BRADLEY, VAN ALLEN, 1913-1984

Biography: Journalist, book dealer. Born– August 24, 1913, Albertville. Parents– Van A. and Lula (Montgomery) Bradley. Married– Patricia Elaine Thompson, November 5, 1939. Children– Three. Married– Sharon Luedke, December 3, 1966. Children– One. Education– Harding College, 1930-1932; University of Missouri, B.J., 1933. Worked for the Nashville Tennessean (1934-35), Omaha Bee-News (1935-37), Chicago Herald Examiner, Chicago Sun and the Chicago Daily News (where he was literary editor), 1948-71.  President of Heritage Bookshop, Inc. in Chicago, 1964-1972; president of Van Allen Bradley, Inc., 1972-1984. Wrote a syndicated column, “Gold in Your Attic,” about rare books.  Received the Chicago Foundation for Literature Award for “exceptional service to literature” in 1956.  Died December 25, 1984.

Source: Who’s Who in America, 1980; obituary.

Publication(s):

The Book Collector’s Handbook of Values. New York; Putnam, 1972.

Gold in Your Attic. New York; Fleet, 1958.

More Gold in Your Attic. New York; Fleet, 1961.

Music for the Millions. Chicago; Institute of Business History, 1957.

The New Gold in Your Attic. New York; Fleet, 1968.