Specialist shops - maps, books, models & stationery - ongoing discussion

[whole diary]

[CyclingSid]

Stanfords in Covent Garden, on the other hand, is a proper map and guidebook shop. I could spend days (and most of my savings) there.

The original Stanfords in Covent Garden before it was it modernised/improved had a fascinating and slightly hidden basement. It was run by two extremely knowledgeable gentlemen and stocked Military Survey and other specialist official maps. Too much of my money went there, and the staff added considerably to my mapping knowledge. Bad timing meant that I missed out on the detailed Falkland Island survey material. On the announcement of the task force MoD went and "recovered" the entire stock.

[JayMac]

It would appear that we have a few frustrated cartographers here.

One of the jobs I wanted to do when I was a kid. Along with the obligatory 'train driver'.

[JayMac]

Somewhere in the house there's a slightly smoke-damaged copy of Monkhouse's Principles of Physical Geography...

So, not just the comedian's comedian then?

[CyclingSid]

It would appear that we have a few frustrated cartographers here.

Not entirely frustrated. I did eventually, by a circuitous route, become a health/medical cartographer. All sorts of fancy words; spatial epidemiology! It is useful to know where health conditions occur, it is also useful to know where health treatment occurs. The connection between the two is not always optimal.

[TonyN]

The independent Map Shop in Upton-on-Severn is still going, and still wonderful: https://www.themapshop.co.uk/

I can remember going there in the 80s or 90s just after the EU^» (European Union - about) had introduced set-aside for agricultural land and finding a queue of Farmers waiting to order 25 inch maps of their land.

Only 6 miles from me in Pershore but Upton is not very well served by public transport these days. Buses from Worcester only and by 2 alternate routes ether east or west of the river Severn.

When I lived in Kempsey just south of Worcester in the 1970s there was an all day and evening bus service from Worcester to Gloucester via Upton and Tewkesbury. Now to get south from upton you need to go to Worcester. Then take a train to Gloucester. The only regular bus service between Worcestershire and Gloucestershire is Evesham to Tewkesbury.

[eightonedee]

I would add my endorsement to the Independent Map Shop at Upton. They were able to supply maps of Germany for me last year that Stanfords did not list, and even contacted me to let me know one I had ordered was about to be revised, so did I want to wait until the revised edition appeared. That's what I call service.

Perhaps CfN^▸ (Chris from Nailsea, an administrator on this forum) may need to change the title of this thread, to "....in Bristol and elsewhere - past and present"!

[Chris from Nailsea]

Perhaps CfN^▸ (Chris from Nailsea, an administrator on this forum) may need to change the title of this thread, to "....in Bristol and elsewhere - past and present"!

Yes, alright ... I've done it. 

Chris. 

[Red Squirrel]

...and future?

[Chris from Nailsea]

Actually, Tim, I was initially struggling there, with the forum's current software limiting me in terms of the number of characters I could have in any heading of a topic. Hence my use of '&' rather than 'and', just to consolidate.

However: I am an ADMIN, so I can log in as such and over-ride such apparently petty restrictions (and possibly annoy grahame).

Give me a couple of minutes.

[Chris from Nailsea]

I've found a 'workaround' - hopefully without annoying grahame.

[grahame]

I've found a 'workaround' - hopefully without annoying grahame.

If you want to annoy me ... no, I won't give ideas. 

I took a look at this out of interest and if it were life changing I suspect it could be done. The database would support it.  However it would lead some pretty ugly formatting.  It's a limit I have hit too and my solution has been to work around answering keep the text to a short subject and avoid the temptation of it being an essay.

Re: Mapshops, Bookshops, Modelshops and Stationery shops, Bristol and elsewhere: past, present and future
could change to
Re: Specialist shops - Maps, books, models & stationary, Bristol and others

Is "past present and future" needed?

[Timmer]

Whitemans bookshop in Bath. MarkA will remember that one. They were very much a specialist bookshop for those who loved transport books and maps…loads of em as well as everyday books.

They used to also sell second hand books and timetables. It was a great place to spend my early wages.

I would occasionally visit Ian Allan bookshops in Birmingham, Manchester and Waterloo. All now closed.

[eightonedee]

As someone guilty for the expansion of the title of this thread can I agree with deleting "past, present and future" and changing "Bristol and elsewhere " to "in our area "?

[Chris from Nailsea]

I've found a 'workaround' - hopefully without annoying grahame.

If you want to annoy me ... no, I won't give ideas. 

No, I really don't want to do that, grahame. 

I have therefore now simplified the topic heading, to cover everything that has been posted here so far - removing reference to any particular location, too, as we have interesting examples of such outlets in Birmingham and Manchester.

As ever, I hope this helps. CfN^▸ (Chris from Nailsea, an administrator on this forum).

[JayMac]

I've recently bought two Lego models. Sadly not from a dedicated model shop as they rarely stock the 'adult' Lego sets.

Concorde was purchased online and the Mercedes G 500 was bought from John Lewis in Bristol.

[Image from here is not available to guests]
[Image from here is not available to guests]