Maclean's Magazine has published a profile of Vancouver's MacLeod's Books, and owner Don Stewart (the photo above, from the article, is by Brian Howell). MacLeod's is Vancouver's most storied used and antiquarian shop, with a history that now spans five decades. Don is among HM's first generation of patrons, and continues to be a source of inspiration, advice, found-treasure stories, and, of course, books. In fact, one of the cool things about Don is that customers go through an esoteric probationary period - the duration and terms of which are never discussed, but generally have to do with one's level of knowledge, willingness to learn, and commitment to actually buying books. The successful candidates are elevated to a cadre that qualifies them for invitations to purchase certain items that will appeal to their particular interests. These items are never on display (or online), but appear from unknown repositories, often with the story of their provenance. (We know that somewhere he has a copy of our 1998 Griffo book, and a few other very early HM efforts. They will bubble up to the surface one day...) Should you fail to act when the opportunity is presented, you cannot be sure it will recur. Readers whose interest in piqued by the article's mention of a panoramic photograph of Terrace, B.C. please note that this is an error; it's Trail. And for an even better shot of the shop, here's Stan Douglas's famous (& fantastic) photograph, which really needs to be seen in its original 1.75 x 3 meter size for the full effect:
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