Dirk Cable; Longtime Pasadena Book Dealer

Dirk Cable, 72, a longtime book dealer in Pasadena who was active in the close-knit community of Southern California book lovers. Born in Michigan, Cable grew up in Sierra Madre and graduated first from Pasadena City College and then UC Berkeley. After a lengthy career in the insurance industry, he opened his bookshop on Lake Avenue in 1972. In addition to fine first editions, his store, Dirk Cable, Bookseller, carried maps and antique prints and was often a venue for authors to read from their works. “What distinguished Dirk Cable as a bookseller was his great desire to connect people with books, whether they purchased the book from him or not,” said Thomas F. Andrews, executive director of the Historical Society of Southern California. “His was a learning library as well as a bookstore,” Andrews said. In addition to the historical society, Cable was active in the Zamorano Club and the Friends of the Huntington Library. The family asks that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Historical Society of Southern California. On April 2 in Pasadena after complications from surgery.