Mr Pickwicks Fine Old Books & Antiques, Katoomba, NSW

Nestled in the heart of the glorious, World-Heritage-listed Blue Mountains, in a massive 3-storey superannuated Bank Building, sits the delightfully eccentric books and antiques shop known as Mr Pickwick's Fine Old Books and Antiques. Down a Dickensian alley alongside lies Mr Pickwick's Old Curiosity Shop and its Framing Business, and even further into the mists lies a vast Furniture Barn. The main Mr Pickwick store contains some 60, 000 books in all, ranging from rare and arcane leather-bound antiquities through extensive sections on Art, Architecture and Literature to a virtual second-bookshop upstairs containing some 4, 000 Penguins and a further 10, 000 paperbacks and cheaper editions, priced from $2 to $10. A prominent sign in the bookshop, recently featured in the Qantas In-flight Magazine tells much of the Mr Pickwick philosophy. It reads: "You may sit here and browse at your leisure, for as long as you like. You are not obliged to buy a book". Mr Pickwick has built a large and loyal trade amongst the locals of the sprawling Blue Mountains community, but the shop is also a welcome discovery for the several millions of tourists from all over Australia and the rest of the world who annually pass through this lovely spot. Mr Pickwick offers in addition an obligation-free Book-Finder service, and sources many rare and troublesome items for its clients all over the world. The spectacular Blue Mountains area is well worthy of a visit in any event. Mr Pickwick's just adds a dollop of cream to the bun for the civilised visitor. The Curranty Crew "And the frivolous cake was filled with the fun Of her and her curranty crew." Mervyn Peake.

• new south wales
• Bookshop
• Blue
• Books
• Second-Hand
• Second-Hand Bookshop
• Antique Bookshop