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.
Heritage, Dec. 15: Jerry Thomas. How to Mix Drinks, or the Bon-Vivant's Companion, Containing Clear and Reliable Directions for Mixing All the Beverages Used in the United States…
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Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("Martinus Luther") to His Friend the Theologian Gerhard Wiskamp ("Gerardo Xantho Lampadario"). $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: An Exceptionally Fine Copy of Austenís Emma: A Novel in Three Volumes. $40,000 - $60,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Presentation Copy of Ernest Hemmingwayís A Farewell to Arms for Edward Titus of the Black Mankin Press. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript Signed Integrally for "The Songs of Pooh," by Alan Alexander. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript of "Three Fragments from Gˆtterd‰mmerung" by Richard Wagner. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Preliminary Artwork, for the First Edition of Snow Crash. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("T.R. Malthus") to Economist Nassau Senior on Wealth, Labor and Adam Smith. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides Finely Bound by Michael Wilcox. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: First Edition of Lewis and Clark: Travels to the Source of the Missouri River and Across the American Continent to the Pacific Ocean. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Artwork for the First Edition of Neal Stephenson's Groundbreaking Novel Snow Crash. $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: A Complete Set Signed Deluxe Editions of King's The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("John Adams") to James Le Ray de Chaumont During the Crucial Years of the Revolutionary War. $8,000 - $12,000.
Sotheby’s Book Week December 9-17, 2025
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Hooke, Robert. Micrographia: or some Physiological Descriptions of Minute Bodies made by Magnifying Glasses. London: James Allestry for the Royal Society, 1667. $12,000 to $15,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Chappuzeau, Samuel. The history of jewels, first edition in English. London: T.N. for Hobart Kemp, 1671. $12,000 to $18,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Sowerby, James. Exotic Mineralogy, containing his most realistic mineral depictions, London: Benjamin Meredith, 1811, Arding and Merrett, 1817. $5,000 to $7,000.
![<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/8caddaea-4c1f-47a7-9455-62f53af36e3f.jpg "<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.")
