So I’ve been to Edinburgh for a few days, which was great. What was even better was that I came across a lovely nostalgic book shop. The Old Children’s Bookshelf, is a small shop near the end of the royal mile (specifically: 175 Canongate
Edinburgh EH8 8BN)
It is full of old children’s books with lots of first edition hardcopies at reasonable prices. You’ll find books by Enid Blyton, Elinor Brent-Dyer, Carolyn Keen, J.M. Barrie among many others. More relevant to this blog is the collection of British comics. Of course there are plenty of comics like Beano, Topper and Wizard, but also there is a nice selection of comics aimed at girls.
The shop isn’t very big but it does have a good variety of books. The front of the shop has a collection of books and annuals including Bunty, Diana, Jackie, Judy, Mandy and School Friend. A small back room has a selection of comics and prints, including Beano, Girl’s Crystal, Diana, Judy and Twinkle.
It’s a nice shop with friendly staff. Even if you don’t buy anything, it felt very comfortable just browsing. So I’d definitely recommend a visit if you are in the area.
UPDATE: Since writing this post, unfortunately the shop has closed down, but thought it should still be remembered anyway.
This link was forwarded to me. It is a link to an article in the Guardian on girls’ comics that appeared over the weekend. And judging by the amount of comments it received, publishers should sit up, take notice and consider a new title.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/aug/18/jinty-misty-girls-comics-dandy?fb_action_ids=10150978903615677&fb_action_types=og.recommends&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map=%7B%2210150978903615677%22%3A10151177746054602%7D&action_type_map=%7B%2210150978903615677%22%3A%22og.recommends%22%7D&action_ref_map=%5B%5D
That’s an interesting article. Seems like Dandy going out of print has gotten people thinking about all the old comics that were around.