Motor Books in London is closing

Very sad to report that Motor Books in London is winding up. I was in
there this afternoon, and had a long chat with the staff. It seems trade
has dropped off over recent years, which was partly the reason for their
move to smaller premises in Cecil's Court. Now they have reached the
point where they can no longer continue, and so the oldest motoring book
shop in the world is finished. No firm date has been set, and it could
be anything from a few days to a few weeks before the doors close.

They are offering a 50% discount on everything other than
newly-delivered books which can be returned to the wholesaler. The
shelves are fully stocked and I'd say that about 95% of whats in there
qualifies for the half price offer, so if you're in London, get there
while you can. There are books in there, cars, railways, aviation,
military and maritime, that you'll never see again, and if they don't
sell they'll probably be pulped.

A very sad day, I think.

On Fri, 23 Aug 2013 21:50:05 +0100, PVK wrote:

Very sad to report that Motor Books in London is winding up. I was in
there this afternoon, and had a long chat with the staff. It seems trade
has dropped off over recent years, which was partly the reason for their
move to smaller premises in Cecil's Court. Now they have reached the
point where they can no longer continue, and so the oldest motoring book
shop in the world is finished. No firm date has been set, and it could
be anything from a few days to a few weeks before the doors close.

They are offering a 50% discount on everything other than
newly-delivered books which can be returned to the wholesaler. The
shelves are fully stocked and I'd say that about 95% of whats in there
qualifies for the half price offer, so if you're in London, get there
while you can. There are books in there, cars, railways, aviation,
military and maritime, that you'll never see again, and if they don't
sell they'll probably be pulped.

A very sad day, I think.

Sad indeed. Any idea on how long this will last? I'm going to London
in the 1st week of September, and would love to check it out.

On 23/08/2013 22:41, JR wrote:


Sad indeed. Any idea on how long this will last? I'm going to London
in the 1st week of September, and would love to check it out.


There is no definite date and from what they said in the shop, it could
be days...it could be weeks. The place is fully stocked up at the
moment, and I think they will see how much of it goes quickly once word
gets around and then pulp whatever is left over. First week in
September is not far off - I'd bet it will be worth a visit, JR.

On Sat, 24 Aug 2013 01:28:48 +0100, PVK wrote:

On 23/08/2013 22:41, JR wrote:


Sad indeed. Any idea on how long this will last? I'm going to London
in the 1st week of September, and would love to check it out.


There is no definite date and from what they said in the shop, it could
be days...it could be weeks. The place is fully stocked up at the
moment, and I think they will see how much of it goes quickly once word
gets around and then pulp whatever is left over. First week in
September is not far off - I'd bet it will be worth a visit, JR.

Thanks for the tip!

In a way, I fear these trips to London. Every time I come hope with a
stack of books... once even had to buy an extra backpack!