Three photos from London. I've been traveling more than reading this month.
The top photo is Bathurst Mews. It's one of those streets you never see in America, accessible only via a tight (for a small car) little archway. Near the far end is R.A. Gekoski Rare Books and Manuscripts.
In addition to dabbling in the rare book trade, Rick Gekoski has written two bibliomemoirs, my favorite, Tolkien's Gown, and the more recent, Outside of a Dog. Rick was kind enough to sign my copy of Tolkien's Gown, despite it being titled Nabokov's Butterfly in the States.
The decision to re-title the book was a curious decision by Rick's American publisher, and not one he's happy with it. He normally won't sign the American edition, indicating he did not have any input into renaming the book.
But read it. Read them both. They offer wonderful insight into the rare book trade.
Photo two is Cecil Court, which is described in Wikipedia as "a short but tranquil pedestrian street with charming Victorian shop-frontages in London . . . linking Charing Cross Road and St. Martin's Lane.
Most of those charming shops are bookstores. There's between a half-dozen to a dozen shops. Some stores specializing in maps and prints, too. Booksellers who often make the journey to London to acquire books indicate Cecil Court is not what it once was. It seemed pretty spectacular to me. Brilliant as the Brits say.
Photo three is an inside shot of the Globe Theatre, which I toured during my visit. It's cool. I bought a lot of souvenirs there.
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