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8 November 2005 Farewell, Patterson LiddleOne of the two best secondhand waterway booksellers, Patterson Liddle, has closed. Their catalogues, filled with all manner of antiquarian canal books, posters, Acts of Parliament and pamphlets, were enormously bad for the cheque book, but I'm very sorry to see them go... even if our long-suffering bookshelves aren't. This leaves M&M Baldwin as the sole canal specialist. There are, of course, a few general booksellers with strong waterway stock such as Joseph Mason, and there's always www.abebooks.com . But I'd still love to see a canalside bookshop in Atherstone Booktown. The new booktown is slowly struggling to its feet, with two decent shops in the market square, one of which was host to a priceless exchange when I visited the other week. A mother and teenage daughter came in to buy some "holiday reading" for the husband on their upcoming Mediterranean holiday. The husband had specifically requested a book he'd seen in the window a few days beforehand, called 'Erotica'. Wife didn't quite appear to know what this meant, but had a vague inkling it might be trouble. "Is it a filthy book?" she asked of the American bookseller, who (I suspect) was none less than James Hanna. Oh yes, he replied with some glee. It's wonderfully filthy. She did eventually buy it. I hope she passed it on to her husband intact. Comments | |
