There are hundreds of hidden treasures in a city. Especially in such a diverse city like Boston. People move here form all over the world because of our amazing education system, top medical care and because we have the best "clam chowdah." Every city has something special, and one of Boston's special things is hidden away in a weird side street across from Boston Common.
Brattle Book Shop was founded in 1825, and has been part of the Glass family since 1949. This special book shop currently has "over 250,000 books, maps, prints, postcards and ephemeral items in all subjects" in stock. The current proprieter, Ken Gloss, helped his father, George Glass, built Brattle Book Store into the "largest antiquarian book shops in the country." Ken is your typical book nerd: he appraises books for plenty of places (including Harvard and the FBI), and he just likes to go to book-related events and visit book groups.
My experience at Brattle Book Shop was wonderful. The first thing you see is, just around the corner, the outside book shop. Shelves of books literally line the outside book shop on both the left and right. The shelves range form $1 to $5 used books. Some are old, some are new, they're in no real order and they have plenty of different subjects.
It took me about half an hour to forty-five minutes to go through the outside book shop, but I didn't find anything that really caught my attention so I moved inside. Brattle Book Shop is two floors which are accessible to patrons. The third floor has antiques, collectibles and just amazing books. One of the sold items was a first edition "Cat in the Hat" in its dust jacket, which sold for $3,750. Three thousand, seven hundred and fifty dollars.
The books were all amazing. When you first walk into the store, you can see a beautifully organized book shelf to your left (including a book rainbow on the top) and bookshelves. Some even double stacked along the walls because they have TOO MANY BOOKS! How amazing is that!?
The inside is organized by subject. They have everything I could possibly think of, and it's just a magical place. If you're looking for an antique book shop, this place is definitely for you! If you're looking for a book shop with good prices, this place is definitely for you! If you're looking for a book shop, this place is definitely for you! If you live in the Boston area, I suggest taking a trip to Brattle Book Shop, and if you're just visiting Boston I still think you should visit.
It's located at 9 West Street, Boston, MA 02111. It is open Monday through Saturday from 9:00am to 5:00pm. If you have any questions, they phone number is (617) 542 - 0210, and their website is here. You can also order online, so check it out!
