Shop of the week: Dreadnought

Spine after spine of second-hand books greet you on your entrance to Dreadnought, and shortly after Creams the cat comes, purring, to welcome you too. The smell of old pages wafts around and books are piled everywhere, on mismatched shelves, on the counter, in cabinets and boxes, and idly rotating in a vintage book stand. Dreadnought is small but crammed full of collectables, popular fiction and its own specialisms – history, politics, philosophy and social science – “all that humanities stuff”, as owner John Sidwell affectionately calls it.

“The shop is quite focused on history and politics, but then I have other bits and bobs too. It’s nice to offer that because most people can come in and find something that’s vaguely within their interest area,” John explains. “It made sense to specialise to some degree because there’s just so many books in the world, and those kinds of books are something I felt enthused about and wanted to know more about.”

Creams the cat sitting in the shop window

Following in his father’s footsteps, John started Dreadnought online and then as a market stall in South Wales in 2010, moving to Bristol to set up permanently three years later. He was attracted to Bristol because of its cultural appeal and the need for more independent bookshops here: Dreadnought is one of only three left in Bristol. “There was a space for it within the city. It’s a city with a large student population and quite a literate population, so it seemed it could work well here,” John says.

John is interested in the history of the books as objects themselves, and often wonders about their journey and past times before falling into his care. His collection comes from all over the place: markets, charity shops, car-boot sales and individuals who have had to part with their books because they need to clear space. “I often get a lot of people in domestic conflicts,” he chuckles, “because their husband or wife is demanding they have to clear a shelf.”

A huge range of titles, the majority about history and politics, line the packed shelves

“The other main thing is if someone’s relative has passed away. I’ll go to houses around Bristol or a bit further out. It’s fascinating because if someone’s book collection is quite specialist, it’s a reflection of them in a way, so you do a feel for their ‘spirit’ that’s embodied in their collection.” He also trades with regular sellers within the book-trade community, like the man who runs the second-hand book stall at the weekend Harbourside Market.

John also sources books from more peculiar places, reminiscing about one particular sale:“There used to be a car-boot sale in this countryside town and I got to know the people who run it. One of them was a security guard at an old psychiatric hospital that had shut down, and it had this amazing collection of psychological, philosophical books. He’d turn up with wheelbarrows full of books and I’d find so may interesting things that way.”

Sourcing books is equally about having a good eye and getting lucky. From this wheelbarrow of books, John says he stumbled across a hidden gem, in one of the moments that makes the book trade exciting. He shows me a first edition copy of Stephen D Frances’ novel One Man in His Time from 1946. It’s in incredible condition for a 72-year-old book.

A first edition copy of One Man In His Time (1946) by Stephen D Frances, who later become famous under the pseudonym Hank Janson

“This is the first book this guy ever wrote, and he later became somewhat famous for pulp fiction under a different name, Hank Janson. This book was apparently a complete failure, so it was hardly printed in any numbers.” A shame for Stephen but great for John. The book has unique charm, with the author’s name misspelled on the sleeve. “I don’t think anyone wants to read it, cause it’s not valued for its literary merit, but it’s one of those peculiar things which has value,” John says. The book has a market value of between £700-£1000.

John is openly passionate about the work he does and the stock he accumulates. His interest for the texts themselves is perhaps shadowed by the stimulating process of sourcing and re-homing them. Dreadnought feels more like an interest-turned-business than anything else – it’s homely, welcoming, and well-informed, and certainly deserves a good browse.

Dreadnought
125 St Georges Road, Hotwells, Bristol, BS1 5UW
0117 329 3176
www.dreadnoughtbooks.co.uk