Founded on January 2, 1980, by Bob and Lois Weinstein, The Book Baron grew into one of the largest and most famous used and antiquarian bookstores in Southern California. Operating out of an expansive 20,000-square-foot facility at 1236 S. Magnolia Avenue in Anaheim, the shop housed more than 500,000 volumes across miles of shelving. It served as a massive regional draw for collectors, housing expansive selections of general paperbacks, comics, vinyl records, pulp magazines, and specialized rare first editions focusing on mystery fiction and California history. The Book Baron also spawned other notable Orange County booksellers; co-workers David Hess and Paul Bonaventure Sr. met while working on staff before branching out in 1990 to found The Bookman in Orange. Facing changing industry economics and the digital marketplace, The Book Baron liquidated its physical compound in the summer of 2007, subsequently transitioning into a specialized online rare book dealership.