Second-Hand Bookshops.

Foxbark · 05-28-2008, 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 · 05-28-2008, 02:47 PM

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

Those were the days!

**slaphead** · 05-28-2008, 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 · 05-28-2008, 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 · 05-28-2008, 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** · 05-28-2008, 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 · 05-28-2008, 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 · 05-28-2008, 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.

damp-patch · 05-29-2008, 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 · 05-30-2008, 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

05-28-2008, 12:13 PM	#1
Foxbark Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 247 Thanks: 295 Thanked 1,298 Times in 282 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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05-28-2008, 02:47 PM	#2
themaskedavenger Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 7 Thanks: 16 Thanked 661 Times in 24 Posts	Plus books in Croydon and Colliers Wood - now sadly both departed. Those were the days!

05-28-2008, 03:31 PM	#3
slaphead Vintage Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Among the goats Posts: 398 Thanks: 285 Thanked 8,078 Times in 498 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.

05-28-2008, 05:32 PM	#5
macrinius Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 40 Thanks: 11 Thanked 60 Times in 28 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!

05-28-2008, 08:24 PM	#6
Bovon Vintage Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 630 Thanks: 638 Thanked 19,008 Times in 1,069 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.

05-28-2008, 10:33 PM	#7
ymcba321 Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 164 Thanks: 291 Thanked 3,794 Times in 217 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.

05-28-2008, 10:50 PM	#8
ymcba321 Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 164 Thanks: 291 Thanked 3,794 Times in 217 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.

05-29-2008, 12:19 AM	#9
damp-patch Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: London Posts: 618 Thanks: 16,181 Thanked 4,861 Times in 738 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.