Roy Meador, 77, Wrote on Antiquarian Topics

Roy Meador, who died January 16 in Ann Arbor, Mich., was a writer and bibliophile who turned to his hobby for inspiration when he wrote "Book Row," a history of the antiquarian book trade. He was 77.

Formerly centered on Fourth Avenue on the blocks adjacent to 10th Street, rare book shops have nearly disappeared in the area, represented solely, if epically, by the Strand.

"Book Row" was published in 2004 and co-written with a longtime Strand employee, Marvin Mondlin. According to Publishers Weekly, the book "brings to life the glory days of one of New York City's greatest bygone treasures."

Meador was born April 23, 1929, in Cordell, Okla., and attended the University of Southern California on a scholarship before joining the Navy. He served on warships off the coast of Korea.

Inspired by literature from his teenage years, when he first read Thomas Wolfe, Meador came to New York in the 1950s and eventually became an advertising copywriter and technical writer for Pfizer, Inc.

He supplemented his income with freelance pieces for literary journals, sometimes on cantankerous topics such as the romance of typewriters or "Horseshoe Pitching: The Sport for a Sane Adult."

His first published book was "Future Energies" (1974), and he wrote several others on scientific and technical topics.

In the late 1970s, Meador moved to Ann Arbor for a new technical writing job. He became known as an inveterate writer of letters to the editor, taking proudly liberal positions. He self-published a critique of the death penalty.

He is survived by his wife, Helen.