Helen Smith is Professor of Renaissance Literature at the University of York and Director of working letterpress studio Thin Ice Press. She tells us the story and significance of printing and bookselling in York.
Printing and bookselling in York have a long and important history. Even before the advent of print, York supported a lively trade in bookselling and copying. It was also one of the first four cities in the UK to embrace the new technology of printing with movable type. There has been printing in York since at least the 1490s, but for roughly a century the presses of York fell silent – until, during the Civil Wars, King Charles I fled to York and holed up with his printer in St William’s College. When Parliament set out an Act to restrict printing in 1642, York was explicitly excluded from the ban, and printing has continued in the city ever since.
There are lots of highlights in York’s printing and bookselling history – including the first surviving book printed in York, which dates back to 1510; the entrepreneurial widows who ran printing and bookselling businesses; the publication of the first two volumes of Laurence Sterne’s groundbreaking novel, Tristram Shandy; and the adventures of Thomas Gent, who ventured out on to the frozen River Ouse with a makeshift printing press in the winter of 1740. At Thin Ice Press: the York Centre for Print, we’re proud to celebrate this heritage, including the history and legacy of DeLittle of York, who were the last surviving wood type manufacturers in the UK. You can spot marks of York’s printing and bookselling history dotted around the city: look out for the red ‘printer’s devil’ on Stonegate, the sign of the Bible outside Oliver Bonas, and the Yorkshire Herald sign still on the walls of City Screen.
York is a really important place for the UK’s book scene. Every September, the city hosts the York National Book Fair, which is one of the largest rare and antiquarian book fairs in the world. The city is home to some brilliant secondhand, antiquarian and independent bookshops, and it hosts the York Antiquarian Book Seminar, which provides vital training to booksellers, librarians and collectors. York Minster Library stocks over 120,000 volumes on all sorts of subjects. And York Explore opens up books and reading to people across and beyond the city. There’s also a lively small press scene bubbling in York, and the city still boasts several printing firms. At Thin Ice Press, we’re on our way to setting up as a social venture, helping to ensure the future of traditional printing and printmaking techniques. It’s no exaggeration to say that York is one of the most important destinations in the UK, and maybe even in the world, for anyone who loves books!
@thinicepress
Minster Gate Books is an iconic shop which been selling antiquarian and secondhand books to the people of York since 1970. Owner Nigel Wallace expanded it over the years from a single front room to fill seven rooms of books across four floors. Nigel explains how bookshops have evolved to keep York’s historic literary tradition alive.
Our shop in Minster Gates is situated on a small street which has a long and continuous association with books. John Foster operated as a bookseller from Minster Gates in 1580-1607 and inventory for the stock is still in existence. The street was known as Bookbinder’s Alley (and before that Bookland Lane) when the area became a bustling centre of printing and bookselling. On the corner of Minster Gates is a statue of Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom, reclining against a pile of books. Appropriately, it was bookseller Francis Wolstenholme – host of the 19th century literary society York Book Club – who erected this statue in the eaves of his shop.
Over the 55 years since our shop was founded, the number of bookshops in York has undergone some considerable changes. There were just five shops operating in 1975 of which only the Minster Gate Bookshop remains today. Over time new shops opened to replace older establishments and by the mid 1980’s there were a total of ten secondhand and antiquarian bookshops in the centre of York. At the turn of the century, with the growth of the internet, many secondhand booksellers around the country closed their shops to operate from home. Nevertheless, York has survived the revolution in online bookselling pretty well, with seven secondhand shops still thriving in the centre.
@minstergatebookshop
A family business is doing impressive things to keep the future of bookshops alive and thriving. Toppings currently has shops in Ely, Bath, St Andrews and Edinburgh – and will be coming to York in Autumn 2025. Saskia Topping tells us all about it…
Robert and Louise Topping set up their first bookshop in Ely in 2002, assisted by their children Hugh and Cornelia, who years later are an integral part of the business. I began working for Robert at the start of 2019 and loved the ideology behind his bookshops: giving each bookseller the power to choose and manage their own section, run their own events, and buy in their own stock. He believes in the merit of stocking a book you believe in forever, regardless of whether or not it sells particularly well – which I think is a wonderfully eccentric position to hold as a business owner! The family philosophy has remained steadfast throughout: a belief in the transformational power of books and the warm personal relationships between booksellers and supporters who share that same love of books. At its heart, there is a desire to reinstate booksellers as key figures in their communities and cities.
Our York bookshop-to-be is in a grand, historic building on the corner of Museum Street and Blake Street. It’s a real joy to breathe new life into these brilliant buildings which have been lying empty, and to bring communities through their doors. It will span multiple floors all featuring our handcrafted bookcases, signature rolling library ladders, and space for over 80,000 titles on the shelves. Our focus will be on offering an exceptional browsing experience, with complimentary pots of fresh tea and coffee, reading groups, and plenty of friendly, bookish advice and recommendations. I have no doubt that we will be bringing more authors, readers and book lovers into York, and that will be a benefit to the city and all its marvellous independent bookshops.
@toppingsyork
