Hey there, my name is Sebastian. Born in 1980, I was lucky enough to grow up in a pre-social media world. Crazy things from school didn’t go viral and great experiences lasted a bit longer because they weren’t constantly interrupted by new external stuff. I was able to develop a healthy dose of patience. Books were my ultimate gift as a kid and I had no problem sitting for hours immersed in interesting and adventurous stories.

Decades later, my passion for books has never waned. I studied architecture, then switched to art-history and archaeology in 2002. It was pretty clear to me that my future work would be somewhere in an archive – not necessarily for the sake of putting things in order, but to explore, reveal and connect items which had not been examined in more depth yet. Besides my studies, I worked at an antiquarian bookstore from 2003 on. In early 2007, I had to make my first major decision: to continue and finish my studies, or to become the owner of (a different) antiquarian bookstore in town, which was founded 1947.

I took the challenge, dropped everything, took over the store and went into business.

Throughout this journey as an antiquarian bookseller, I was fortunate to interact with some of the greatest printed evidence of our human history – either as a guest in the treasure chambers of public libraries, private collections or through direct dealing.

Sure enough, there were always some strange and funny people to meet who you would never find on the internet. Stories around rare books, collections and their owners are always unique. The obsessive collector has a resemblance to the stock market in terms of greed and madness. However, I think I still have the best job in the world.

In my freetime you can catch me running through the woods around my hometown or enjoying fine wines.