Lucius Books is a wonderful bookshop on Micklegate who specialise primarily in first editions of literature and genre fiction, as well as key works in art, science, economics, history and travel. With a passion for the rare and unique, they carry a large selection of signed, inscribed and manuscript material. This expertise in a beautifully presented and welcoming environment has made Lucius Books a long-established York destination for collectors, visitors and locals. Now, as they move into a fitting new space along Micklegate, owner James Hallgate tells us how they got here.
Inspiration
Lucius Books began as a part-time venture for my father as he approached the end of his career in the forces. A passionate reader and lifelong collector, he decided to try his hand at bookselling. As far back as I can remember, he was always in and out of second-hand bookshops. When he began considering a career in the trade, his search for stock expanded to car boot sales, jumble sales, charity shops and the occasional local auction.
I often went along with him and don’t think I ever saw him more excited than when he was searching for books, and his enthusiasm was infectious. As we travelled between shops and sales, he taught me what to look for and how to spot a first edition. The plan had been for us to go into business together. But on the very morning we were due to sign our partnership, standing on the steps of the tax office, Dad had a sudden change of heart. He decided we’d never make enough money as booksellers and promptly announced his retirement, leaving me with the name Lucius Books and a determination to prove him wrong.
Evolution
It’s been over 30 years now, starting as a runner, buying from shops, auctions and bookfairs in the North of England and selling to dealers in London who were always keen for fresh material. That progressed to exhibiting at UK bookfairs. My first retail outlet was a cabinet in an antiques centre on Stonegate, that gave me the opportunity to meet private collectors. Some of the customers would call up and ask if we had more books to see, so I’d invite them to my house to look through what we had. It was also the early days of internet selling, which we embraced, and a lot our sales were going to American customers. To this day, America is still our biggest market.
It became apparent that to grow the business I needed more space to display our stock somewhere closer to town than my house, for people to view it. This coincided with our push into exhibiting at bookfairs internationally. It was 2001 and there was a recession in the US and Europe which meant that we weren’t seeing the visitors and tourism in York that we had previously. The idea was if they couldn’t come to us, we’d go to them. So three times a year we would pack up 200 or so of our best items and set up shop at bookfairs in New York, California, and Boston.
Growth
Our first bricks and mortar shop was on Fossgate. The rents were reasonable but the large space was over ambitious, so we downsized to one of the Merchant Adventurers’ shops and filled it with first editions and rare books. After 4 years we outgrew that shop so moved to a bigger premises a few doors down. We were very happy there until the devastating floods of 2015 when, out for a run on Boxing Day, I went past the shop to discover two out of three rooms waist high in water. We lost a significant amount of books and manuscripts.
Which brings us to the top of Micklegate, to my knowledge, the highest retail spot in York. Our move to 144 nearly eight years ago was a game changer. Once again we had the space to display everything we loved under one roof, books, art and associated objects, all side by side. The space allowed us to take on more staff, expanding our range and expertise.
Forever
When Ken Spelman Books decided to transition to an online only business, York risked losing one of its oldest and most respected antiquarian booksellers from the high street. As a kid cutting my teeth as a bookseller, it was a place of wonder and untold opportunity, and the shop I purchased my first collectable books in as a teenager. I have so many fond memories of that building, and the generosity of knowledge offered freely by the owner Peter Miller.
In 2023 we’d just about reached capacity of displayable stock at 144, so I went to see Peter, and a cup of tea and a handshake later a deal to buy the building was agreed. The idea was always to make this our forever shop, with room to grow. Three years, and a lot of grey hair later, we are putting books on shelves.
