Karl Marx CAPITAL: First American Edition - 13th Dec 2022

Another fascinating early translation: Karl Marx's CAPITAL, new to our website!

1889, in the original binding: please feel free to contact us directly for photos of this important work or to discuss shipping options.

 

Thought of the day... or era really - 29th Apr 2020

If you're a reader then secondhand bookshops will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no secondhand bookshops.
😉

SAVE the HARD TO FIND BOOKSHOP! - 3rd Aug 2017

A historic building and an iconic secondhand bookstore need your help
 
Before getting to the point, here’s a bit of a preamble…

The bookshop began as a hobby in a garage back in 1983, a real bookstore in 1984,  and found its present home in Onehunga, Auckland, New Zealand in 1988. It was founded on my passion and obsession for books of all kinds, and I believe we have created a store with an essence of magic, pleasure and surprise, a repository of learning, knowledge and entertainment. The books in the shop are complemented by the store itself - a several storey nineteenth century chaotic shambles of a timber building with well-worn wooden stairs and original wallpaper still hanging (just) from the walls. It is both a cultural icon and an economic anachronism with a unique bookish atmosphere available to all incomes and tastes.
 
        Many thousands of customers from around the world have visited as children, supplied themselves as students, and now bring their children to experience the piles of tumbling books and half-hidden treasures. Hundreds more people have worked short or longterm with us over the last 34 years and helped shape the shop as it now is.
 
       Unfortunately we are in crisis and this friendly dinosaur faces extinction... which is why this email has arrived in your inbox. The landlord hasn’t  maintained the building for the last twenty years and is now signalling a massive rent increase, one we won’t to be able to afford. Our only hope is to try and raise funds to buy the building and restore it to its glory, either fully funded or with a viable deposit. Despite working pretty much seven days a week I don’t own properties or have savings or bankable assets. The business has been a labour of love which pays our wages and continues to give a great many people of all ages pleasure, but there are no gold bars buried in the garden (we’ve looked).
 
     As the only resort i can think of we have come up with a crowdfunding campaign, and we are hoping you can help us by either preferably donating at this secure crowdfunding site…https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/hardtofindbookshop      or if that does not sit well with you, perhaps supporting us by purchasing some books from us online at our website www.hardtofind.co.nz
 
     Thanks for taking the time to read this letter.  Any help you can give us is greatly appreciated. Please do pass this on to anyone you know who may be interested, particularly any philanthropic millionaires or billionaires.

Regards, Warwick (the helmsman) and the team at Hard to Find Bookshop
 

Athol's Chair - 22nd Jun 2016

Many of you have either seen Athol on guard at the entrance of the Dunedin shop or you have spotted photos of him on our website.  However, it is his chair which is today's feature.

You may have heard of the long-running television series "Xena, Warrior Princess" or you may have been a keen viewer of the programme.  Athol's chair was originally designed and built for the set of Xena.  The owner of Hard to Find Books bought the chair when filming ended and the set was being dismantled.

Along with the chair, we have a great array of weird, wacky and wonderful objects collected by Warwick and on display in the Dunedin shop.  Have a look at the gallery - perhaps you have some quaint, quirky, quality article that you feel compelled to donate!
 

New Website launches today - 13th May 2016

We last re-jigged our website back in 2010 as the previous one looked like an industrial library from cold-war East Germany... and now we are upgrading again. I got very frustrated with systems malfunctioning on our website and the inconvenience for us and our customers, and I have been longing for a more reliable, fresh site which can give our valued customers the service they deserve. I have a great deal of confidence in the Turboweb team who have constructed this new site, and they'll keep it flowing smoothly I'm sure. Whether you're buying Ion Idriess or Agatha Christie, Arthurt Upfield or Elsdon Best, I'm sure the new site will help you find new treasures.