By Zoe Perzo
Atlanta Vintage Books recently celebrated their 35th anniversary. This indie bookstore in Atlanta, Georgia, carries a vast inventory of gently used titles as well as rare and vintage books. I caught up with owner Jan Bolgla to learn more about the store.
Originally opened in 1988, Bolgla bought Atlanta Vintage Books in 2007 with her husband, Bob Roarty. Since then, the store has only grown, now boasting a collection of some 80,000 titles.
Over the years a few family members joined the staff. As did a few cats.
“When we first bought the store 16 years ago, there was a colony of feral cats outside,” Jan recalled. “In the first few years, we were able to find homes for over 40 cats!”
But a few of those cats became permanent staff. These days Big Boo, Little Boo, and Mickey are a part of the store.
“They’re very popular on our social media! We’re known as ‘the cat bookstore!’”
The cats feature heavily on the store’s facebook and instagram, where they share the screen with some of the fascinating titles that come in. A glance at recent posts shows the breadth and depth of Atlanta Vintage Books’ collection.
I asked Jan if, out of all the items that had come through the shop, she had a favorite.
“Right now, my favorite title is My Story by Rosa Parks…it’s signed!”
In addition to the extensive collection, Atlanta Vintage Books offers appraisals. Customers can bring their collectible books to the store, where the staff has “over 50 years of combined experience” appraising items. They’ll take into account a myriad of factors, like condition and market demand, in order to best evaluate editions. They also offer resources for customers interested in doing their own appraisal research.
But they also offer another, more unique service.
Georgia is a popular filming location, and Atlanta Vintage Books has ended up becoming a part of the industry. Specifically, they sell or rent books for TV and film sets.
“When the film industry here started booming, set decorators came to us,” Jan told me. “We have a reputation as a good source for books from all time periods and we’re known for having depth in all subjects. Set designers and prop directors find us through word of mouth and we’re also listed in film industry sourcebooks.”
We had to ask: does she have a favorite production they’ve worked on?
“We have worked with so many, it would be impossible to choose a favorite,” she said. “One production that was really interesting was Selma. We were asked to put together books that might be in MLK's personal library. That was so much fun and an honor.”
You can find Atlanta Vintage Books on Instagram, or visit their website to learn more. And if you’re in the Atlanta area, stop by the shop to check out their vast collection and meet the cats (and their humans)!