“It’s a way to bring book dealers, old, used and antiquarian bookstores all together in one place,” Holland said.

The show has been happening twice per year for the last 35 years and is one of the largest of its type in the country.

Part of the allure of the show is the chance at finding something rare, event coordinator Ray Walsh said.

“What brings [collectors] here is …  a quest for discovery, of finding things that they like,” Walsh said.

For collectors, this venue was the perfect place to find additions to their collections and connect with vendors from farther away than they might typically have access to.

“Most books that I read I like to collect. I don’t like to hunt from the library or anything like that,” collector Megan Bowden said.

Though the cut-off date for an item to be considered antique is vague, Holland said everything at the show was at least 20-years-old – but probably older.

Amidst a challenge to read a book from every year of the 1900's, Bowden said she was seeking books from the early 20th century.

“I’m really close to verging on 1,000 books at home … I think books are beautiful. I do judge them by their cover,” Bowden said. 

The show also had a wide variety of handouts that were once free, such as posters of Shakespeare at the Wharton Center, gas station maps and railroad timetables.

These free resources were once tossed aside and now hold incredible value to their collectors.

“For my stepdad’s birthday one year I found him a football program for the Lions from the year he was born, and he thought it was the coolest thing ever,” Holland said

Vendors at the show, including Vicki McMillin of Vintage by Vicki, said the show gives them an opportunity to connect with paper lovers from all over the country and engage in the collectors’ interests in the items she has to offer.

“I love books and paper and anything that goes with that … this was a good venue for me to be able to sell stuff I love but can’t keep all of it,” McMillin said.