Who We Are

Important Note: from June 2010 until further notice, the Children's Book Gallery website will be inactive as Chris Loker pursues a number of writing and publishing opportunities which require her to recuse herself from the commercial side of the business. The unsold inventory remains in the shop though not online, and is available through John Windle Antiquarian Bookseller. Visitors are welcome by appointment with John Windle.

Children's Book Gallery was established in 2006 as an extension of the highly respected general rare book business, John Windle Antiquarian Bookseller, founded in 1974. Both bookshops are located in San Francisco at 49 Geary Street, near Union Square.

We are open six day a week as part of our commitment to an ongoing physical presence in the antiquarian book world. Our hours are 10 AM to 6 PM, Monday through Friday, and 11 to 6 Saturday. However, it is always wise to contact us to be sure we are open, since we travel often for business.

Our travel includes attending many major antiquarian book fairs each year, such as the California Fair in February, the New York Fair in April, the London Fair in June, the Seattle Fair in October, and the Boston Fair in November. In addition we frequently attend auctions and other book events in major cities, as business needs dictate.

As a wife and husband team, we welcome all interested customers, from those who are just starting to enjoy antiquarian children's books (either for themselves, or for the children or grandchildren in their lives), to those with a developed collection of these wonderful books and works of book art.

Chris Loker, proprietor of Children's Book Gallery, started her career outside the world of rare children's books. After graduating from Stanford University and attending the Stanford Graduate School of Business, she worked for 25 years in corporate Human Resources at firms that include Levi Strauss & Company, Bank of America, and Universal Studios. Her final corporate position was Senior Vice President of Human Resources at Charles Schwab and Company. In 2002 Chris joined John Windle Antiquarian Bookseller and, with her husband, John Windle, began to focus entirely on antique children's books in 2004, opening Children's Book Gallery in 2006. In addition to her work at Children's Book Gallery, Chris serves on the board of directors of a number of nonprofit organizations, including the Book Club of California and Bring Me A Book Foundation. She also is a member of many book organizations, including America's ABAA (Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America), Europe's ILAB (International League of Antiquarian Booksellers), and England%u2019s PBFA (Provincial Booksellers%u2019 Fairs Association). Chris also is a member of the Grolier Club, a club for bibliophiles in New York City.

John Windle has been dealing in rare books, manuscripts, and book-related prints and paintings since graduating from university in England in 1967. After training with Bernard Quaritch Ltd. in London, and John Howell-Books in San Francisco, he opened his bookshop in San Francisco in 1974. John is a former Master of the Press of the Roxburghe Club of San Francisco, a member of the AIB, the Grolier Club, the Caxton Club, the Book Club of California, the Colophon Club, the ABAA (Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America), the ILAB (International League of Antiquarian Booksellers), and the PBFA (Provincial Booksellers Fairs Association). He serves on several boards and committees in these organizations. As a dedicated runner and triathlete, John is also a member of the Lake Merritt Joggers and Striders, a running club in the San Francisco Bay Area.