Allan J. Stypeck

Statement of Qualifications

Allan J. Stypeck is the President of Second Story Books, Inc., the Washington, D.C. area’s largest used-and-rare bookstore. “Best Used Bookstore”, Washingtonian Magazine, “One of 10 Best Used Bookstores in the U.S”,     USA Today, and the cover story of the April 4, 2017 Washington Post Magazine. Second Story Books, Inc. has two locations: 2000 P St., NW, Washington, D.C. 20036 and 12160 Parklawn Drive, Rockville, MD 20852.

Mr. Stypeck graduated in 1972 from the American University School of Government and International Service in Washington, D.C. with a B.A. in Economics and a B.A. in Political Science.

He is a Senior Member of the American Society of Appraisers (ASA) accredited in Books and Manuscripts; member of the Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America (ABAA), the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB) and The Manuscript Society.

Mr. Stypeck serves as an expert witness in all judicial court systems, both federal and state. He has worked on criminal and civil cases with the FBI, U.S. Post Office Inspector General, Library of Congress, the Inspector General of the State of Connecticut and has worked with the police and judicial systems of Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and the District of Columbia.

Instructor at seminars on book collecting for the Smithsonian Institution and the University of Florida; taught an accredited course on appraising at George Washington University, Wash, DC. in conjunction with the American Society of Appraisers and has written the accreditation test for the discipline of book and manuscripts for the American Society of Appraisers.
 
Lectures on collecting books and assessing their value at the Library of Congress, Smithsonian Institution, American Institute of Architects, Enoch Pratt Free Library, Washington Rare Book Group, Washington Hebrew Congregation, Georgetown U., George Mason U., Catholic University of America, U. of Maryland, American U., U. of Pittsburgh, Howard U., Catonsville Community College, Washington College, St. Johns College and the following public library systems: Wash., D.C., Fairfax, VA, Arlington, VA, Alexandria, VA, Montgomery County, MD, Chattanooga, TN, and is a Darragh Distinguished Lecturer for the Central Arkansas Library System. Mr. Stypeck has lectured at the Friendship Heights Village Center, Friendship Heights, MD.

Mr. Stypeck has prepared over 4,000 appraisals for donation, risk management, insurance, estate and sale purposes since 1974.  He appraises all printed material, including books, maps, manuscripts and stamps, as well as photography, phonograph records, fine art, antiquities, Oriental art and objets d’art.

Mr. Stypeck conducts appraisals for the Library of Congress, Smithsonian Institution, Federal Bureau of Investigation, United States Department of State, National Park Service, the Senate, House of Representatives, White House, Supreme Court, National Archives, U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, Corcoran Museum of Art, Folger Shakespeare Library, Georgetown University, George Washington University, the University of Maryland, Catholic University of America, the National Library of Medicine at NIH, the Peabody Conservatory of Music as well as colleges, universities, major museums, institutions and corporations throughout North America.

Mr. Stypeck is currently retained by the estate of Former Secretary of State Dr. Henry Kissinger as a consultant, appraiser and archivist and also represents former CIA and FBI Director William H. Webster.  Since 1975, Mr. Stypeck has periodically assisted the United States Department of State in obtaining gifts presented to foreign dignitaries by the President, Vice President and Secretary of State.

Recipient of one of only eight Pillars awarded by the Historical Society of Washington, DC.

Previous member, Board of Directors, Montgomery County, Maryland Historic Society and the Board of Directors, Friends of the Libraries, U. of Maryland and the Steering Committee, Friends of the Libraries, American University.

1997-2009, co-hosted, along with Mike Cuthbert, the popular hour-long radio show, The Book Guys, Mr. Stypeck answered callers’ book-related questions every week coast-to-coast on public radio.  C-Span 2 frequently broadcasted The Book Guys on their show About Books.  Mr. Stypeck has appeared on PBS’s Antiques Roadshow and is appearing on the 2014-2019 seasons of Maryland Public Television’s Chesapeake Collectibles.

Second Story Books constantly acts as consultants and agents for a number of large estates. Previous projects have included Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Chief Justice Warren E. Burger, Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger, Librarian of Congress Daniel Boorstin, book collector Roland Comstock, the African studies collection of Dr. John Willis and handled the sale of the archives and personal property of Russian dancer and producer Ida Rubinstein to the Library of Congress and the Bob Fass radio archives to Columbia University..

Mr. Stypeck has been an expert witness in the following cases: Tulane University vs. Marsh Insurance et al.; Kit Williams and Unserberghof LLC v. State Farm Fire and Casualty Company; Storage America vs. Capt. Bruce Abbott; POACRE vs. Calvert Marine Museum and California Casualty Indemnity Exchange vs. Jay Ross. Mr. Stypeck was assigned by the US District Court for the District of Wyoming to act as umpire for a dispute styled Edith W. Martin vs. Fireman’s Fund et al. and was appointed by the US District Court Southern District of Ohio to be the appraiser for Planned Parenthood vs. Michael Bray, Case No. 2:05-mc-00002-EAS-TPK.

In addition to appraising Dr. Kissinger’s archives, Mr. Stypeck has appraised the archives of eight other Nobel Prize recipients, including but not limited to: Dr. Eric Kandel, Dr. Marshall Nirenberg, including his actual Nobel Prize, Dr. Joshua Lederberg, Dr. Julius Axelrod, Dr. Christian Anfinsen and Dr. Paul Dirac.  Other collections of distinction Mr. Stypeck has appraised include General Colin Powell, U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren E. Burger; H.U.D. Secretary Jack Kemp; Secretary of Energy and Governor of New Mexico Bill Richardson; U.S. Secretaries of Defense Robert McNamara and Caspar Weinberger; NATO Supreme Commanders General Andrew Goodpaster and General John Galvin; U.S. Attorney General Dick Thornburgh; Surgeon Generals Dr. C. Evertt Koop, Dr. Julius Richmond and Dr. Jonathan M. Foltz; the laboratory of Dr. Jonas Salk; the Heinz Family Archives; National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski; Secretary of State Madeleine Albright; U.S. Senators Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts, Daniel Moynihan of New York, Christopher Dodd of Connecticut, Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, Ted Stevens of Alaska, Bob Graham of Florida, Paul Sarbanes and Barbara Mikulski of Maryland, Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey; Congresswoman Helen Bentley of Maryland;  Congressman James Sasser of Tennessee and Ambassador to China during the Clinton administration; Congressmen Bud Schuster of Pennsylvania, Bart Gordon of Tennessee, Bud Cramer of Alabama, Dan Boren of Oklahoma, Norm Dicks of Washington, Cliff Stearns of Florida and Marty Meehan of Massachusetts, George Miller of California, Paul Rogers of Florida, John Murtha of Pennsylvania, Tom Petri of Wisconsin, Henry A. Waxman of California; Wyoming Governor Nellie Tayloe Ross, first woman governor. Mr. Stypeck prepares appraisals of property seized by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, including in 2013, the Nazi Party ideologist Adolph Rosenberg’s personal diary, 1936-1944.


Contact Information:
Allan Stypeck
Second Story Books
12160 Parklawn Dr.
Rockville, MD 20852
Email: research@secondstorybooks.com
Tel: (301)770-0477 ext. 13