Our Book Shop

We first began selling books in 2003, although, initially it was a hobby and interest rather than a business. In common with, we suspect, many booksellers, we found that we were in possession of more books than the shelving would accommodate. We either had to find a bigger house, stop buying books, or sell some volumes. The first option wasn't affordable, the second untenable...so the third became inevitable. Seventeen years later, we have more books, more space and critically, more time...so this is now very much our life.

We have some similar and differing motivations, but, happily they all blend well together. Primarily we just love everything about books - reading them, the look of them, the smell of them... we are both captivated by the notion that in one small, portable item, there can be delicate printed leaves of paper that encapsulate lifetimes of wisdom, love and creativity. We cannot bear to think of any books being discarded...so our bookselling is really about rehoming books...finding the next custodian for these much loved items.

Our specialities are a little eclectic! We have a particular interest in antiquarian poetry but this extends into seventeenth and eighteenth century philosophical works and science books. In addition, we specialise in books by and about women writers, including early editions of well known novels, and some more obscure works of criticism and biography. We are also extending our specialism into modern first editions, and, specifically South African literature.

What we like about being a bookseller is of course the pleasure of being surrounded by books, all day, every day but that seems a little selfish. The real magic is in the delight we share with the buyer...the ability to offer an edition that a collector has wanted for years; the information that can help track down a missing volume; supplying the perfect gift for a special occasion. There is something wonderful about carefully packaging a book, adding our bookmark and sending it on to a new and loving home...a shared anticipation in the joy a book can bring.