Posted Friday, Feb. 10, 2012 - 8:20 p.m.

Beverly Hills rare booksellers will be among the 200 international and U.S. dealers flocking to the 45th California International Antiquarian Book Fair this weekend at the Pasadena Convention Center, 300 East Green St.

Joining Bruce Howard of Bookbid with prime examples of their collections will be Benjamin Weinstein of Heritage Book Shop, and Mark Hime of Biblioctopus.

Weinstein will be bringing such items as a first edition of Cicero, the first book published in English by William Caxton in 1481, and a first edition of Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Erye.

While Weinstein’s Burton Way shop has only been open four months, he’s been in the business for 47 years.

What’s the appeal of rare books? “You’re holding a piece of history,” says Weinstein, “exactly as the author wrote it, the first time it was printed.”

Not a fan of Kindle, Weinstein appreciates the books’ sensory delights—the look of the binding and the smell of the paper.

Starting out in used books, Weinstein began “evolving and improving” his collection 30 years ago. Now he strictly deals with out-of-print and rare books, on display in his 2,000-square-foot, 600-title store.

With so many specialties—“lt’s hard to pin me down”—Weinstein describes the heart of his collection as first editions of “mostly literature that has been printed over and over and never gone out of print.”

For example, other treasures he’s taking are first editions of William Blake’s Book of Job and Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations from 1776.

For years, Weinstein’s Melrose Avenue store was a mecca for Beverly Hills and Hollywood collectors.

He supplied the gifts when members of the Cheers cast were given first editions. “Rare books are a great gift for people who have everything; and usually something they never thought about having.”

He has counted Jack Lemon, Michael Jackson and Johnny Depp as clients.

After a stint in the Pacific Design Center, Weinstein is happy to be in Beverly Hills where he lives. “Business has been good and we’ve been welcomed into the community.”

Hime will be bringing such diverse items as Paul McCartney’s hand-written manuscript for Lovely Rita from “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,” valued at $175,000; and a fourth folio 1685 edition of Shakespeare’s Comedies, Histories and Tragedies, priced at $180,000.

Other first editions at his booth will be:
• Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility, 1811, $65,000;
• James Cain’s The Postman Always Rings Twice, 1934, $10,000;
• Raymond Chandler’s The Big Sleep, 1939, $30,000;
• Dashiell Hammett’s Red Harvest, 1929, $125,000;
• Ernest Hemingway’s In Our Time, 1924, $50,000; and
• Volaire’s Candide, 1759, $100,000.

And since he deals with “anything that falls under the heading of written or printed,” he will also have:

• Bob Dylan’s handwritten notes for Man On The Street, 1961, $35,000; and
• Tennessee Williams’ typed script of A Streetcar Named Desire, 1947, $50,000.

Son of famed jeweler Marvin Hime, Hime grew up in Beverly Hills.

When he moved to Idyllwild he begin looking for a business he could do from home, selling from a catalog. He settled on books—rare ones.

Now back in the City after nearly 20 years, “selling books is what I do,” Hime says. He has collectors from all over the world including South Africa and India.

“Collectors are people who think it’s cool to have a first edition,” Hime says. “There’s also the idea that if you buy a hardbound book, it depreciates immediately. First editions retain their value and often appreciate.”

One of the select few he attends, Hime adds, the book fair “is the traveling bookshop of the world. You have 85 percent of the best dealers, bringing 85 percent of the greatest books for sale in the world.”

The Book Fair will feature volumes from five centuries of printing in all languages, as well as original manuscripts that predate Gutenberg from booksellers from across the country and around the world. The fair gives visitors the opportunity to see, learn about and purchase the finest in rare and valuable books, manuscripts, autographs, graphics, prints, maps, photographs and more.

Fair hours are Saturday, Feb. 11 from 11 a.m.- -7 p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 12 from 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

Tickets Saturday or Sunday are $15 and include return entry throughout the fair.

For more information, visit www.labookfair.com or call 800-454-6401.

—Steve Simmons