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Who Are Motte & Bailey?
Motte & Bailey is actually a what, not a who. It is a type of medieval Norman castle, a wooden palisade rising on a mound of earth, found in many places in England, Wales, and Scotland. At Motte & Bailey Booksellers, we specialize in books concerning all the various aspects of history, so we chose a name that reflects our interest.
About the Bookshop
Motte & Bailey, Booksellers began in 1996 here in Ann Arbor, selling exclusively on the web. By 2000, we had an opportunity to expand into a storefront. We found a lovely building, an 1870's Italian style with three floors and a basement. The building had previously housed a bar, a telecommunications office, a bindery, a pharmacy for holistic medicine , and, if local opinions are correct, a brothel on the upper floor, though not all at once. The rent for the first floor and basement fit the budget. We started moving things in around the first of August 2000.
On October 15, 2000, after building our own shelves and moving in over 250 boxes of books, Gene Alloway, Paul Hare, and John Murphy II opened the bookstore at 212 N. 4th Ave, in the historical Kerrytown section of Ann Arbor, Michigan. Our first day resulted in $24 in sales. We've had better days since. See images of our shop here.
Our hope is to provide not only interesting used and rare books, but also useful information, services, and resources for readers and collectors. We have over 14,000 well chosen books, pamphlets, and prints (and a few maps) on a wide range of subjects. We have also created lists to provide folks with places to start reading on a variety of areas.
Who
We Are
We originally started
as a triumvirate, but John Murphy II has moved
on to legal and literary pastures, and we hope
to see him in print soon. The remaining partners
are:
Gene
Alloway
Originally From Kansas, Gene has degrees in
classical history and librarianship, and has
worked in a number of areas, from oil fields
to academic libraries. He is the primary appraiser
of the shop, and the specialist in books about
books, antiquarian books, prints, military history,
and classical history. He is a so-so frisbee
player, and has an avid interest in the history
of libraries, focusing on the destruction of
libraries and lost books.
Paul
Hare
Born in Oklahoma, Paul has degrees in medieval
history and education. He is the primary cataloger
for the shop, and the specialist for religion,
medieval history, philosophy, early modern Europe,
and literature. He is an avid frisbee player,
and has an avid interest in mythology, especially
monsters of legend.
212 N. 4th Ave • Ann Arbor, MI 48104
734.669.0451
motte [at] mottebooks [dot] com
design by Academic Mutineers, Inc. All pages copyright 2005