Although we buy books in all fields from all periods we specialize in antiquarian and scholarly books on history, philosophy, religion and psychology, and we are one of America's leading dealers in Hermetic Philosophy.  We are fully versant with most historical periods and have relationships with major academic and research libraries, professional book societies, and private collectors.  If you are serious about your books let us know what your needs are whether buying or selling.

Since 2006 we have linked with Fields Books Store, one of America’s oldest independent book stores.  They handle all our sales.  Most of our stock can be viewed online at their web site www.Fieldsbooks.com.  Our catalogs are available on their home page in pdf and online versions. Please make your purchase there.  For all other needs, including questions about book content and possible purchase of your books please contact us directly.  We look forward to helping you with any book issues you may have.

My first book store began in 1981, at 520 Waller Street in San Francisco.  It was called Mantic Hands Book Gallery.  Always with an extra eye out for promoting local artists I moved in 1983 to a much larger store front with separate art gallery on Haight Street (near Fillmore).  That store was first called Bibliomancy Book Gallery, but since nobody could remember the name I changed it to The Haight Fillmore Book Gallery.  A few years later I opened another book store in the small town of Boonville, in Mendocino County called Diluvian Books.  After the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989 I moved to Sonoma County where I was to remain for 12 years, opening The Pratum Book Company on the plaza of the beautiful town of Healdsburg, about one hour north of the Golden Gate.  In 2003, after the ascent of Amazon and the final dominance of the chains I gave up the “brick & mortar” way and moved to Oakland California to deal exclusively by mail and internet. This web site is under construction.

If you would like to view a pdf of catalog 85, which has a nice brief summary of what I have done the last few years click here:   Catalog 85 pdf

Here are a few photos:

Myself (left) with the famed Michael Goth, founder of The Globe Book Shop, of Los Angeles, photographed while browsing the shelves at Fields Book Store in San Francisco, 2008.

My very first book store, 520 Waller Street, near the corner of Steiner, in San Francisco.  It began as an art studio but after three years of trying to make it there as an abstract painter and art gallery I filled it with books and opened in 1981, calling it the Mantic Hands Book Gallery, mantic being the art of divination.  A lot of the stock came from the psychiatric library of my father, Dr. Leif K. Pratum. But I was also a dedicated "dumpser diver" and we found amazing books that had been thrown away, including many scarce volumes that had been thrown out by the San Francisco Public Library.  About a year later I moved to 518 Haight Street right off the corner of Fillmore.  I renamed the business Bibliomancy Book Gallery.  At the time my main specialties were art, metaphysics, philosophy, and recent literature and poetry.  Note the spiral sign!

 Here is a birds-eye view of the front counter of the shop on Haight Street, c.1983 with me on the phone.

Inside 518 Haight Street, circa 1983.  The large painting on the wall is by Scott Williams.  His art can be viewed now at www.stencilarchive.org.

More photos to come.