Our brilliantly colorful Bell’s logo bags are back in stock! Made from a medley of patterned fabrics, using remnants from clothing manufacture in India, they come in three styles: large cotton shopper, sturdy canvas book bag, or small organza gift bag.
Every single bag has a unique combination of fabrics, and supplies are limited!
Fresh from our long-term holdings, we have several new condition editions of Tolkien’s monumental work The Lord of the Rings. These include the 4th and 5th impressions of the one-volume De Luxe edition from George Allen and Unwin (one in a slipcase, the other in a very handsome box), as well as all first editions thus of the earliest multi-volume Folio Society edition, accompanied by the Folio Hobbit for that group. All these were purchased new by Bell’s as they were released in the 1970s. What better way to enjoy this timeless classic than in beautiful and sturdy editions such as these?
AUGUST 4th UPDATE: All Sold Out!
Thanks to recent acquisitions from retiring Stanford professors, our Western Philosophy section has grown by at least six shelves! We now have the largest collection of material by and about John Locke west of the Mississippi (outside of academic libraries), plus numerous works of Derrida, Rawls, Habermas, John Dewey, and many more.
In addition, our collection on the history of the book: printing, publishing, literacy, and the dissemination of knowledge has been enhanced.
We are still open every day of the week from 11 to 5, with extended hours until 8 on Fridays.
As per the Health Officer of Santa Clara County’s recommendation, face coverings will still be required to enter our store (“… the Health Officer strongly recommends that all persons continue to wear face coverings when indoors.” SANTA CLARA COUNTY ORDINANCE CODE SECTION A18-33). Your nose and mouth must be covered at all times while browsing.
We will keep you updated as things progress, and thank you, as always, for your patronage!
Larry McMurtry lived in the Bay Area in the 1960s, and he recounts in his memoir, entitled Books, his visit to Bell’s Books:
“The famously grouchy Mr. Bell in Palo Alto ordered me off his second fl0or, although I had a book in my hand and I bought it!” (page 50)
(During that decade the second floor was frequently roped off for book processing.) Today, you are free to browse that area, which includes history, philosophy, sexuality, religion, psychology, translated fiction, genre fiction (mysteries, science fiction, horror), and nature.
We will be OPEN 11 to 5 every day of the week, starting Sunday, January 2nd, 2022, with extended hours on Fridays until 8.
Happy New Year Year!!
We will be OPEN 11 to 6 through Thursday, December 23rd.
On Christmas Eve, Friday, December 24th, our hours are 11 to 4.
We will be CLOSED Christmas Day.
We will be OPEN 11 to 6 from Sunday, December 26th through Thursday, December 30th.
On New Year’s Eve, Friday, December 31st, our hours will be 11 to 4.
We will be CLOSED on New Year’s Day.
Bell’s Books is pleased to offer a rare set of three first editions from the early Winnie-the-Pooh series, with each copy signed by both the author, A.A. Milne, and illustrator, E. H. Shepard.
These are first editions that were released concurrently with the first trade editions of each title, and were limited to the following print run:
Winnie-the-Pooh, 1927 (350 copies)
Now We Are Six, 1927 (200 copies)
The House at Pooh Corner, 1928 (350 copies)
Each book is individually numbered and signed, and each was printed on large, handmade paper. This set comes in an attractive custom matching clamshell case. A rare addition to any serious book collector’s library.
Here’s a link to the talk Faith and other long-term business owners in Palo Alto gave regarding their businesses’ histories on October 3, 2021. Included in this talk are Georgie Gleim of Gleim Jewelers, Leslie Mills and Sue Diggle Mills of Mills the Florist, and Alex Wilbur of Wilbur Properties.
See photos of our earliest days, as well as our current staff.
We will be CLOSED Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 25th.
On Friday, November 26th, we will be open from 11 to 8.
Starting Saturday, November 27th, our expanded holiday hours will be:
Every day 11 to 6, Fridays 11 to 8.
We will be CLOSED Christmas Day, Saturday, December 25th.
