London, Judd Books

[Bart]

I'll be staying in London for a few days in March. I 've read that Judd Books in Judd Street is good for second hand Loebs and other Greek and Latin related books. Can someone confirm this? And if not, any other bookshops I could (or should) visit?

[seanjonesbw]

I haven't been to Judd Books but Cecil Court off Charing Cross Road has several excellent second hand bookshops a few steps apart which always have something interesting. The windows are packed full of expensive antiquarian stuff but most of the stock is quite reasonably priced.

[jacknoutch]

Skoob books near Russell Square has a decent Classics section, all second hand. It's actually very close to Judd books.

[seneca2008]

I can check out Judd Books before you visit. I haven't been there for years.

The Hellenic Bookservice has a very large secondhand section. You can see the kind of thing they have on their web site https://www.hellenicbookservice.com. Its especially good if you are looking for old "school editions". The book shop is in Kentish Town but the nearest tube is Tufnell park on the northern line which is an easy trip from central London (14 min on tube from Leicester Square where you will find the attractive but expensive Cecil Court).

Charing Cross road is not what it once was but Henry Pordes is worth a visit although I haven't seen Loebs there https://www.henrypordesbooks.com/blue-bookshop-london/. There are other bookshops nearby Quinto Bookshop, "Any amount of books" etc. (they have an online presence too).

Skoob books can be a good source but it is again not what it was once. http://www.skoob.com. Waterstones in Bloomsbury (formerly Dillons) is next to UCL and Birkbeck and has a reasonable second hand stock. https://www.waterstones.com/bookshops/gower-street

Have you thought about taking out a subscription to read Loebs on line? The first year is expensive ($170) but after that it is $70. I get access via my membership of the roman society which gives membership of the Library run by Institute of Classical Studies (University of London). Non Uk residents can't get postal loans but you can request scans and have access to JSTOR and Loeb on line. https://www.romansociety.org. There is also a sister organisation https://www.hellenicsociety.org.uk. Perhaps you already have access to a University library if not it might be worth investigating.

Non members can use the library for two days for reference purposes (https://library.ics.sas.ac.uk/admission-and-membership). You might want to organise this in advance and say you are considering joining the library and wanted to look around first. I dont know how restrictive they are about admission.

If you have any questions please dont hesitate to ask.

[seneca2008]

If you are in London before 8 March you should visit the Troy myth and reality exhibition https://www.britishmuseum.org/exhibitio ... nd-reality. I have been 4 times so far. I took a friend last night to the BM members evening. It was a real privilege to wander round the nearly empty museum and visit the happily uncrowded exhibition.

I would urge anyone who is interested at all in the Myths surrounding Troy to visit the exhibition. I haven't yet bought the exhibition catalogue but it looks excellent.

[Bart]

Hi guys, thanks for the recommendations. Sorry for not replying earlier, I was offline for quite some time. My trip to London (planned for last weekend) never materialised due to obvious reasons. Hopefully I can take advantage of the information provided here this autumn. Keep safe!