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The Homestead Book Company is the world's oldest counter-cultural book distributor. Founded in 1972 by David Tatelman. In 2011 Homestead is now celebrating their 39th year in business.

Origins
Homestead started with underground comix from Rip Off Press, publisher of the Freak Brothers Comix and the Print Mint, publisher of Zap Comix. Every week David would pile his entire inventory into his Chevy Vega station wagon and drive from Olympia to Bellingham, Washington, servicing his accounts.

The biggest boost to the fledging business came with the publication of High Times Magazine. With this monthly source of income, Homestead became a successful business. Homestead has had a great relationship with High Times over the years, being one of High Times’ largest distributors, and also its longest running advertiser with the full-page EZ-Gro Mushroomkit® advertisement every month.

The first book Homestead distributed and the very first marijuana growing book was, The Complete Guide to Growing Marijuana, by Dave Fleming, which sold for $1 and has been out-of-print for decades. Shortly after that Murphy Stevens published his perennial best seller, How to Grow the Finest Marijuana Indoors Under Lights, a book Homestead continues to sell, in its latest edition. Another one of the early Homestead distribution inventory included the book, The Field Guide to Psilocybin Mushrooms, by F.C. Ghouled, now out-of-print.

Homestead has also published its own books over the years, starting with the Magickal Mushroom Handbook by Richard Alan Miller, and continuing with Psilocybe Mushrooms and Their Allies by Paul Stamets. Other books Homestead published over the years includes: Growing Wild Mushrooms, the Poor Man's Guide to Seattle Restaurants, the Good Beer Guide, and Seattle Laughs.

Today, Homestead Book Company is also the national distributor for several books, including the Mushroom Cultivator by Paul Stamets and Jeff Chilton.

A quote from the owner David Tatelman, “All of us at the Homestead Book Company are proud of the small part we have played in distributing independent books that we think have made this world a better place. We owe our success to our customers and the retailers who distribute our books, and who have hung with us throughout the decades. Keep on truckin!"