Partners Brian Lake and Janet Nassau have built a very successful niche business with a specialty in 19th century English Literature and History.

The shop has been the location of a bookseller since about 1890, and it boasts some lovely period features like panelling, original wooden floors, and a working fireplace.

As a side note, illustrator Robert Caldecott, famous for the Caldecott Award, had rooms at this location during the 1870s so be sure to keep and eye out for the Greater London Council’s blue plaque commemorating this famous resident.

Jarndyce prides itself on its enormous collection of books from times gone by, and is constantly on the lookout for vintage items such as Dickens’ first editions, old books about life in London, and other such printed matter from poetry to pamphlets. The store has an extensive catalogue of Dickens’ works and a large collection of literature by Women Writers, as well.

Along with the more conventional books of literature and history, there are curious items here like Bloods, Penny Dreadfuls, and Yellowbacks.

The bookstore also sells a line of cards featuring illustrations from the covers of some of the more bizarre and unusual old books to have passed through the shop. Titles like “Atomic Bombing: How to Survive”, “How to be Happy though Married”, and “Leadership Secrets of Attila the Hun” certainly make for rather delightful and entertaining greeting cards.

London booksellers like Jarndyce are hard to find in this day and age.

Jarndyce

Address: 46 Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury, WC1B 3PA

Telephone: 020 7631 4220

Photo courtesy: Ewan-M

Return from London Bookshops to Shopping in London

Return from London Bookshops to Best London Attractions