ten pound island book company

Directions *** Hours

Half a million books later, the island is still there, and so are we. And, although two decades have scarcely altered the island, the business has undergone radical changes. In 1980 we switched from being a general used book retail business, and gradually began focussing on catalog sales of maritime books. Our first computer (a Mac 512) arrived in the mid 80s and we began refining our mail order and catalog business. In the early 90s we closed the retail operation entirely and began selling by mail order only. Then we added an internet presence, and as this aspect of our business grew, we re-opened a retail shop. We needed some place to keep all the books!

Now, though we still concentrate on catalog and internet sales of old and rare maritime books, charts and manuscripts, we also sell used books of all kinds on the internet and through our retail shop. The internet and retail activities are ably managed by Joe Burns and Amanda Cook. I run the old book part of the business, do the buying, write the catalogs and perform appraisals for tax or insurance purposes. In addition, any of the three of us are likely to show up at the many regional or national antiquarian book fairs.

Back in 1976, when I started this business, I thought that having a memorable name would result in more sales. I was wrong. The only thing that worked, I soon learned, was having good books to sell, describing them accurately, and charging a fair price for them. That's still what we're about.

--Greg Gibson.

Directions: From Rt. 95 take Rt. 128 north toward Gloucester. After crossing the bridge over the Annisquam River, you will come to a rotary. Take the third exit off the rotary, Rt. 127 North, also known as Washingtoin St. In 5-6 miles you will come to the village of Lanesville, indentifiable by a post office and liquor store, both of which say "Lanesville". Follow the signs for Rt. 127 two blocks past Lanesville, where it makes a hard right turn up a hill. This is Langsford St. We are less than 1/2 mile on the right, #77 Langsford St.