Pages from
the Ages

By Lauren Fritsky
Times Staff Writer

Looking down the dimly lit aisles at the books stacked in ceiling-high shelves, you could never tell that half of the McCauley couple didn’t like to read.
It was Tom McCauley, a former high school and college English teacher who never tired of getting lost in literature, who inspired his wife Rita to pick up a book after they married in 1964.
She has picked up thousands more since then, and not just to read. In the ’70s, her other half became a book buyer and in 1980 organized the first Philadelphia Book and Paper Fair, a twice-a-year event that takes place this Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the National Guard Armory at 2700 Southampton Road.
Tom never stopped adding to his personal collection, which Rita organized and stored on bookcases she built in several rooms of their Langhorne, Bucks County, home. The couple even built an addition to keep up with their growing inventory of books.
"I keep trying to get the house in shape," said Rita, who worked as a dress designer before going into business with her husband. "I’m still waiting."
This year marks the fair’s return to Philadelphia, the hometown of both Tom and Rita. Many of the bookworms and buyers who swarm to the affair each year attended the first one at La Salle University, Tom McCauley’s alma mater and former employer. After that inaugural event, the couple moved the fair to the suburbs, going as far as Phoenixville before returning it to its birthplace last May.
At this weekend’s event, about 50 vendors will sell out-of-print books of every genre, prints, maps, autographs, ephemera and other items. Between 500 and 600 people are expected to attend.
"The eager beavers are outside waiting for it to open," said Rita, who encourages "readers who are looking for offbeat things" to attend the fair.
The event is one of a kind to this area, according to the couple, who have two children and six grandchildren. The duo started book fairs in other cities, like Boston and New York, but age has caused them to stay local in recent years.
Tom McCauley, a fan of books about the Marine Corps — he was a Marine for three campaigns during the Korean War — became interested in book-buying after visiting a Germantown Salvation Army store in between teaching classes at La Salle. The store had received a donation of 50,000 quality books from the Book of the Month Club.
McCauley typed up some of the book titles and shipped his list off to local schools and colleges, which immediately began contacting him about buying them.
Since then, Tom’s passion has taken him all over the world. Over the years, the more unique staples of his collection, the oldest books of which date back hundreds of years, have included a hefty bound book of notes from an 18th-century treason trial and an album of autographs from show-business stars. He has never wanted to run a bookstore, favoring instead the life of a traveling buyer and exhibitioner.
"It’s been an enjoyable life," he said.
The McCauleys’ son has even shown an interest in the family business. He helps his folks list items on the Internet and assisted with the launch of their Web site, www.phillyfairs.com. The McCauleys say the Internet has changed the industry.
"With the Internet, some of the interest in fairs has lessened," Tom McCauley said.
Still, Rita and Tom show no signs of slowing. As long as there are books, they’ll be in business. ••
Reporter Lauren Fritsky can be reached at 215-354-3038 or lfritsky@phillynews.com