Amsterdam's Book Exchange specializes in books in English.
Gracious sakes, where do I start? We have two grandkids in Holland -- Amsterdam to be exact -- and they keep asking us to come over there and visit. It’s a long way and a very expensive proposition to go, so we figured as long as we were “across the pond,” we would take some time to gad about the continent…our version of the grand tour.
We managed to take in six countries and an island in six weeks. Lots of castles, lots of wine and cheese, and of course, being who I am, I had to search out at least one or two bookstores in each town we went to. Though this is by no means a complete catalog of bookstores, it is a pictorial essay of what we found.
We began in Amsterdam and found quite a number of boekhandels or bookstores, but not very many where English language books were available. I was glad I had taken along four or five paperbacks from my library to read as I wasn’t sure how many English books I’d find and I don’t speak a word of Dutch. Goddess forbid I should find myself on a plane or bullet train without something to read!
The Het Spui Square near the Begijnhof, a Catholic sisterhood, is where a lot of the bookstores and cafes are located. There is a Waterstone’s and the American Book Center, both of which sell new English-language books. More English books, or Engelsboeken, are available at the English Bookshop at The Jordaan.
Though there are plenty of used bookstores, the best place to rummage is at the Thieves Market. There are hundreds of booths with all kinds of stuff of every kind. We were warned to watch out for pickpockets because, as my son said, “They don’t call it the Thieves Market for nothing, you know.” I found a great pair of brown cowboy boots and four boxes of books at one stall. Another stall was just devoted to used books, boxes and boxes of them with their titles set up so they were pretty easy to peruse. Mixed in among dozens of Dutch, French, German, and other language books, one could find a few English or American titles. One store in particular, The Book Exchange, catered to English language books and, as titled, did exchanges. The owner said that he had the largest number of used English books in Amsterdam.
Sotheby’s Books, Manuscripts and Music from Medieval to Modern Now through July 10, 2025
Sotheby’s Books, Manuscripts and Music from Medieval to Modern Now through July 10, 2025
Sotheby’s, Ending July 10: Book of Hours by the Masters of Otto van Moerdrecht, Use of Sarum, in Latin, Southern Netherlands (Bruges), c.1450. £20,000 to £30,000.
Sotheby’s, Ending July 10: Albert Einstein. Autograph letter signed, to Attilio Palatino, on his research into General Relativity, 12 May 1929. £12,000 to £18,000.
Sotheby’s, Ending July 10: John Gould. The Birds of Europe, [1832-] 1837, 5 volumes, contemporary half morocco, subscriber’s copy. £40,000 to £60,000.
Sotheby’s Books, Manuscripts and Music from Medieval to Modern Now through July 10, 2025
Sotheby’s, Ending July 10: Ian Fleming. A collection of James Bond first editions, 8 volumes in all. £8,000 to £12,000.
Sotheby’s, Ending July 10: J.K. Rowling. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, 1997, first edition, hardback issue. £50,000 to £70,000.
Sotheby’s, Ending July 10: J.R.R. Tolkien. Autograph letter signed, to Amy Ronald, on Pauline Baynes's map of Middle Earth, 1970. £7,000 to £10,000.
DOYLE, July 23: STOKES, I. N. PHELPS. The Iconography of Manhattan Island, 1498-1909. New York: Robert H. Dodd, 1915-28. Estimate: $3,000-5,000
DOYLE, July 23: [AUTOGRAPH - US PRESIDENT]FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT. A signed photograph of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Estimate $500-800
DOYLE, July 23: [ARION PRESS]. ABBOTT, EDWIN A. Flatland. A Romance of Many Dimensions. San Francisco, 1980. Estimate $2,000-3,000.
DOYLE, July 23: TOLSTOY, LYOF N. and NATHAN HASKELL DOLE, translator. Anna Karénina ... in eight parts. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell & Co., [1886]. Estimate: $400-600
DOYLE, July 23: ROWLING, J.K. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. London: Bloomsbury, 2000. Estimate $1,200-1,800
Freeman’s | Hindman Western Manuscripts and Miniatures July 8, 2025
Freeman’s | Hindman Western Manuscripts and Miniatures July 8, 2025
Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. FRANCESCO PETRARCH (b. Arezzo, 20 July 1304; d. Arqua Petrarca, 19 July 1374). $20,000-30,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. CIRCLE OF THE MASTER OF THE VITAE IMPERATORUM (active Milan, 1431-1459). $15,000-20,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. CIRCLE OF ATTAVANTE DEGLI ATTAVANTI (GABRIELLO DI VANTE) (active Florence, c. 1452-c. 1520/25). $15,000-20,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. FOLLOWER OF HERMAN SCHEERE (active London, c. 1405-1425). $15,000-20,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. An exceptionally rare, illuminated music leaf from a Mozarabic Antiphonal with sister leaves mostly in museum collections. $11,500-14,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. Exceptional leaf from a prestigious Antiphonary by a leading illuminator of the late Duecento. $11,500-14,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. CIRCLE OF THE MASTER OF MS REID 33 and SELWERD ABBEY SCRIPTORIUM (AGNES MARTINI?) (active The Netherlands, Groningen, c. 1468-1510). $10,000-15,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. Previously unknown illumination from one of the most renowned Gothic Choir Book sets of the Middle Ages. $6,000-8,000.