Incorporated in 1980, A. Parker's Books has been located in downtown Sarasota, Florida for over twenty years. We have consistently offered one of the finest selections of rare and antiquarian books in the Southeast. Our knowledgeable staff and our high level of integrity are demonstrated and monitored by our professional memberships in the Florida Antiquarian Booksellers Association (FABA), Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America (ABAA), and International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB).

More than a decade ago we merged our stock with a neighboring bookstore, Book Bazaar, Inc. Our Sarasota storefront has since housed two distinct shops. A. Parker's Books, Inc., continues to specialize in antiquarian, rare and finely bound books and maintains a rare book room which is the highlight of many visits to the store. Book Bazaar, Inc., fills the majority of the space with an array of used, out-of-print and scholarly books. Together, we aspire to offer something for everyone, from the avid reader to the investment collector. Our commitment to customer service and variety is demonstrated by repeat visits from tourists, both foreign and domestic, as well as the hours many local residents spend among our stacks.

After merging with Book Bazaar we opened a new shop in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana, incorporated as Crescent City Books, Inc. Later a fourth store, Commonwealth Books, Inc. was opened in Boston, Massachusetts on the Boston Common. Each has its own specialties and atmosphere while continuing the traditions of maintaining friendly and knowledgeable staff and providing a wide variety of out-of-print, scholarly, rare and antiquarian books. It is not surprising that both have become favorites in their own communities.

A fifth store, Commonwealth Books II, is now open in the newly built Commonwealth Hotel. A new full service hotel located in the heart of Boston's Kenmore Square, it offers the latest in amenities, fine dining, on-site parking and two floors of retail shops. It is among these retail shops that Commonwealth Books II resides, and is a welcome addition to our family.

With the addition of a new store, we now serve five communities of book enthusiasts. With the Internet, we serve an ever expanding global community. While Internet sales can never replace the experience of stepping into a shop brimming with wonderful old books, it can connect booklovers to items they might not have otherwise found. It is our goal to provide a pleasant browsing or buying experience to all of our visitors, both physical and virtual. We hope this web site helps to achieve that goal and that you enjoy your visit here. We also hope that if you find yourself in Sarasota, New Orleans, or Boston, you will stop in and spend some time with our books.

Copyright © 2004, A. Parker's Books, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
1488 Main Street, Sarasota, Florida, 34236
Telephone (941) 366-2898 • Facsimile (941) 957-3779 • Toll Free US (888) 317-7300