Quakes flatten Christchurch motor bookshops

Time was when Fazazz was the best source of new and old motoring books in the country, later joined by Rod Laing’s Wheels on Paper but both were axed in the quakes.

Until now I’d never seen an old book shop worth checking in Christchurch but now we have the reincarnation of Smith’s Bookshop in the splendidly presented 1920s parade of period shops in the Tannery Emporium in the Woolston suburb of Christchurch.

Smith’s was a Dickensian three-storey shop in Colombo Street, originally started in 1894 and carrying a sort of period gloom about it. Now it is light and bright and well worth a visit for new or old books. I found a few gems that I couldn’t leave on Barry Hancox’s shelves. The fact that I didn’t agree with his prices helped the purchase and should encourage regular visits to check new/old finds on Smith’s shelves from auctions or estates.

If you’re seeking a mint 1962 copy of Caracciola’s A Racing Driver’s World in dustwrapper, you can have my new ‘find’ for $125. Or perhaps Ecurie Ecosse, the story of the Scottish team in the glory days of the ‘fifties when they won Le Mans in Jaguars. This 1962 first edition also has a mint d.j., is by team boss David Murray, and yours if you cross my palm with $165.

I’m keeping the Cooper story for sentimental reasons, to remind me where I started back in 1962 travelling round Europe with Bruce McLaren and John Cooper in the team. More stories soon from those days.