Nigel Williams

Nigel Williams stocks mainly 20th-century first editions costing between £15 and £15,000. On the ground floor is a wonderful collection of rare children’s books, including what staff call ‘the three Bs’ – Biggles, Bunter and Blyton – and a host of popular 20th-century authors and illustrators such as AA Milne, Arthur Rackham and Heath Robinson. There’s also the ‘Wodehouse Wall’ – which staff conjecture is the largest collection of PG Wodehouse in the country – and a growing poetry section. Approximately 10% of the stock is signed. The owners believe that collecting first editions needn’t be expensive and advise potential purchasers to collect the kind of thing they take pleasure in: a good place to start is the shop’s pleasingly unpretentious basement collection, which places strong emphasis on popular genres like crime and detective fiction. Whether it’s John Fowles or Dick Francis you’re after, books here are all less than £250, sometimes as low as £10.