Comments on: Rare Books: How a Filthy Habit Got Too Clean

By: Gregoryno6

Gregoryno6 — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 11:19:55 +0000

Glad I could help.

By: Mr Lightfoot

Mr Lightfoot — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 08:23:51 +0000

Dear Gregory,
Thank you very much for the news about Don. I’m so pleased that he is still going and is still in Bayswater- it seems he has moved shop again- we both felt the area was the best in Perth. I shall have to write to him and jog the old buggers memory and enclose a note for Milan, as I used to see a lot of Milan but we lost touch.
It’s very sad about Mrs Main; I do wish I wasn’t so far away so I could pop by and see how Dennis is. Also sad news about Fremantle markets and Penny too. Good God if they do away with the markets Fremantle will be finished; this is appalling news.
Yes, I remember well how one of Don’s pet hates was always students, I remember that too. He once told me that was one of the reasons he prefered Bayswater- less students!
Thanks again so much for your news here. I’m very glad that I mentioned Perth on my comment on this little article and you happenened to pick up on it. All the best with your secondhand bookshop shenanigans. If you are really serious about it you could always get to the various big charity booksales like the one at UWA; afraid I can’t remember when abouts in the year that is, but it’s worth getting there early that first day and seeing what serendipidy has in store for you. This is the way to do it I think; I have yet to buy a book online and yet I’m never short of either good things to read or good memories of the circumstances in which I uncovered various books!
Regards, Mr L

By: Gregoryno6

Gregoryno6 — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 10:16:16 +0000

Mr L,
I visited Don’s shop in Bayswater today and passed along your good wishes. He didn’t recognise your name, but confessed that his memory was becoming spotty. He said he would mention you to a friend named Milan, if that name means anything to you.
His new premises are much better than the Bulwer Street setup IMHO. Smaller, but in between a cafe and an antique store. He was quite happy to talk. I didn’t mention it, but I once saw him give a serve to a customer in the old shop. Some young kid (who didn’t look like he’d missed too many meals recently) came to the counter with a book worth about $5, and asked for a student discount. Don said ‘Don’t make me laugh!’ and told him what he thought about students. I had to find something interesting on the shelves so they wouldn’t notice me laughing.
I mentioned some of the other sellers; sad news there. Mrs Main of Mainly Books passed away – Mr Main has moved further up the street and (I got the impression) is living in one of the new apartment blocks with the bookshop at street level. And Penny has been forced out of her little corner at Fremantle Markets. The whole Market site was sold and the new owners racked up the rents. Penny was facing a tripling of her rent, and the fruit and veg retailers have been hit with higher again. Sounds as if they are trying to destroy the markets – we can only surmise what their intentions might be…
I offered to write down this site’s address for Don but as you said, he is firmly non-internet!
His street address is Mostly Books, 13 King William St, Bayswater, WA, 6053.
Regards,
Greg.

By: Mr Lightfoot

Mr Lightfoot — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 10:37:11 +0000

Dear Gregory,
It sounds like you are on to the best shops. I know exactly what you mean about dear Vincent in Books etc!
Please do post if you find out how Don is doing, if he is still going etc.
Good luck with your fossicking

By: Gregoryno6

Gregoryno6 — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 22:49:31 +0000

Mr L, that upstairs room is a treat. I don’t think much of Elizabeth’s stock otherwise – too much of a Top-40 approach to fiction especially if you ask me – but I have wandered through that room a few times just for the fun of it.
I remember Mostly and Mainly Books. They were in Bulwer Street for years but that block has been redeveloped. Mostly Books is now in King William Road Bayswater. It must be close by That Food Shop if you know that.
There’s a Bill Campbell’s second hand bookstore listed at 48 High St in Freo. Also, Books Et Cetera in North Perth is worth a visit (but be prepared for a long and rambling conversation with the man at the counter).
Thanks for your reply and I’ll contact you again here when I have some information about Don.

By: onno ennoson

onno ennoson — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 00:27:04 +0000

dont see the point in bookcollecting somethings…..books(the real one) are beautiful…but the information out of them counts….
sorry,but do no tsee the a connection to this WSB related side and this article….
by the way:look at donau kremsfestival in austria…from 28.04.-08.05.2010….we are doing there a WSB-special…and at least myself will give some real books and real calligraphics to the public/audience…

all the best

onno ennoson

By: Mr Lightfoot

Mr Lightfoot — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 12:05:46 +0000

I lived in Perth for a long time and the best bookshop by far was always Mostly Books, which was last on the Guildford road heading out of east Perth and on the left hand side a bit before the Bid Buddhist Temple there. It is (or was?) run by the one and only ex-Londener Don. I hope he is still going. Don’t expect to find him on the web (Don thinks it’s bit of a con last I heard), but he would be worth seeking out. He used to be next door to Mainly Books on Bulwer St. They are worth a visit and should know Don’s current whereabouts. In fact please do seek him out let me know if he is still around as I very fond of him!

Then you need to get down to Centaur books in Bayswater, around the corner from Plastic Passion records. Hans the German will no doubt start banging on about the beauty of various typefaces and forms of printing given the slightest chance…

In Fremantle there is Penny who runs Magpie books at the markets on the weekend. She will be able to tell you where Bills shop is in Fremantle; I can’t remember. Althjough be very polite with Penny and show a little interest in her shop or she may not tell you! Bill used to have a market stall outside the WA art gallery, and when I left 3 years ago he had recently opened a huge and fantastic new shop, but I can’t remember it’s name I’m afraid.

Then of course there is Elizabeths. People have various winges about her shops, but the the room upstairs at her Fremantle town square shop is stuffed with good things cheap as chips.

Hope this helps. Let me know how you go!

By: Gregoryno6

Gregoryno6 — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 08:07:06 +0000

Mr Lightfoot, which stores were you referring to when you mentioned Perth? There were a couple of individual stores I knew of, but I thought they had gone out of business.
For the best second-hand book fix I have to wait until I’m back in Melbourne. Perth has too much sunshine and too much good weather – reading is a rare pastime here…

By: Mr Lightfoot

Mr Lightfoot — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 13:56:19 +0000

The bookshops here in London are all doing it tough at the moment, and many have closed or are in danger of closing. Too many to mention.

Yet clicking through internet pages simply does not even compare with stopping by a good bookshop at the end of the day. As evening falls and the light shifts, the conversation expands in unexpectedly and delightful directions and you end up buying something you would never find online: this is my idea of a fix.

In Melbourne, Perth, London, Paris and Delhi I have found it to be the same thing; the second hand bookshop is the place you go for good conversation, good connections and a pick-up for your soul, and I don’t meen the book, although that can be a pick-up for the soul as well of course.

Yet at the end of the day people have to get out there and visit these shops or they will die. If you feel you ‘don’t have the time’, then it’s probably time you got rid of the TV, edited your address book or something; time to visit bookshops might well be more important!

But lets face it, this internet has us by the balls. Enjoy the beautiful secondhand bookshops of the world while they are still around. Sadly it won’t be forever.