Oxbow Books
Behind a pair of imposing black gates, which go largely unnoticed by revellers spilling out of next-door’s Park End – Oxford’s largest and least exclusive nightclub – are wonders which far surpass the distinctly undergraduate charms of the better known Blackwells. Ascend two flights of cast-iron stairs and you’ll come face-to-face with a pair of blue double-doors and a wooden plaque announcing ‘Oxbow Books’. Beyond, you’ll find books piled from floor to ceiling and so densely packed together that it’s near-impossible to see from one end to the other; Borders this certainly is not. Founded in the early 1980s by David Brown, Oxbow now has the largest selection of publications from the disciplines of archaeology, classics and medieval history in the country. Its selection spans both the years and the globe, from the Far, Middle and Near East to Africa and the Americas as well as Europe. Better yet, their stock is remarkably cheap, as Oxbow runs a wide and frequently changing sale throughout the year. But is the shop of use to anyone other than the specialist? There is no doubt that only a very particular need would prompt the purchase of The Register of Thetford Priory 1518-1540 (ed. D. Dymond, Oxford 1996 – reduced, incidentally, from £50 to £12.95) – a book which lists the annual expenditure accounts of the priory’s final years before dissolution. But Oxbow does not cater solely for the academic: it also sells items such as the most recent biographies of the kings of England, general works on the history of heresy and persecution and the best editions of the works of the classical philosophers. At a time when all the major booksellers appear to be selling the same limited stock in their tiny history sections, Oxbow Books provides a vital entry into the rich and varied pasts of distant societies and phenomena. And it’s not even necessary to negotiate nightclubs and cast-iron steps to get there: Oxbow’s available stock can be viewed and bought online.
Oxbow Books
Park End Place
Oxford OX1 1HN
www.oxbowbooks.com
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