"Once on a stall in Farringdon Road I found
An atlas folio of great lithographs,
Views of Ionian Islands, flyleaf inscribed
By Edward Lear - and bought it for a bob.
Perhaps one day I'll find a first of Keats,
Wedged between Goldsmith and The Law of Torts;
Perhaps -- but that was not the reason why
Untidy bookshops gave me such delight.
It was the smell of books, the plates in them
Tooled leather, marbled paper, gilded edge ..."
Summoned by Bells John Betjeman
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