Second-Hand Bookshops.

Foxbark · May 28th, 2008, 12:13 PM

Greetings Friends,
Do any other readers here (particularly British ones) remember discovering the joys of 2nd hand bookshops in their youth.
Alas, they have all but vanished now, but when I were a lad (late 70s early 80s) they were fairly common.
To call them 'bookshops' was a misnomer because they dealt mainly in old magazines (anything from hobbyist to Woman's Own), but their main stock-in-trade (90%) was porn.
A chain called 'The Popular Book Centre' based in South London was where I spent many a pleasant Saturday afternoon gloatng over luscious 1970s Mayfair photosets.
Remember the familiar musty smell of the shops, the seedy old man at the counter, the 'ping' of the door as you opened or shut it, 'recycling' your porn, the Marvel comics etc?
In the porn-starved, internet free world of the 1970s thse were indeed pleasant oases.

themaskedavenger · May 28th, 2008, 02:47 PM

Plus books in Croydon and Colliers Wood - now sadly both departed.

Those were the days!

**slaphead** · May 28th, 2008, 03:31 PM

I used to go to a junk shop in the Midlands on the way back from school which sold Spick and Span type mags.

I was allowed to buy them only if I kept them out of sight at all times !!!

Thus started my lifelong love of older porno,in particular Monique Devereux and Toni Kessering.

buggeration · May 28th, 2008, 03:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slaphead

I used to go to a junk shop in the Midlands on the way back from school which sold Spick and Span type mags.

I was allowed to buy them only if I kept them out of sight at all times !!!

Thus started my lifelong love of older porno,in particular Monique Devereux and Toni Kessering.

Used to be one in Gloucester. Used to be next door to a pub called The Tabard. Pubs still there but the name has changed. Love Birds, Park Lane, Playbirds...he sold 'em all.

macrinius · May 28th, 2008, 05:32 PM

i used to visit two bookshops in the northwest of england. i found one of them because it had been mentioned in a sunday paper because the owners published a wife-swapping magazine which caused a minor scandal. it sold mainly second hand mags like Knave. but i also discovered the delights of a series of pulp novels published as "magna classics" with titles like "return to the minotaur", "bruce kimley returns" and "pit of evil". wow, these were and still are among the most erotic books ive ever read. wish i still had them.

the other shop was run by a guy called Allan and sold strong stuff with my first sight of colour climax and bondage mags. great memories!

**Bovon** · May 28th, 2008, 08:24 PM

Got drunk with a mate one afternoon in the mid-70s. Mate announced he was off to buy a 'Tw*t' mag - followed him to a small corner shop amid a warren of terraced cobbled-streets (Absolutely true. Coronation Street was a highway compared to this lot), there, in basically someone's front room - all these shops were converted from houses - was the biggest hoard of Porn you've ever seen outside of Soho. All Whitehouses' or Playbirds' or whatever, all cellophane-wrapped. The only Mag I'd ever heard of was 'Mayfair' so that was my choice. The shop is now a taxi firm office.

ymcba321 · May 28th, 2008, 10:33 PM

I used to go to one in Ilford. Unpreposessing from the front, but once inside a vast collection of mags of all types. I spent many a happy hour in there picking out choice examples. All gone now, alas.

ymcba321 · May 28th, 2008, 10:50 PM

Just remembered. There is (or was last year, when I last popped in) a good 2nd-hand mag shop of a very traditional sort in Brighton. It's near the railway station, and I think it's on Upper Gloucester Rd, but don't quote me on that.

Next time I go past I'll take a note of the address and post it here.

**Mad Koala Bear** · May 29th, 2008, 12:19 AM

I found a shop in Bradford, probably about 1970, that sold old copies of Parade, Fiesta and others, and not much else. It had been a butchers shop and it was strange going through mags laid out on the marble counter. Shortly after that the first what you could call a 'mucky book shop' opened nearby, and after convincing the bloke behind the counter that I really was 18, honest, i used to go in loads. None of my friends had the bottle to go so I bought for them and made a bit of a profit. Other than that the market had a couple of old book stalls that sold a few mens mags amongst the Mad Magazines and what have you.

sm1 · May 30th, 2008, 03:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by themaskedavenger

Plus books in Croydon and Colliers Wood - now sadly both departed.

Those were the days!

Wow: I'm a little suprised to hear Plus Books is no more. I sometimes felt I kept them afloat, all the time (and money!) I spent there....

But I agree 100% how appealing these places were to while away a couple of hours on an afternoon. VEF is a wonderful site, don't get me wrong, but it is pretty hard to beat the act of flicking through a large pile of mags at one's leisure in those establishments

May 28th, 2008, 12:13 PM	#1
Foxbark Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 275 Thanks: 372 Thanked 2,021 Times in 259 Posts	Second-Hand Bookshops. Greetings Friends, Do any other readers here (particularly British ones) remember discovering the joys of 2nd hand bookshops in their youth. Alas, they have all but vanished now, but when I were a lad (late 70s early 80s) they were fairly common. To call them 'bookshops' was a misnomer because they dealt mainly in old magazines (anything from hobbyist to Woman's Own), but their main stock-in-trade (90%) was porn. A chain called 'The Popular Book Centre' based in South London was where I spent many a pleasant Saturday afternoon gloatng over luscious 1970s Mayfair photosets. Remember the familiar musty smell of the shops, the seedy old man at the counter, the 'ping' of the door as you opened or shut it, 'recycling' your porn, the Marvel comics etc? In the porn-starved, internet free world of the 1970s thse were indeed pleasant oases.

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May 28th, 2008, 02:47 PM	#2
themaskedavenger Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 17 Thanks: 14 Thanked 1,070 Times in 16 Posts	Plus books in Croydon and Colliers Wood - now sadly both departed. Those were the days!

May 28th, 2008, 03:31 PM	#3
slaphead Vintage Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Among the goats Posts: 465 Thanks: 240 Thanked 15,242 Times in 462 Posts	I used to go to a junk shop in the Midlands on the way back from school which sold Spick and Span type mags. I was allowed to buy them only if I kept them out of sight at all times !!! Thus started my lifelong love of older porno,in particular Monique Devereux and Toni Kessering.

May 28th, 2008, 05:32 PM	#5
macrinius Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 47 Thanks: 12 Thanked 234 Times in 40 Posts	i used to visit two bookshops in the northwest of england. i found one of them because it had been mentioned in a sunday paper because the owners published a wife-swapping magazine which caused a minor scandal. it sold mainly second hand mags like Knave. but i also discovered the delights of a series of pulp novels published as "magna classics" with titles like "return to the minotaur", "bruce kimley returns" and "pit of evil". wow, these were and still are among the most erotic books ive ever read. wish i still had them. the other shop was run by a guy called Allan and sold strong stuff with my first sight of colour climax and bondage mags. great memories!

May 28th, 2008, 08:24 PM	#6
Bovon Vintage Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 509 Thanks: 392 Thanked 20,670 Times in 580 Posts	Got drunk with a mate one afternoon in the mid-70s. Mate announced he was off to buy a 'Tw*t' mag - followed him to a small corner shop amid a warren of terraced cobbled-streets (Absolutely true. Coronation Street was a highway compared to this lot), there, in basically someone's front room - all these shops were converted from houses - was the biggest hoard of Porn you've ever seen outside of Soho. All Whitehouses' or Playbirds' or whatever, all cellophane-wrapped. The only Mag I'd ever heard of was 'Mayfair' so that was my choice. The shop is now a taxi firm office.

May 28th, 2008, 10:33 PM	#7
ymcba321 Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 113 Thanks: 210 Thanked 3,855 Times in 131 Posts	I used to go to one in Ilford. Unpreposessing from the front, but once inside a vast collection of mags of all types. I spent many a happy hour in there picking out choice examples. All gone now, alas.

May 28th, 2008, 10:50 PM	#8
ymcba321 Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 113 Thanks: 210 Thanked 3,855 Times in 131 Posts	Just remembered. There is (or was last year, when I last popped in) a good 2nd-hand mag shop of a very traditional sort in Brighton. It's near the railway station, and I think it's on Upper Gloucester Rd, but don't quote me on that. Next time I go past I'll take a note of the address and post it here.

May 29th, 2008, 12:19 AM	#9
Mad Koala Bear Vintage Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 869 Thanks: 30,809 Thanked 10,733 Times in 850 Posts	I found a shop in Bradford, probably about 1970, that sold old copies of Parade, Fiesta and others, and not much else. It had been a butchers shop and it was strange going through mags laid out on the marble counter. Shortly after that the first what you could call a 'mucky book shop' opened nearby, and after convincing the bloke behind the counter that I really was 18, honest, i used to go in loads. None of my friends had the bottle to go so I bought for them and made a bit of a profit. Other than that the market had a couple of old book stalls that sold a few mens mags amongst the Mad Magazines and what have you.