Used Bookstore Near Me in Chelsea: Peter Harrington's Four Floors of First Editions

Peter Harrington keeps more than 20,000 volumes and 6,000 works on paper across four floors of a double-fronted building at 100 Fulham Road, London SW3 6HS in what the firm calls London's largest antiquarian bookshop. The Chelsea shop is open Monday to Saturday from 10am to 6pm, closed on Sunday, five minutes on foot from South Kensington station. If your used bookstore near me search is really a hunt for a signed first edition, an old map or a finely bound set, this is London's serious end of second-hand books.

The business started in 1969, when Peter Harrington issued his first catalogue from a stall at Chelsea Antiques Market on King's Road. In 1971 he teamed up with his brother Adrian as Harrington Bros, and by the early 1990s the brothers owned the whole market, which at its peak held more than a hundred stalls. Alongside the books, Peter and his wife Mati ran a gallery of maps and limited-edition prints called Old Church Galleries.

In 1997 Peter merged his half of the book business with that gallery under his own name and opened the shop at 100 Fulham Road with his son Pom, who had joined Harrington Bros straight out of school in 1994. Pom took over in 2003 after his father died. He has since served as President of the Antiquarian Booksellers' Association from 2021 to 2023, chairs Firsts, London's Rare Book Fair, and now employs more than 60 people across Chelsea, Mayfair and New York.

Stock runs from the 15th to the 20th century: landmark works of literature, philosophy, science, travel and economics, plus children's books, modern first editions, signed and inscribed copies, fine bindings, library sets and original manuscripts. The firm says more than 30 specialists source and catalogue it, and the oddities are part of the draw. Recent arrivals listed on its own site include a Japanese educational box of mineral specimens and a George Brookshaw guide to painting flowers and fruit.

Ian Fleming and Bram Stoker turn up often. The new-arrivals page has listed a first edition of Moonraker at £7,500 and Nabokov's Lolita at £12,500, but the gift selection also shows an 1896 complete edition of Robert Burns's Poetical Works in an arts and crafts binding at £200. The same list includes the 1947 Field Guide of Birds of the West Indies, whose author's name Fleming borrowed for James Bond, at £1,250.

The Chelsea building also houses the Peter Harrington Gallery, a dedicated space for original artwork, literary portraits, book-related art and pieces from 19th and 20th century art movements. The wider gallery stock, more than 4,600 items online, takes in maps and engravings such as a 1558 Sebastian Munster map of Sardinia from his Cosmographia at £350, along with prints, photography and original illustration. Ask the gallery team if a framed piece catches your eye.

Every book carries an unconditional guarantee of authenticity and completeness as described. Defects are noted in the published description, and anything called a first edition is a first printing unless stated otherwise. Each purchase comes with a printed description on Peter Harrington letterhead that doubles as a certificate of authenticity. Items can be returned for a full refund within 14 days if they disappoint for any reason, which is unusual generosity at this price level.

Two copies of the same title can sit at very different prices, and the shop explains why. Condition drives value, so a copy in sharper collector's condition costs more, and a signed, inscribed, association or specially bound copy costs more again. Printed books and maps are zero-rated for VAT in the UK, so there is no sales tax added at the till, while prices for prints include VAT. Listings online carry a Reserve button, which reviewers say is handy before a visit.

Recent reviews sketch the regulars. There are collectors chasing signed copies, like the buyer who picked up a signed August Derleth in January 2026 after the end-of-year sale, and American readers who order from the shop and praise the delivery to the United States. Then there are gift buyers: one October 2026 reviewer chose a set of three rare books for a son's 40th birthday, and another bought a first edition as a present and planned to visit the shop.

Be honest with yourself before you go. If you want an armful of cheap paperbacks or a rainy hour in a dusty basement, skip Peter Harrington. There are no bargain bins here, almost everything is catalogued, and many of the books worth lingering over cost hundreds or thousands of pounds. Come instead when you have one author or one milestone present in mind, because the staff are at their best talking about a specific book.

Peter Harrington does buy books from private sellers, but not over the counter on a whim. Send the author, the exact title from the title page, edition, publisher, date, binding and any defects, plus at least two uncropped photographs of the title page and binding. If the firm is interested it replies within seven days. Wait for that reply before bringing anything in, so you do not make a wasted trip to Fulham Road.

The wish list favours well-known titles by major authors in collectible condition: first editions, period bindings, dust jackets from after the 1920s, signed and inscribed copies, illustrated books, manuscripts, letters and whole libraries. There are no valuations by email or for insurance, only offers to buy. Payment can be in pounds, US dollars or euros once the books have been examined, and sellers need photo ID and proof of address.

The shop sits near the Sydney Street junction, close to Michelin House, the tiled landmark further along Fulham Road. Michelin built it as its first permanent UK headquarters and tyre depot, and it opened on 20 January 1911 to a design by company engineer François Espinasse, with Art Nouveau and early Art Deco detail and three large stained-glass windows based on period Michelin adverts. Terence Conran and Paul Hamlyn converted it to shops, offices and restaurants in 1987.

If the book you want is not in Chelsea, or the visit runs into a Sunday, go to the firm's second London shop on Dover Street in Mayfair. Peter Harrington describes it as its flagship, near the Ritz and opposite the Arts Club, showing the best new arrivals in a gallery-style room, and it is also open Monday to Saturday from 10am to 6pm. The Piccadilly line runs direct from South Kensington to Green Park, and the shop is a three-minute walk from that station.

Peter Harrington, 100 Fulham Road, London SW3 6HS. Open Monday to Saturday 10am to 6pm, closed Sunday. The nearest Tube is South Kensington on the Piccadilly, Circle and District lines: take the Pelham Street exit and walk south-east to Fulham Road. Buses 14, 211, 345 and 414 stop close to the door, and the nearest car park is Sydney Street Car Park, SW3 6NP.

Shop prices are listed on the firm's website, from £200 for the 1896 Burns to £12,500 for the Lolita first edition on recent lists. UK web orders over £300 ship free, and next-day UK delivery is £15 if ordered by 2pm. The Chelsea Bindery, part of the business since 2000, handles leather binding, restoration and box-making, with enquiries to the main email address. Gift orders come wrapped in green paper and tied with a white bow.