Holiday Shopping: Used & Rare Books
A selection of books from West Side Book Shop. This first American edition of "Moby Dick" (the green book, next to its blue leather case) is priced at $45,000.
This month, The Chronicle is highlighting Ann Arbor area businesses where you might find just what you need for people on your holiday gift-giving list. Our reports are meant as a sampling, and we urge readers and business owners to add their own favorite spots in the comments section.
Today, we take a look at some of the local shops that sell rare and used books.
West Side Book Shop
Many of the items in this shop are older than the building at 113 W. Liberty, a structure from the 1880s where West Side Book Shop is housed. Collectors regularly visit, but proprietor Jay Platt and Doug Price – who sells vintage maps and photographs in the store – have worked to make this a top-to-bottom bookshop. Their selection is aimed to appeal to even the most casual used-book buyer.
One of their strengths is an encyclopedic knowledge of both literature and non-fiction. The Chronicle was trying to recall the name of a book by Wendell Berry, and off the top of their heads, Platt and Price were able to reel off at least a dozen of his titles. They can give you guidance on virtually any topic, from children’s books to North Pole exploration. Platt is an expert on this topic, which is especially useful during the holiday season, we’d guess.
At the store you’ll also find well-preserved maps of the southeast Michigan area from the 1800s, including some of the University of Michigan. Unique photographs are also part of the mix, like a large 1904 portrait of Native American Indian Chief Garfield-Jicarilla, from a series taken by Edward Curtis.
Platt is also carrying a first American edition copy of “Moby Dick,” published in 1851. Herman Melville is said to have liked this particular edition, which he apparently described as “very much like a whale.” You’ll have to throw down $45,000 to take this book home with you.
Platt and Price say they can help you make a selection for much less, of course – Price says if your budget is closer to $50, you can walk out with four or five books.
Address: 113 W. Liberty
Hours: Monday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.; Tuesday-Friday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m.-10 p.m.; Sunday, noon-5 p.m.
Phone: 734.995.1891
Garrett Scott outside his shop, which is located off of Packard behind Morgan & York. Off camera is the shop's fairy door (what – you thought they were only downtown?)
Garrett Scott, Bookseller
Tucked behind Morgan & York on Packard, Garrett Scott’s shop is the kind of place where he’ll fix you a cup of tea to knock the chill off a wintry day. Or at least that’s what he offered The Chronicle when we stopped by recently. On his website, Scott describes his store this way: “The inventory is available for viewing by chance or appointment, under central Washtenaw County’s most semi-pleasant conditions for the casual browser of uncommon 19th century material.”
Here you’ll find the first novel published in Ann Arbor – “East West,” by Daphne Giles ($225). The book had its first printing in New York, then Giles brought the stereotype plates with her when she moved to this area. She had the second edition printed here in 1855. (She was blind, by the way – that’s the kind of interesting factoid you might learn by talking to Garrett Scott.)
He’s also selling the 1902 collection of short stories titled, “Ann Arbor Tales” by Karl Edwin Harriman, with the distinctive block M on its back cover ($50). And if you’re interested in “fringe” religion and 19th century religious thought, this is the place for you.
He does carry some newer work – the instructional pamphlet “Goblinproofing One’s Chicken Coop” by Reginald Bakeley might prove useful for some. It costs $4.
Address: 1924 Packard Road
Hours: By chance or by appointment. It’s best to call first.
Phone: 734.741.8605
Jeffrey Pickell, proprietor of Kaleidoscope.
Kaleidoscope Books & Collectibles
Jeffrey Pickell’s shop brings to mind an organized version of your great aunt’s attic, if it were well-lit and included a tour guide – and if your great aunt had eclectic tastes.
There are vintage toys and old wooden card catalog drawers filled with all manner of greeting cards from the past century – including, of course, Christmas cards.
But we’re talking rare and used books today, and you’ll find plenty of those, too, whether you’re looking for pulp fiction, science fiction, children’s books, University of Michigan yearbooks and memorabilia, or something else entirely.
A selection of Kaleidoscope's pulp fiction.
The shop’s vintage comics range from $3 to $100, and Pickell’s sizable collection of pulp fiction – also known as Good Girl Art – includes books as cheap as $1 to some costing several hundred dollars. A copy of “Junkie: Confessions of an Unredeemed Drug Addict” by William Lee (a pen name used by William S. Burroughs) goes for $1,500.
Pickell is almost always behind the counter, and can tell you just about anything you’d care to know about the books and other items in his shop.
Address: 200 N. Fourth Ave. (corner of Fourth & Ann, former location of Wooden Spoon Books)
Hours: Monday-Wednesday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Thursday-Saturday, 10 a.m-8 p.m.; Sunday, 1 p.m.-5 p.m.
Phone: 734.995.9887
Other suggestions? If you’ve found cool gift ideas for people with an interest in rare or used books, please share them with Chronicle readers in the comments section below.
Great article! You highlighted one of my favorites (West Side), one I’d like to know better (Kaleidoscope), and one I didn’t know about (Garrett Scott).
Another great antiquarian book shop is Motte & Bailey, next to People’s Food Co-op on Fourth St, and a near neighbor of Kaleidoscope. Every time I go in there, my grip on my wallet loosens, and before I know it, I’m adding to my already-oversized library.
The store has an excellent, thoughtful selection. Browsing, you can feel the intelligence and personalities of the owners, Gene and Paul. The store is particularly strong in ancient, medieval, and early modern history, and they’ve recently added a section on culinary history and beefed up (so to speak) their cookbook section.
Check out on first editions and otherwise rare books in the barrister bookcases on the right side of the store, past the front desk. You will find some treasures. Check out the prints and posters, too.
The most dangerous place in the store, at least for me, is the New Arrivals section just to the left of the door. Be prepared to pounce; there are treasures galore here, and they disappear quickly.
On my last few visits, I snagged an excellent illustrated book on neuroanatomy for laymen; a history of Polish cooking with recipes, published (in English, thank goodness!) in Warsaw in 1981; a book about great lexicographers (look it up); and several beautifully illustrated books on American needlework.
Motte & Bailey offers some terrific book groups, too. I’ve been a member of the History of Books and Printing group, on and off, for seven years. There’s also the Medieval History group, and the History Reading Group, which used to meet at Little Professor.
I can’t say enough good things about Gene and Paul, the owners. They seem to know every book in the store and can recommend others. They’re friendly and fun to chat with, too, and dedicated to the proposition that local businesses should support one another in every way possible. So you can bring in your drink from Cafe Verde or Tea Haus when you browse, and People’s Food Coop members get a 10% discount. Motte and Bailey is also a major player in the Kerrytown Book Festival.
You couldn’t ask for more in a bookstore, except maybe a few more places to sit. Motte and Bailey will be my first Christmas shopping stop. I just hope I can refrain from buying books for myself!