doors down the street) one day and walked out and saw this space was available. I noticed the foot traffic was pretty steady, so I thought this would be an exciting location.
"I came back down here and walked around the neighborhood. I talked to people at Starbucks and at the Grand Gourmet. I was taken by how positive and enthused people were about having a bookstore like mine in the neighborhood."
And with that backdrop, Voss Books takes its place and begins a new chapter on Water Street.
"A book is only worth what someone pays you and it's always worth what you sell it for," Voss believes. "I will always be looking for books in fiction, poetry and philosophy.
"I will concentrate more on arts and design book collections at this store because of the neighborhood. I will find out-of-print books for people. Most people don't know if they are getting a good deal or really what would be considered a quality print, so they turn to me."
Target date for Grand Opening is Nov. 22. Open Tuesday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-8 p.m. and Sunday, 12-4 p.m. Closed on Monday.
