Book Lovers Rejoice: 60,000 Used Books for Sale

Love to read and love a great deal? 

Then get ready, because the 82nd Annual Bryn-Mawr Wellesley Book Sale begins Monday, March 25, at Princeton Day School. 

From archery and architecture to youth books and zoos, the five-day sale will feature a total of 60,000 books, including more than 7,500 books from the collection of the late Peter Oppenheimer of Princeton (not related to Frank and Robert Oppenheimer). 

An avid book collector, Oppenheimer's collection includes volumes on philosophy, math, history, art, music, literary criticism and biography. It also includes a 1968 first edition of Tom Wolfe’s The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test.

Most of the collection is in new or like-new condition, organizers say.

“When the family asked if they could donate 400-500 boxes of books, we were stunned by the size of the donation,” said Sarah Ferguson, the book sale’s warehouse manager. “When we got to his home, we saw a forest of neatly stacked books with only a few paths to navigate from one room to another. The quality of these scholarly books was far beyond our expectations.”    

Peter Oppenheimer was born in New York City to parents who valued education. He began reading at age three and began collecting books in high school and took notes in tiny print on 4 x 6 cards on every book he read.

He studied philosophy and symbolic logic at the University of Chicago and enlisted in the Peace Corps. Later he taught math and philosophy in Saint Louis and eventually moved to Princeton where he worked at the Witherspoon Art and Book Store.

Due to the volume of the Oppenheimer collection, only half will be sold in this year's sale. The other 7,500 books have been set aside for the 2014 sale, according to book sale volunteer Betsy Bennett.

Other sale highlights include a Beatrix Potter collection; a three-volume Sotheby’s auction catalog describing the contents of Chateau de Groussay; The Solitude of Ravens, a photography book; an 1878 manual on archery plus other titles on the sport; and Les Oeuvres d'architecture d'Antoine Le Pautre, architecte orginaire du Roy which features detailed 17th Century architectural castle drawings. 

There are no weekend sale days this year, but there are late evening hours: 

• Monday, March 25, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Preview Day, $20 per person)
• Tuesday, March 26, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. 
• Wednesday, March 27, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. 
• Thursday, March 28, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. (books are half-price)
• Friday, March 29, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. (special rate for boxes of books)

The book sale raises money to offer scholarships to students from central New Jersey who attend either Bryn Mawr College or Wellesley College. The sale is independent, but the proceeds go to the college's active alumni clubs in the area.