Second-Hand Bookshops. - Page 9

bushw1ck · 05-13-2010, 04:45 AM

If you are ever in the Albany area look up a place called The Capital Bookstore. The place is a dump and a fire hazard but the books are just for show. The guy makes his money by buying porn collections at a dollar a mag and selling them for $4 - $6, tapes for $5 and I imagine DVDs for about the same. If you buy more than three he'll knock a dollar off. The bulk of my vintage mag collection came out of their piles of crap and it never failed to pay off to run in and just dig around for a few minutes. Eventually they started putting stuff aside and giving me first dibs even if it took me a week between visits. Those were the days!

Downtown by the old Greyhound station, though if it hasn't been condemned by now I would be very surprised.

Sunny-Boy · 06-10-2010, 05:46 PM

We had a 'dirty' bookstore in my hometown (somewhere in Kent, OK?) and I used to wash the car of the man who owned it at his house every saturday. I was 14 or 15 and had to call at the shop a few streets away to get paid. Quite often he was busy with customers when I got there and I had to hang around until he was free. I got plenty of time for a peek and he never once admonished me about that. I asked him for a saturday or summer job there once and he said I was too young because of the material ( he kept a supply of HC under the counter for special 'punters'). Once in a while he had stuff to throw out - loose pages, poor condition etc - and naturally, I volunteered to put it in the dustbin for him. I was able to secrete a few scraps up my shirt, folded into back pocket and so on. I was never short of friends back then. We'd always share it out and lend it back and forth as required. Good days...

**Jism Jim** · 06-11-2010, 05:47 PM

Believe it or not, but this week I found porn in an ordinary thrift shop:

(I did turn it a bit for the photo to make it more visible)
Possibly it was a joke by a visitor, but it was really there.

Johnny Bravo · 06-11-2010, 08:14 PM

I really miss the secondhand bookshops we had here. They used to have stacks of magazines as well as books and they did trades. Today I have dumped the complete History of Rock partwork from the 80s in the recycling bin, as well as over 100 sci-fi magazines and annuals. They're not worth eBaying and there's nowhere that wants them, so recycling it is.

I'm mulling over dumping the complete Football Handbook partwork from the late 70s as well.

b1gt1t · 02-23-2011, 07:22 PM

Happened upon this place the other day;
http://www.yelp.co.uk/biz_photos/Gu0...t_4vYQ7wTU0_tw
Picked up a Whitehouse 77 and Parade 118 in "as new" condition for £5 and £3 respectively

Muswell · 04-25-2011, 09:30 AM

This thread started with mention of the Popular Book Centres. This chain had branches all over London and I visited many of them i.e. Camden Parkway, Highbury Corner, Stoke Newington High street. amongst others. They had a system whereby they would buy back any mags you had bought from them at half price, so they were acting a bit like a lending library.
From a collectors point of view this threw up a drawback as they would put a diamond shaped stamp on the cover to identify their mags, they would pay less for "new" stock without their brand. Another problem for collectors were the sticky pages. The shops were very successful and one chap I know funded his own comic book store by working at the Camden PBC and stealing their stock! The last ones I remember being open were in Hammersmith and Victoria.

Other sources for magazines included the Book stalls in Holloway Road. The first was" Rory's Original Book stall" . He had a stock of normal books and a barrow where you could browse adult titles. Unfortunately the stock would get dog eared from people flicking through the boxes very quickly so you had to visit regularly to see the fresh stuff. Rory also sold bootlegged H/C Videos.
A disgruntled employee of Rory's called Ken set up on his own a few yards away. The pair hated each other and a visit to either stall would include getting an earful about the other. When Rory passed away his stall disappeared and Ken shut up shop soon after as if it was only his hatred for Rory that had kept him going. It could also be that trade dropped off. Ken had tried to expand his empire by opening a shop in Finchley Road but that was short lived . I've seen him wandering about Soho in recent years but don't know if he has anything to do with the trade anymore. When he ran his stall Nostalgia Publications was a big customer for him.

Sic transit Gloria Mundi

broxyman · 04-26-2011, 03:08 PM

Like you, I well remember Popular Book Centres, though I tended to frequent the ones in South London. They were all over the place - you were never more than a couple of miles from one.

One of the last ones open seems to have been at 87 Rochester Row London SW1P 1LJ, and I've found a couple of pics which might jog memories. Those who used them will remember the white letters on blue background.

Apart from the sticky pages, you had also to contend with pages that had been carefully removed - always making sure that the mag didn't become so thin that it was spotted! This was more of a problem with the hardcore mags that were sold elsewhere, under the counter. Just one of those pages (so common now) was like gold dust!

Anyone remember the bookstall on Chalton Street, Euston? Got my first ever porn mag there!

vierenweg · 06-11-2011, 02:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by b1gt1t

Happened upon this place the other day;
http://www.yelp.co.uk/biz_photos/Gu0...t_4vYQ7wTU0_tw
Picked up a Whitehouse 77 and Parade 118 in "as new" condition for £5 and £3 respectively

Remember it well and yes it's still there.....only change is that there is now a tram stop opposite it so you can't just slip through the door unobserved - the traditional way of entering.

red exposure · 01-12-2012, 03:57 PM

Do any UK readers here know of any Second-Hand bookshops which sell back-issues of adult magazines, preferably in the Midlands area?. I've been searching in vain for a short while (although I'm vaguely sure that there is a secondhand bookshop in Birmingham which has back issues of adult mags in a backroom).

The only one's I've seen myself are the well-known vintage movie/poster store on Brewer St. in London (which is hellishly expensive), and some dingy secondhand place in Manchester.

Sardax · 01-12-2012, 04:33 PM

In my naïvity I would go in there, as if I wanted to look at any magazine in the shop, but would pretend to stumble on the porn, and then pretend to be surprised at the range and of course, would always end up buying something. I'm sure the shop assistants must have had a word for someone who indirectly, eventually ended up at the porn, instead of going directly to it!

06-11-2010, 05:47 PM	#83
Jism Jim Sourcer of Smut Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 3,433 Thanks: 25,867 Thanked 56,732 Times in 3,418 Posts	Believe it or not, but this week I found porn in an ordinary thrift shop: (I did turn it a bit for the photo to make it more visible) Possibly it was a joke by a visitor, but it was really there. __________________ Mind the Magazine Scan Section Rules VEF needs your mags! Read here on how to scan them easily

02-23-2011, 07:22 PM	#85
b1gt1t Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Up North Posts: 30 Thanks: 282 Thanked 877 Times in 31 Posts	Shude Hill Book Centre, Manchester Happened upon this place the other day; http://www.yelp.co.uk/biz_photos/Gu0...t_4vYQ7wTU0_tw Picked up a Whitehouse 77 and Parade 118 in "as new" condition for £5 and £3 respectively

04-25-2011, 09:30 AM	#86
Muswell Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Sleepy London Town Posts: 55 Thanks: 67 Thanked 1,102 Times in 58 Posts	London Shops This thread started with mention of the Popular Book Centres. This chain had branches all over London and I visited many of them i.e. Camden Parkway, Highbury Corner, Stoke Newington High street. amongst others. They had a system whereby they would buy back any mags you had bought from them at half price, so they were acting a bit like a lending library. From a collectors point of view this threw up a drawback as they would put a diamond shaped stamp on the cover to identify their mags, they would pay less for "new" stock without their brand. Another problem for collectors were the sticky pages. The shops were very successful and one chap I know funded his own comic book store by working at the Camden PBC and stealing their stock! The last ones I remember being open were in Hammersmith and Victoria. Other sources for magazines included the Book stalls in Holloway Road. The first was" Rory's Original Book stall" . He had a stock of normal books and a barrow where you could browse adult titles. Unfortunately the stock would get dog eared from people flicking through the boxes very quickly so you had to visit regularly to see the fresh stuff. Rory also sold bootlegged H/C Videos. A disgruntled employee of Rory's called Ken set up on his own a few yards away. The pair hated each other and a visit to either stall would include getting an earful about the other. When Rory passed away his stall disappeared and Ken shut up shop soon after as if it was only his hatred for Rory that had kept him going. It could also be that trade dropped off. Ken had tried to expand his empire by opening a shop in Finchley Road but that was short lived . I've seen him wandering about Soho in recent years but don't know if he has anything to do with the trade anymore. When he ran his stall Nostalgia Publications was a big customer for him. Sic transit Gloria Mundi Last edited by Muswell; 01-18-2012 at 08:30 AM.. Reason: addition

01-12-2012, 03:57 PM	#89
red exposure Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Straight Outta Trumpton Posts: 290 Thanks: 756 Thanked 5,934 Times in 300 Posts	Midlands Bookshops? Do any UK readers here know of any Second-Hand bookshops which sell back-issues of adult magazines, preferably in the Midlands area?. I've been searching in vain for a short while (although I'm vaguely sure that there is a secondhand bookshop in Birmingham which has back issues of adult mags in a backroom). The only one's I've seen myself are the well-known vintage movie/poster store on Brewer St. in London (which is hellishly expensive), and some dingy secondhand place in Manchester.

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05-13-2010, 04:45 AM	#81
bushw1ck Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: new york Posts: 217 Thanks: 3,625 Thanked 6,841 Times in 237 Posts	If you are ever in the Albany area look up a place called The Capital Bookstore. The place is a dump and a fire hazard but the books are just for show. The guy makes his money by buying porn collections at a dollar a mag and selling them for $4 - $6, tapes for $5 and I imagine DVDs for about the same. If you buy more than three he'll knock a dollar off. The bulk of my vintage mag collection came out of their piles of crap and it never failed to pay off to run in and just dig around for a few minutes. Eventually they started putting stuff aside and giving me first dibs even if it took me a week between visits. Those were the days! Downtown by the old Greyhound station, though if it hasn't been condemned by now I would be very surprised.

06-10-2010, 05:46 PM	#82
Sunny-Boy Member Join Date: May 2010 Posts: 58 Thanks: 257 Thanked 94 Times in 38 Posts	We had a 'dirty' bookstore in my hometown (somewhere in Kent, OK?) and I used to wash the car of the man who owned it at his house every saturday. I was 14 or 15 and had to call at the shop a few streets away to get paid. Quite often he was busy with customers when I got there and I had to hang around until he was free. I got plenty of time for a peek and he never once admonished me about that. I asked him for a saturday or summer job there once and he said I was too young because of the material ( he kept a supply of HC under the counter for special 'punters'). Once in a while he had stuff to throw out - loose pages, poor condition etc - and naturally, I volunteered to put it in the dustbin for him. I was able to secrete a few scraps up my shirt, folded into back pocket and so on. I was never short of friends back then. We'd always share it out and lend it back and forth as required. Good days...

06-11-2010, 08:14 PM	#84
Johnny Bravo Member Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 76 Thanks: 41 Thanked 555 Times in 85 Posts	I really miss the secondhand bookshops we had here. They used to have stacks of magazines as well as books and they did trades. Today I have dumped the complete History of Rock partwork from the 80s in the recycling bin, as well as over 100 sci-fi magazines and annuals. They're not worth eBaying and there's nowhere that wants them, so recycling it is. I'm mulling over dumping the complete Football Handbook partwork from the late 70s as well.

04-26-2011, 03:08 PM	#87
broxyman Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 123 Thanks: 4,743 Thanked 957 Times in 168 Posts	Like you, I well remember Popular Book Centres, though I tended to frequent the ones in South London. They were all over the place - you were never more than a couple of miles from one. One of the last ones open seems to have been at 87 Rochester Row London SW1P 1LJ, and I've found a couple of pics which might jog memories. Those who used them will remember the white letters on blue background. Apart from the sticky pages, you had also to contend with pages that had been carefully removed - always making sure that the mag didn't become so thin that it was spotted! This was more of a problem with the hardcore mags that were sold elsewhere, under the counter. Just one of those pages (so common now) was like gold dust! Anyone remember the bookstall on Chalton Street, Euston? Got my first ever porn mag there!

01-12-2012, 04:33 PM	#90
Sardax Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: London Posts: 10 Thanks: 126 Thanked 54 Times in 8 Posts	In my naïvity I would go in there, as if I wanted to look at any magazine in the shop, but would pretend to stumble on the porn, and then pretend to be surprised at the range and of course, would always end up buying something. I'm sure the shop assistants must have had a word for someone who indirectly, eventually ended up at the porn, instead of going directly to it!