Fond memories of a purchase in a brick-and-mortar store

Please share your story of a memorable purchase from a brick-and-mortar store—or a purchase from a memorable brick-and-mortar store!

I learned about LEC and HP during the pandemic, and didn't step into a bookstore until post-vaccine, but regular enablement from LT is prompting me to find a bookstore on any daytrip I make.

I have now seen LECs and HPs in a grand total of four stores! My most recent discovery is a store in Berkeley, California. I can't believe I hurried past it for the four years of my college life and never stepped in. It was quite a thrill to see books and presses that I've read about here.

What are your memories/stories/stores/titles, whether recent or from years gone by?

"My most recent discovery is a store in Berkeley, California"

Moe's?

>2 kdweber: Yup! Have you been there?

It wasn't intimidating until I got to the rare book "store" on the top floor. That's when I kept my hands behind my back.

>3 maisiedotes: I grew up in the east bay and currently live on the peninsula so I've been to Moe's many times. Luckily, the San Francisco Bay Area is still home to a number of fine brick and mortar used book stores, though many have closed or switched entirely to etail.

>4 kdweber: I was struck with a wave of nostalgia when I looked up the names of a few Berkeley bookstores—from my college days—that are no longer in business. I don't know what stores are still in the Bay Area. If you are willing to name a few, I will put them on my daytrip list!

I bought my first HP (William Tell) 30 years ago in an unassuming East Bay bookstore which was run by two sisters with beautiful platinum blond hair. I can still picture the store and the two women. They retired and the store is gone, but I still have that HP. Actually, I didn't even know it was an HP until a few months ago. I bought it merely on the basis of its "different" look. Its cloth binding, thick paper, and big pictures (in a grown-up book?) caught my eye.

>5 maisiedotes: Several dealers in the Bay Area have (or used to have) decent LEC stock. Mark Post in San Francisco, Thomas Goldwasser in San Francisco, and Bell's Books in Palo Alto to name a few.

>6 Sport1963: Thank you! I'll look up those booksellers. So much to discover!

>5 maisiedotes: Also Swan's books in Walnut Creek

>8 kdweber: Thank you. I have visited Swan's. They downsized (at least in square feet) but still have plenty for me to gawk at.

No trips down memory lane? I was hoping to shop vicariously through devotees' tales.

Understandably the times have limited us to mostly online buying, but I'd love to know about bookshops of yore where you have browsed among the LECs and HPs.

Can you reminisce on the early years of your collecting, when it was a thrill to spot these items on the shelves? As a newcomer, I'm tickled pink to recognize an LEC or HP when I see one.

>10 maisiedotes: Well, back before the internet and computer inventories I'd go the the extreme corners of a bookshop and look at the upper shelves where books had been sitting collecting dust for years and not having their price updated. I picked up some nice leather sets for great prices. Unfortunately, I knew nothing of the LEC, HP, or fine press at the time and probably couldn't afford them even if I had learned about them. Online book shopping may have put a lot of bookstores out of business but it also dramatically lowered the prices for many fine books. For an in person experience, I suggest Codex which is in the Bay Area every other year (baring COVID) where one can meet the owners of many small fine presses from around the world, examine their latest works in person, and find out what they're working on. Also, there is an antiquarian book fair in Oakland every year (not to mention in many other cities).

I hesitated to jump in since I think my first real introduction to HP and other fine presses came at an antiquarian book show. I have to admit I do love a good book show.

I was lucky to wander into the booth of wonderful couple who introduced me to and gave me a good education on fine press books over the years. Of course I wandered into it looking for books in another collecting interest altogether. I'm a weird I guess since I've always loved HP over LEC, and concentrate in them. I was soon able to find a few at local bookstores and book sales more easily. One year I managed to score a LOT of books at a great price at one of the best annual book sales I've ever been to. Which is now, of course, no longer held.

I get a kick of of Second Story books, Rockville warehouse site, because they just sprinkle the HP books throughout the shelves. You never know what you'll find where!

I've really missed the antiquarian book shows. You can develop very good relationships with some dealers. Interesting people.

I discovered HP/LEC earlier this year from finding some HP's at an estate sale - I ended up buying two of them, but researching HP led to discovering LEC. I determined to add some and found a local store in Portland that had The Complete Andersen listed on their inventory online. When I arrived at the store, the owner told me it had been sold & was surprised she had failed to update her inventory. Fortunately, she was able to refer me to another store (Daedelus Books) which had numerous titles.

With money burning a hole in my pocket, I ended up buying 8 titles:

Carmen
The Fables of Jean de la Fontaine
Troilus & Cressida
Poems of Robert Browning
Poems of John Donne
Tartuffe & the Would-Be Gentleman
Two Plays for Puritans
Ah, Wilderness!

>12 literatefool: I'm glad you jumped in. I didn't include antiquarian book shows in the original post because I didn't know about them, but now I do! That's one more thing for me to chase after!

I'm not familiar with Second Story books, but they sound like they shelve their HPs the way Moe's does. I could probably have found an HP on every one of their four floors—it was like a treasure hunt.

>11 kdweber: That's a silver lining—your point about online shopping lowering the prices of fine books. Thanks for the tip regarding Codex and the antiquarian book fair in Oakland. I'll check them out!

>13 ChrisG1: I will also start keeping my eyes open for estate sales.

I've never seen a Carmen, but it is on my interest list. I would definitely want to see it before buying it, though.

>15 maisiedotes: Carmen has a bland slipcase and spine but the boards are incredibly colorful and vivid.

>16 kdweber: Thanks. I'd really like to see more illustrations before committing. I can only find three on the internet.

I've lived in parts of the US without antiquarian bookstores, so perforce virtually all my press book purchases of note have been mail order. I envy those who have access to good bookstores.