Don Lindgren's guest appearances

Don Lindgren

The Biblio File: Hosted by Nigel Beale

The Biblio File hosted by Nigel Beale

The Bookshop Podcast

Mitchell Kaplan

Quentin Tarantino

Nicholson Baker

Tom Doherty

Andrew Chapman

Jane Yolen

Harlan Coben

Eliot Peper

Cory Doctorow

Yann Martel

Sydney Smith

George Eliot

Larry Thompson

Alex Ross

Lawrence Krauss

OwlTail

Welcome to episode #63 Rabelais Inc. in Biddeford, Maine, serves up fine books about food and drink. The store has one of the largest selections of rare and out-of-print cookbooks in the U.S., along with a significant collection of manuscripts, menus, product cookbooks, prints, photographs, and other ephemera, all expressions of the important role food holds in culture.Rabelais Inc. opened in 2006 when Samantha Hoyt Lindgren and Don Lindgren created the original shop on Portland’s Middle Street in Maine. Encouraged by the openness and energy of the small city’s chefs and food producers and excited by their proximity to amazing ingredients from land and sea, Samantha and Don sketched a business plan on a napkin over lunch and launched Rabelais.  Rabelais Inc.Perfection Salad, Laura Shapiro Yotam Ottolenghi, Cook Books  Support the showThe Bookshop PodcastMandy Jackson-BeverlySocial Media Links

Welcome to episode #63 Rabelais Inc. in Biddeford, Maine, serves up fine books about food and drink. The store has one of the largest selections of rare and out-of-print cookbooks in the U.S., along with a significant collection of manuscripts, menus, product cookbooks, prints, photographs, and other ephemera, all expressions of the important role food holds in culture.Rabelais Inc. opened in 2006 when Samantha Hoyt Lindgren and Don Lindgren created the original shop on Portland’s Middle Street in Maine. Encouraged by the openness and energy of the small city’s chefs and food producers and excited by their proximity to amazing ingredients from land and sea, Samantha and Don sketched a business plan on a napkin over lunch and launched Rabelais.  <a href="https://www.rabelaisbooks.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Rabelais Inc.</a><a href="https://bookshop.org/a/6108/9780520257382" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Perfection Salad, Laura Shapiro</a> <a href="https://bookshop.org/books?keywords=Yotam+Ottolenghi" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Yotam Ottolenghi, Cook Books </a> <a href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/mandyjacks9 " rel="payment nofollow" target="_blank">Support the show</a><a href="https://thebookshoppodcast.buzzsprout.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Bookshop Podcast</a> <a href="https://mandyjacksonbeverly.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mandy Jackson-Beverly</a> <a href="https://beacons.ai/thebookshoppodcast" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Social Media Links</a>

Don Lindgren, Rabelais Books

Don Lindgren established Rabelais Books in 2006. The bookshop now operates out of Biddeford, Maine and specializes in Artists’ Books, Cocktails, Cookbooks, Farm and Garden, Gastronomy, History of Food, Rare Periodicals, and Wine.  We met years ago when I sought him out in Portland to talk about collecting cookbooks (Listen here). As we parted Don handed me a copy of his first Rabelais catalogue with the big salami on its cover. I've been intrigued with them (bookseller catalogues) ever since. Don has a sizeable collection, and whenever we get together we talk about them. Several months ago we decided to make it formal by devoting an episode of The Biblio File podcast to discussing the design and content of these great and various sales vehicles. I reached out to several booksellers, including Simon Beattie, Heather O'Donnell, Jonathan Hill, Glenn Horowitz, Mark Funke, Biblioctopus and Brian Cassidy, all of whom kindly send me examples of their outstanding work.  Then Don and I got down to business.    

Don Lindgren established <a href="https://www.rabelaisbooks.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Rabelais Books</a> in 2006. The bookshop now operates out of Biddeford, Maine and specializes in Artists’ Books, Cocktails, Cookbooks, Farm and Garden, Gastronomy, History of Food, Rare Periodicals, and Wine.  We met years ago when I sought him out in Portland to talk about collecting cookbooks (<a href="https://thebibliofile.ca/don-lindgren-rabelais-801219-01-mp3" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Listen here</a>). As we parted Don handed me a copy of his first Rabelais catalogue with the big salami on its cover. I've been intrigued with them (bookseller catalogues) ever since. Don has a sizeable collection, and whenever we get together we talk about them. Several months ago we decided to make it formal by devoting an episode of The Biblio File podcast to discussing the design and content of these great and various sales vehicles. I reached out to several booksellers, including Simon Beattie, Heather O'Donnell, Jonathan Hill, Glenn Horowitz, Mark Funke, Biblioctopus and Brian Cassidy, all of whom kindly send me examples of their outstanding work.  Then Don and I got down to business.

Don Lindgren on the importance of bookseller catalogues

Researching ‘literary’ Portland (Maine) before trekking down there, I came across mention of Rabelais Book shop. What an interesting concept it’s built upon:  the vertical integration of new titles on food, wine, gardening and farming, with rare out-of-print  books. Patrons therefore inhabit several distinct categories: Book lovers and collectors from around the globe, food lovers and cooks from around the block. Situated in Portland’s East End next door to Hugo’s (chef Rob Evans won the 2009 James Beard award for Best Chef Northeast) and within walking distance of half a dozen other great restaurants, including Bresca, Duckfat and Fore Street, the store, in several short years, has become the go-to place for New England’s foodies. Hosting author readings, art exhibits, film showings/dinners and  Slow Food meetings, the shop is a jointly owned by Samantha Hoyt Lindgren, a former photo editor and pastry chef, and her husband Don, an antiquarian book dealer. I met with Don at Hugo’s – we thought it would be quieter there than in the store – to talk food and books…listen for the names of titles you might want to start collecting. 

Researching ‘literary’ Portland (Maine) before trekking down there, I came across mention of <a href="http://rabelaisbooks.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Rabelais Book shop</a>. What an interesting concept it’s built upon:  the vertical integration of new titles on food, wine, gardening and farming, with rare out-of-print  books. Patrons therefore inhabit several distinct categories: Book lovers and collectors from around the globe, food lovers and cooks from around the block. Situated in Portland’s East End next door to <a href="http://hugos.net/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Hugo’s</a> (chef Rob Evans won the 2009 James Beard award for Best Chef Northeast) and within walking distance of half a dozen other great restaurants, including <a href="http://bresca.org/Site/Welcome.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Bresca</a>, <a href="http://www.duckfat.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Duckfat</a> and <a href="http://www.forestreet.biz/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Fore Street</a>, the store, in several short years, has become the go-to place for New England’s foodies. Hosting author readings, art exhibits, film showings/dinners and  Slow Food meetings, the shop is a jointly owned by Samantha Hoyt Lindgren, a former photo editor and pastry chef, and her husband Don, an antiquarian book dealer. I met with Don at Hugo’s – we thought it would be quieter there than in the store – to talk food and books…listen for the names of titles you might want to start collecting.

Don Lindgren on Collecting Cooking Books