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Visual arts, literature,
theater, music & more
FOR THE
LOVE OF
BOOKS
Jacob Deatherage makes
custom-made journals from
vintage books at Ex Libris
Anonymous in Astoria
By JONATHAN WILLIAMS
FOR COAST WEEKEND
W
hen Jacob Deatherage was living
in Seattle in 1999, the businessman
Paul Allen gave him $5,000 to leave
the apartment he was living in after Allen
bought the building.
This became the nucleolus of Deather-
age’s now nearly 20-year-old business, Ex
Libris Anonymous, where he makes cus-
tom-made journals from recycled vintage
books.
He’s worked in Seattle, Portland and
Eugene before coming to Astoria.
His shop, located at 1191 Marine Drive,
sits in the former space of Thompson’s
Instrument Repair and has been open since
February.
The space has been remade, with a
giant bookshelf visible from the street that
reaches from floor to ceiling. Deatherage’s
corgi, Crumpton, greets visitors from his
perch on the couch when they come in.
With colorful, hardcover books from
diverse topics such as “Life in Europe:
Italy” to “Guide to Modern English,” and
beloved Dr. Seuss books, customers can
select the book they want made into a
journal.
Deatherage saves the cover and a few
pages from the book before adding in
white paper and a plastic coil to hold the
journal together.
See Books, Page 15
ABOVE: Jacob
Deatherage,
who owns
and operates
Ex Libris
Anonymous
in Astoria,
punching holes
in a journal.
LEFT: The
storefront
of Ex Libris
Anonymous
located at 1191
Marine Drive in
Astoria.
Photos by Jonathan
Williams