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By: Sarah Jane Owen
Date: 2nd Jul 08
Product: Books
Anatomy: Brain
WHAT
OUT OF PRINT BOOKS
WHERE
179 CANTERBURY RD, CANTERBURY
WHEN
MON-FRI 11AM-5.30PM, SAT 10AM-4PM
HOW MUCH
VARIES
CONTACT
97189262 OR SHOP@OUTOFPRINT.COM.AU
Nestled amongst a bakery, newsagent and several boarded-up shop fronts is arguably Australia's best anthology of out-of-print and collectible books. Co-owner Anne prefers to call the shop a 'storage facility' rather than a retail store, explaining that 90 percent of sales are made online from local and international customers. Rows and rows of hard-covered, embossed and beautifully bound books line the shelves in categories from antiques to history and of course, the arts.
It seems the reason some books go out of print is not due to a lack of interest, but the amalgamation of publishers and the downgrade in textiles used in production. Much of the stock is not as the name suggests, 'out of print', just no longer printed in the handicraft of yesteryear. Paperbacks have replaced hard covers and staples have replaced binding, meaning original copies of constantly reproduced classics now have antique status.
Anne's greatest fear is that reading is going out of fashion, but I assured her it wasn't on the premise that TwoThousand is fashionable and that you would read this story.