In 1896 the original G David (a Parisian bookseller) started selling his books from a stall in the market square in Cambridge. Today, if you take a short walk from the market towards King’s College, just next to St Edward’s Church, you will find G David Bookseller – in St Edward’s Passage that surrounds the Church and which has remained largely unchanged for centuries.
There is no better location for a traditional book shop specialising in antiquarian books, fine bindings, second-hand books, publisher’s remainders, manuscript leaves (some dating from the 14th Century), old prints, original engravings and maps, and so step inside G David Bookseller – fondly known by its many fans as simply ‘David’s’.
Owned and run by the most welcoming and helpful team, David’s has that sense of being from another time – as if you’ve arrived at a location for a film where an archetypal English bookshop was the required setting.
Head through the heavily-stocked rooms at the front of the shop and this ‘film-set’ sense is heightened as you walk in to the antiquarian book room. Specialising particularly in English literature, early science and travel, the room contains about 4,000 beautifully bound books – surrounding you on shelves, in bookcases and on a large central table. Hours could be spent here quite easily.
Mon – Sat: 9am-5pm
G David Bookseller
16 St Edward’s Passage
Cambridge
CB2 3PJ
01223 354619
g.david.books@gmail.com
www.davidsbookshop.co.uk
Discover unique boutiques and boutique hotels mingled with communities of artists and craftspeople. Sample an award-winning restaurant or thriving little café tucked away in a back street – all easy to locate with the 200 page full-colour Independent Cambridge guide.
Handily presented with a map and an index at the beginning of each section, this book is the indispensable key to finding out what’s on offer from the independents of Cambridge. Get your copy from Waterstones, Heffers, many of the independent shops or online at www.independent-cambridge.co.uk