ABOUT US: Johnnycake Books is an Internet and storefront bookseller of rare and collectible books. We were one of the first several hundred booksellers to put their collections on the Internet in 1996. Our storefront, which resulted from our Internet success, is located in the small Connecticut town of Salisbury. Nestled in the foothills of the Berkshires, our shop is housed in a 19th-century farmers cottage. Surrounded by perennial gardens, Johnnycake Books is a place for relaxation, perusal, and acquisition of the fine things in our collection.
What's a johnnycake? It's a simple corncake that harkens back to old New England Yankee kitchens. Why Johnnycake Books? There are two reasons, one personal, and the other literary. There is a Johnnycake Hill that overlooks the harbor in New Bedford, Massachusetts, where the store's owner Dan Dwyer grew up. Johnnycake Hill is also the place in Herman Melville's Moby Dick where Ishmael finds lodging, worships and from whence he goes a-whaling.
JOHNNYCAKE'S OWNER: Dan Dwyer, brings a varied background to rare-book selling. After graduating from Georgetown University in 1974, he worked on Capitol Hill and then on Jimmy Carter's 1976 campaign. He then worked for the White House traveling worldwide with the press corps. Next he worked for CBS both in Washington and in New York. When he moved to Salisbury, he sold real estate and ran for public office before discovering the happy pursuit of rare books.
