Jacob Zeitlin (1902-1987) moved to Los Angeles from Wisconsin via Texas in 1925, and began his career as a bookseller shortly thereafter. He owned a number of different shops through the years but is best remembered in the Pennsylvania Dutch-style building on La Cienega Boulevard often referred to as "the red barn." He and Josephine ver Brugge (1915-2005) married in 1939. Josephine, originally from Kansas, graduated from Park University in Missouri. Jacob died in his West Hollywood home following heart bypass surgery in 1987. Josephine died of respiratory failure at Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center in 2005.

Aldous Huxley (1894-1963), British author best known for his novel Brave New World, immigrated to the United States in 1937, where he remained until his death. He was represented by Zeitlin and corresponded with him over many years.