Louella Kerr's interest in books started, and has continued, with her being a compulsive reader. Books and travel are her passions. Born in Ceylon, she came to Australia at the age of eight, but got back to travelling when she left school by joining Qantas as a flight attendant.
While flying, she completed an Arts degree at Queensland University, and supplemented this education with flying visits to the rare book shops of London, New York, and San Francisco. When she left flying in 1980 she immediately did a Graduate Diploma of Librarianship, and started dealing in rare books.
For many years she had a shop in Paddington, then in Glebe, and finally in Sydney's CBD. She now works from home in an antiquarian (1879) house in Petersham. She takes most human knowledge, and imagination, as her province, and so considers herself a general book dealer, but with a particular fondness for literature, travel, art and illustrated books.
She served as President of ANZAAB in 2005-2006.
