As history freshman Jacob McCormick thumbed through a bin of local antique pamphlets at the Michigan Antiquarian Book & Paper Show, he discovered a light blue program on Lansing Mayor Ralph Crego , who served during the 40s and 50s. He thought the program would fit perfectly into his collection of historical memorabilia.
On Sunday, the Lansing Center was transformed into a large warehouse-like room filled with several different antique book dealers and their own displays, creating a home-library-like atmosphere at almost every corner guests turned.
Some booths focused on children’s books and classics, others on local news letters and history and some devoted to original movie posters and sports. Patrons had the chance to look and explore the different items available or choose to purchase them.
“The area that we’re in right now has had so many people that lived in it and made it what it is today,” McCormick said.
McCormick began his interest in history by researching his family and then branched out to discovering more of Lansing’s history.
He said unlike most other students, who “are immersed in socializing and having a weekend off,” he prefers to spend his free time learning more about the history of his surroundings.
McCormick said he identifies himself as a collector. One day, he said he hopes to have a decent-sized collection like the dealers at the show but is currently content with the books he finds interesting and other ephemera he sometimes uses for decoration.
His interest in history and memorabilia has made him even think about compiling stories and photos of his family history into a book.
One goal the event is trying to achieve is getting more younger people interested in books.
Ruth Tepin , an event facilitator, said the event provides some insight about how people lived in the past.
“You realize that people are not different now than they were 100, 200 years ago,” she said.
MSU alumnus Russ Kibat said he came from Chelsea to Lansing just to make time to help his colleague, Daniel Wilson , host a sports and entertainment themed booth at the show.
The booth featured several magazines highlighting newspaper coverage of Big Ten universities at the Rose Bowl over the past four decades. Wilson and Kibat said the sports and entertainment memorabilia is what mostly draws in a younger crowd.
Tepin said she hopes future generations see the value and novelty of paper books through participating in this event.
“People are going to the internet so much instead of seeing the actual books...you have no clue what’s really out there unless you go to a used book store or something like this,” Tepin said. “I hope people keep coming because the history of this place just gets to me.”
