Second Hand Bookshops in London

Like many of the devotee diaspora left abandoned from our temple on 44 Eagle Street, I am dearly missing the feel of a fine edition book before purchase.

For those who are London bound, which bookshops would you recommend that have a good selection of second-hand Folios?

Great question! I’d be interested to hear answers to this as well and regarding second hand books in Oxford as well where I’ll be visiting shortly. As I live in the continent it’s much harder to find English language second hand books around here so I lack the experience of buying them in person. Looking forward to any ideas in bookstores around Oxford.

Skoob in Russell Square always has a decent (and probably biggest) selection of 2nd hand folios in London, though the ones out on their shelves most often tend to be older/less collectable. You can ask to see what they have in their warehouse out the back, if it's quiet.
The Bookshop on the Heath in Blackheath almost always has a varied and good selection, and keenly priced too. Its wider collection of non folios too is wonderful, and I would probably consider it to be the best 2nd hand bookshop in London (though it's rarely mentioned in any lists anywhere).
On Charing Cross Road (nr Leicester Sq) you can also check out Henry Pordes and Quinto, which always have a number of Folios.
But as a replacement for the Folio shop itself, I'd always recommend heading in to Laithwaites in Borough and leafing through the newest from Folio over a glass of wine.

There is this fantastic secondhand bookstore near the British Museum (it might actually be across the street). I don't know if has old FS books, but I found 1st editions of Charles Dickens at reasonable prices. It's a wonderful shop and I would recommend taking a look.

>4 Eastonorfolio:

Do you mean Jarndyce & Co?

Yes! That's the one. I found it by accident but well worth a look. I think they specialize in 18th and 19th-century books.

>5 boldface: I've always wondered if there was a real Mr Jarndyce in there or if it meant they specialized first in Dickens's novels (Bleak House). Who knows?

>7 Pepys:

Well, I'm pretty sure there isn't a Mr Jarndyce there now, François! I think they took the name because, as >6 Eastonorfolio: says, they specialize in 19th-century books and Dickens in particular. They produce an extensive and comprehensive catalogue of Dickensiana on a regular basis. I've bought a couple of early volumes of the magazine The Dickensian there and a copy of the bound prospectus for the original Nonesuch Dickens which is printed in the same format/paper/type as the books and contains facsimile pages of various earlier editions, etc.

Peter Harrington is always there if you have the $$$.

>9 Raenas: I assume you mean the cold, hard £££.

>9 Raenas:
>10 NLNils:

E.g. https://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/SearchResults?cm_sp=sort-_-SRP-_-Results&...
(Sort by "highest price")
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>1 Santas_Slave:

A few handy links here:

https://theculturetrip.com/europe/united-kingdom/england/london/articles/the-fin...

One of those listed, Henry Sotheran Limited, claims to be the oldest established antiquarian bookseller in the world (founded 1761 in York - in London since 1815).
https://www.sotherans.co.uk/about.php

Click on their virtual tour for an idea of what it's like inside. The Folio Society shop/gallery was located in the basement here for many years before it moved to Eagle Street (sadly, also now closed, of course).

>11 boldface: Click on their virtual tour for an idea of what it's like inside.

Took me all of ten seconds to find a bookcase full of Folios (sadly, couldn't see any I don't already have). I could spend many a long day in such a fabulous place. And London is full of them.

>12 folio_books: Last time I was there (roughly 1.5 years ago) that bookcase was gone. Several FS titles were spread out throughout the store, but there was little to no logic in finding them. I don't know if a London based FSD is able to confirm whether or not this is still the case. It is a very interesting (though expensive) bookstore nonetheless.

Other than that, I cannot recommend Skoob (>3 hiphopopotamus:) enough. Reasonably priced, wide selection (mainly old, it is very well frequented and there seems to be a lot of change in stock) and a very nice bookstore (basement) to sit around in and explore books by other publishers. It has less fine press books, but the sheer volume of books is astounding.

>11 boldface: At least they didn’t skimp on the photos! Haha!

Sotheran's downsized it's shop space in half late last year, so there have been massive layout changes recently. London prices are higher than elsewhere, naturally, so although occasional FS bargains might be found, most of what you'll find will be available elsewhere cheaper. If you catch a day when new stock has been shelved, Skoob is good. For new books or that rare, or not-so-rare, first edition, one can't do much better than Daunt's in Marylebone and Hatchard's on Piccadilly. The shops in Cecil Court off Charing Cross Rd are also worth a visit. With a very rare exception, I have always found Porde's to be overpriced and very much catering to the passing deep-pocketed tourist trade. If real quality is what you seek, go to Magg's; they've recently sold their building in Berkeley Sq, but they have a small shop in Shepard Market.

Thanks for all the recommendations folks. Unfortunately, the local Oxfams around here are terrible and I hate to say it but London is rather poor for second hand books - I guess the marketplace is just too efficient to get a great find.

I visited Skoobs at the weekend, it's a nice shop. Smaller than I expected and the folios were very old, not particularly well priced. However, they have a collection of Franklin Library books (some still in shrink wrap) for very cheap prices. Some of the better authors too - I picked a few up myself which I am happy for. Yes, also a fine selection of books but nothing deserving of the capital of a book loving nation - the quest continues.

>16 Santas_Slave: "Unfortunately, the local Oxfams around here are terrible and I hate to say it but London is rather poor for second hand books - I guess the marketplace is just too efficient to get a great find."

Whilst we all enjoy a certain frisson when we make a great find, remember that this is only possible if the bookshop has paid the original owner significantly less than a fair price. And can we really call a bookshop that makes a habit of doing this a great bookshop?

We might like to imagine a great bookshop that pays a fair price for books but then sells them off at bargain prices. The reality is, however, that such a bookshop would go bust entremely quickly.