You could walk right past Leakey’s Bookshop on Church Street in Inverness and think it was little more than a disused church.
But those who know better will step off the street and push through the green door, ready to lose themselves in the world of books.
And even if it is not your first time through the doors, you can’t help but gasp at the sight before you.
Owner Charles Leakey and his son Sam admit they don’t know exactly how many books there are on the shelves, but that doesn’t mean the pair don’t know what treasures there are for customers to discover.
They are also sure about the oldest book they have – a theological text in Latin which was published in 1496. It is not on display in the shop, but is instead safely tucked away in the family’s own collection.
History of Leakey’s
Mr Leakey sen opened his first second-hand bookshop from a first-floor room in Grant’s Close in June 1979.
Even before this he had started collecting and buying books, building up a stock so he could fulfill his dream as soon as the time was right.
In 1982, he moved to a larger premises within the Close, before eventually moving to the disused Greyfriars Free Church – with the church opting for his vision over a nightclub proposal.
Since moving to Church Street, Leakey’s Bookshop has been moulded into what it is today – the piles and shelves of books growing ever taller and fuller.
If you can drag your eyes from the books lining the walls, the focal point of Leakey’s is the wood-burning stove that stands at its heart – roaring away in winter.
Walking into Leakey’s
The sight people are met with when they enter Leakey’s Bookshop is astonishing, as is demonstrated by the gasps father and son can hear from their desk by the door.
“There’s lots of really kind and pleasant reactions, people are impressed I suppose,” Mr Leakey Jr said.
“There’s this effect when you walk in through the lobby that is this tight, confined space then you open the door and it’s that classic church architecture of compression and expansion. You often hear people gasping as they come in, it’s quite rewarding.”
When they can, they take the time to speak to customers as the books their own stories usually inspire the stories they seek out in the shop.
Mr Leakey Jr, 29, said: “Typically books people choose are chosen for a reason, often for quite significant reasons or connections between them and the book.
“History really is very close to us, and books and the people who are buying them reveal that to us every day.”
How many books are there in Leakey’s?
Something many people want to know is exactly how many books there are in Leakey’s Bookshop.
“Whenever anyone asks us how many books we have, we always invite the person asking the question to count them and tell us,” said Mr Leakey Jr.
The 29-year-old said the pair have “no idea” how many books they have and that there is no physical log.
“We don’t keep a record of the titles other than in our memory – we’re quite good at being able to say whether or not we have a book through familiarity,” he added.
“We do handle every single one when we’re buying them, pricing them, shelving them, or when we’re reorganising them.”
Filling the shelves of Leakey’s
The-however-many books in Leakey’s come from a variety of different people and places.
“Having been around for 40 years, we’re known about enough in the Highlands and beyond that, when people have books they want to sell, they often think of us,” said Mr Leakey Jr.
People can bring the books in, or the duo will go out to homes in the Inverness area to look through whole personal libraries or collections.
Each book goes through a thorough selection process, with only the best and most interesting making it onto the shelves of Leakey’s.
Mr Leakey Jr said: “There are so many different criteria we are selecting based on.
“If someone brings in a collection of Inverness and Black Isle focused books, of which there are lots, then that’s fairly straightforward because we know those are books people in this area would want to buy.
“Then you look at the condition of the books, if they’re not in good condition they’re not so saleable. Condition is very important, then it’s just applying our experience of what sells and what doesn’t.”
Like father, like son
Mr Leakey Jr grew up in the bookshop but moved abroad.
He is delighted to be back, running the shop alongside his dad, but knows he’s still got some learning to do.
He added: “Books were a big part of my childhood, it was great to have complete free access to this whole shop’s worth of books, I could pick anything off the shelves. I would come here quite often after school to do just that.”
While he is starting to feel confident with the process of buying and pricing, he still looks to his dad for help with some of the less common, older books.
“I’m still learning, it’s a long process to really know your way around because you have to build up and store a lot.”
One of his favourite finds was a first-edition copy of Nan Shepherd’s The Living Mountain. The pair found it tucked away in a dusty, poorly lit attic in Lochardle.
Mr Leakey Sr, who is now 71, had never seen one before in all his years buying, collecting and selling books – they didn’t even recognise it for what it was at first.
His son added: “Part of the privilege of being a bookseller is that you can come across things and decide you want to keep them.
“It’s a pleasure to do that with some books, particularly ones that you know you’re unlikely to ever see again.”
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