Meet the Expert: Bruce MacMakin

Bruce MacMakin began working in the book auction trade at California Book Auction Galleries in 1978, fresh out of college, an unplanned diversion that has lasted over 40 years and counting. His love of books is a family trait – his father was a printer who worked at Taylor & Taylor in San Francisco before they closed in 1961, when he gathered up his young family and moved to Afghanistan to advise on textbook publication in that mysterious land. Mr. MacMakin lived there for a total of seven years growing up, graduating from the American International School of Kabul in 1973.

Mr. MacMakin’s time overseas has contributed to his interest in works on travel and exploration and early maps, areas in which he specializes as well as Americana and history in general. Over the years, he has become familiar with books in all fields, from early incunabula and rare manuscripts to hyper-modern fiction and the Wizard of Oz.

Bruce was a founding member of Pacific Book Auction Galleries (now PBA Galleries) from its inception in 1992.