How did we come to run a shop with such a varied stock? Twenty years ago, almost to the day, Parkinson Books and The Old Tropical Shell Shop were trading as separate companies in the same alleyway. The former was in a fourth generation tradition and the latter founded just before W.W.I. Landlord's redevelopment forced both companies out but in the process the former alone received compensation and amicably absorbed the good will of the latter. We purchased the freehold of a mirror-image building in the same alleyway, so older people believing that they're making a nostalgic return to the old shell shop find themselves in a puzzling Alice Through The Looking Glass world.

As bookdealers with qualifications and interests in science & natural history, it was only a matter of days before we added to the shells a selection of fossil and mineral specimens. Hobbies, already reflected in the book-dealing, prompted the introduction of coins, then prehistoric, classical and mediaeval artefacts. Antiques and a few ethnographic items soon followed. CDs were, of course, always a natural adjunct to books. In the meantime we had expanded into three floors of the present premises, with a fourth floor storeroom and a large covered ginnel and yard for cheaper shells and books.

Almost simultaneous with the expansion we began to withdraw from the booksearch service which we had long advertised in the quality Sunday newspapers as KAP. The earlier success of the booksearch venture aided other aspects of the business in the short-term but in the long-term it was eroded by competition from the likes of Waterstones and internet portal sites. Paradoxically the internet is now one of our great trading strengths.