[JackCase]

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I also saw that the only people who make any money are those who buy and sell the books, not the people who work for them who are in effect well-educated shop assistants.



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Retail is retail, whether you are selling rare books or jeans or sporting goods. There is rarely any money or future in retail selling.

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Should I try to get any job with any kind of antiquarian store, no matter how badly paid or menial or far from my interests, knowing I can then move into a more suitable role a year late?

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No, you can't move into a more suitable role in a year. You might be able to move up to a relatively better job, but you will still be in retail sales.

The only reason to work in a rare book business is to learn enough to start your own business. On the other hand, working for a rare book business, you will never save enough money to start your own business, because of the high overhead of inventory.

One option to consider would be to stay in your current job, working partime in the book business to learn the business and to develop contacts. Once you get to know the people in the business, look toward working with/for one of them in an ownership arrangement, with the idea of building partnership equity and eventually buying them out when they are ready to retire.