 MEET THE STAFF (Click HERE to visit PRB&M's partners) are our able associates — Wendy Gale, Derek Plattowski, Jason Rosenberg, James Plaster & Cynthia Williams — plus our biblio-familiar, the black cat, SESSA. 
Wendy plays a flock of woodwinds — including
flute, recorder, crumhorn, and shawm — both with local Renaissance/folk
band Wendy's e-mail goes to her under her “SCAdian” name, Sabine Kerbriant de Lanvaux. Or click BurlapLute — and, if you have Winamp or comparable player, you can click [HERE] for an MP3 sound sample!
 Convertibles!
 Hayce
professes to know the secret identity of Space
Ghostand really hates writing descriptions of himself. 
Because he's had a longstanding interest in
theology without actually holding a degree in the subject, James likes
to describe himself as an “armchair theologian.” We describe
him as the guy who, when somebody mentions a strange 16th-century sect
or a significant but obscure German religious movement), can probably
say, 
Beyond the usual, and having been in other lives a wedding and event
planner, Cynthia goes into action when party plans need to be executed
— ordering chairs or picking up the turkey doesn't begin to cover
it. She copes when multiple appointments must be delicately coordinated
— e.g., do we really want the massage therapist to run into the visiting
bankers? And she is a champion bookspotter. The 12mo or slim pamphlet
that attempts to hide itself on the wrong shelf or behind another book
stands no chance of escaping her capture. Cynthia is a venturesome cook, an expert seamstress, an avid reader,
and a diva of deadpan joke-delivery. To e-mail her, click here
. . .
the accuracy of our cataloguing, and the integrity of our dealings. We aim, simply, to place good books and manuscripts where they will be zestfully used and possessed with satisfaction.
 For
more pictures . . . Visit
the staff gallery pageor
the partners' pageor
Sessa's FAQ pageor
HIS gallery.
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Wendy Gale became
a PRB&M cataloguer
due largely to the mysterious workings of fate and Cynthy's friend “HK”
— who made the felicitous connection before either Wendy or the firm
had quite determined what was happening. She very happily spends most
of her time rummaging through books, researching them, and writing them
up, most frequently under the watchful eye and firm direction of Sessa.
Burlap
Lute (currently on hiatus) and at events
held by various historically themed groups. She and her husband
Neal recently welcomed their first child, a little girl named Mina Hadara
Gale, which will interestingly modify one of their favorite pastimes
— plotting the next trip abroad. The Gales participate in the Society
for Creative Anachronism, an organization dedicated to the study and
re-enactment of life in the Middle Ages. One of Mina's very first
pieces of clothing was a lavender medieval gown.
One
happy PRB&M customer, writing that
her order arrived so splendidly packed as to “survive a nuclear
blast at ground zero,” wrote an actual “ode” in his
celebration — to read it, 
Derek, who knows UPS,
FedEx,
DHL, and USPO
regs down to the ground, can predict the wrapped weight of any book
to within a few ounces. Deft of hand and well tutored by one of our
binder/conservators, he performs most of the physical care of the books
in our custody; presently, he is tutoring James in this regard. He also
writes checks, manages maintenance, and is the guy who organizes the
trucks, the people, and generally the project when a literal ton of
books needs to be picked up in, for example, New York City (ay, the
parking issues!) — in upstate New York (ay, the snow!) — or
in central New Jersey (ah, that was the nice lady who took
such kind lunchtime care of the packers!).
Jason
“Hayce” Rosenberg has
been PRB&M's
Photoshop Master and a valued General Computer Tech-Guy since July of
‘02. His love of graphics spans back to the days of the
Atari 2600. When
not amusing himself here at the shop (see picture at right), he amuses
himself by racing R/C cars, watching darn near everything on the Cartoon
Network, and playing really violent computer games. Other favorite things
include Mystery Science Theater 3000 (he runs his own
James
Plaster has been a PRB&M'er
since July of 2006. An Anglo-Spanish Londoner now living in Philadelphia
and married to David's niece, he worked as a bookseller of mostly second-hand
books for a number of years before coming to the U.S. By half
his heritage a lifelong aficionado of “Los Toros,” James
has not only seen a great many bullfights, but trained to become only
the fourth British subject to become a full-fledged professional Matador
de Novillos. Marriage to Julie meant his retirement. . . .
James is a passionate traveller. His explorations can happily be local,
however, as well as remote; while in London, he took people on historical
tours of the graveyards in its vicinity, and he wrote a book (as yet
unfinished) on London loos.
“Oh,
right! and did you know . . . ”
She
is passionate about books of all types and has made good customer service
her heart's mission here.
As
for Sessa, you can visit his own illustrated,
animated FAQ page by clicking 
