I'm Mike Franc, a lifetime bibliophile and collector of vintage books, and the owner of the Novelty Shop since its establishment in August 1984.

The heart of the Novelty Shop began in 1971 when my parents, Joe and Ruth Franc, opened the Rocker Shop Antiques in a room of our century home in Novelty, Ohio. The business was very successful and quickly outgrew that showroom. As a result, they constructed a red barn on the back of the property to serve as their expanded display space.

In 1984, my wife, Chris, and I took over a room in the Rocker Shop sales barn to sell antique furniture and a small selection of books, and thus, Novelty Shop Antiques and Books was born.  Over the years, the quantity of books increased, and interest in antique furniture decreased.

With the birth of online selling, we began listing a portion of our inventory on ABE books in 1999. After taking over the Rocker Shop business and inheriting the property, Chris and I reevaluated our business plan; we were both full-time teachers at Hathway Brown and University School, with the store open weekends. As the books were selling well, and the antiques were not, we elected to shift our business primarily to book selling with a hint of antiques here and there, as it made sense.

As the sales barn had exceeded its life expectancy, in 2018, we decided to close the Rocker Shop, demolish the barn, and transition the Novelty Shop to the century house as a used, vintage and rare bookstore.

Since that time, we've been working to establish ourselves as a respected, well-curated, used bookstore dealing primarily in vintage books. Our specialties continue to be mystery and detective fiction from the pre-World War II era, classic children's and young adult books, vintage fiction, and books about Ohio, particularly the Cleveland area. Since 2018 we have doubled the number of books we have listed on ABE, and our total inventory exceeds 7500 titles.

Navigating life has its challenges. Sadly, after 35 years of marriage, I lost my wife and best friend, Chris, to pancreatic cancer in May 2019. My family and I miss her dearly, and she remains to this day, every bit a part of the legacy of Novelty Shop Books.

Moving forward, our mission remains what it has always been - a labor of love to rehome vintage and classic books with people who love them as much as we do. Because of our years of experience, we are able and happy to advise families who are faced with the challenge of dealing with a loved one’s collection of books. We are not accredited to do appraisals for insurance or estate purposes.

Come visit us. On any given Saturday or Sunday (or by appointment for a private showing) you'll find me, or my partner and curator, Linda Western, or perhaps my daughter Caitlin filling in for us at the store.  We'd love to see you.