Village Squire, 1980-11, Page 8One, an art and travel book store at 637 Richmond. Like many
shops, the areas of specialization reflect the particular interests
of the owners. In the case of owners Alec and Marlene Hartill,
art and travel are closely connected in their lives. Marlene Hartill
is a high school art teacher, and Alec is an architectural
photographer whose work includes extensive European
travellings to photograph slides of buildings. Since many of the
travel guide books he needed were not readily available in the
area, Mr. Hartill decided to carry an extensive selection in the
store.
Chapter One sells a good variety of travel books, maps and
guides for countries in Europe, Asia, and Africa. and also
provides material on places in Canada, including several titles on
Toronto's history and attractions. Most of the people who buy
travel literature are actually planning a trip. but there are also
those who are just interested in a particular country or enjoy
dreaming of places far away. Those who have always fantasized
"those who have fantasized
about sailing to distant shores ----
about sailing to distance shores will enjoy the beautifully
illustrated books on various types of ships such as frigates,
whalers, and clipper ships. There are similar books on old
models of planes for those with an interest in that area.
Titles on art, photography, literature. and music are also
available,as well as cards, wrapping paper, and art prints which
will be arriving soon from Europe. Another interesting item is
spoken word cassette tapes containing excerpts from stories like
Dickens' A Christmas Carol, Tales of Peter Rabbit. Tolkien's The
Silmarillion, and readings from the works of Margaret Atwood.
SECONDHAND BARGAINS
Second hand tapes and records are just one of the
attractions at City Light Book Shop at 356 Richmond. Owner
Mark Emery, who also publishes the city's new weekly, The
LondonTribune, started in the used book business when he was
sixteen. He had previously operated a mail order comic book
business, when he discovered the chance to buy what is now only
a small part of the present store. His father believed in the idea,
and borrowed the necessary funds from five different sources.
The previous owner stayed on for 10 days, and in that time Mr.
Emery learned enough that he was able to repay the entire loan
within one year.
City Lights is now about eight times larger than the original
store, and encompasses two floors. There are second hand
paperback and hardcover books on almost every conceivable
subject, and a good selection of old comic books. There are used
records with prices that start at two for $1, and cover every
musical style from Beethoven to the Bee Gee's. Old sheet music
reveals titles like Ja-Da. Sorority Rag, and I'm Sending You the
Siegfried Line To Hang Your Washing On, the last claiming to be
an advance copy of England's big war song hit.
Upstairs are old postcards and copies of Life magazine, going
back to the 1940's. Some of the covers feature a young Douglas
MacArthur, a girlish Princess Margaret, and a special look at
that new craze, pedal pushers. There are also many other
magazines, including copies of Rolling Stone, and bound
volumes of periodicals such as The Bookman and Art World.
Much of the store's stock comes from private sources, so if you
are clearing out a basement or an attic , you might discover
those old magazines and recordings are worth more than you
thought.
PG. 6 VILLAGE SQUIRE/NOVEMBER 1980
One attic where you can always find old volumes is Attic
Books at 388 Clarence Street in London. Owner Marvin Post
became interested in old books through his involvement with
stamp collecting. The reference books on stamps were so
attractive when Mr. Post started looking for his own business
four years ago, used hooks seemed like the perfect choice, and
he bought his first major collection in Goderich. Sources of
supply come from estates, book auctions. and private sales, and
during the spring and summer months Mr. Post spends two days
a week traveliing to rural areas in search of used books.
Learning to predict the market in second hand books is a
constant challenge because of changes in supply and demand
and the varying tastes in different geographical areas. An author
like L.M. Montgomery for example sells very well in the London
area, but not in Toronto. As with current titles, there is a definite
relation between the latest movie or television shows and the
books they are based on. Dramas such as the White Oaks of
Mandala Book Shop caters to people looking for books
not stocked by other booksellers in the urea. David and
Susan Estabrooks. owners of the store. also conduct a
mail order business with nearly 4.000 titles in their
catalogue.
Jalna or the Forsythe Saga rekindle interest in their authors, and
the recent airing of Shogun has made it nearly impossible to keep
that title in stock. There are also perennial favourites. such as
the books of Edgar Rice Burroughs, author of the Tarzan series.
Although there is no catalogue system for the Attic's books,
Mr. Post places most of the volumes on the shelves and
consequently remembers the location of the majority of titles in
the store. There are sections for each topic, and books are
arranged alphabetically by author so that customers can find
their particular interest quickly. Categories include poetry,
children's book, theatre, religion, history, occult, and biography.
Two sections that continually increase in popularity are
mysteries and science fiction. There are also books written in
French and German.
Prices fluctuate from year to year, according to the demands of
the large market, and keeping abreast of the latest changes
requires annual purchases from a multi -volume set of the
Bookman's Price Index. an expensive investment at $7S a
volume. Some of the rarer books are expensive, of course. but
the majority of the titles are priced at an attractive rate. making a