Wentworth & Leggett Rare Books

This place is a gem! Ms Beffrey loves vintage prints and old medical books. Notably this place is named as «used and rare books» — don’t expect everything to be a priceless piece. Most books seemed to be in the «used» category.
There is a small Medical section in the back. Found some great things here — a 1900s book on «women’s life knowledge» (hilarious), 1900s textbook on ObGyn with 400 illustrations, an early 1900s transcribed speech by Osler given as a Yale lecture, a set of ENT plates (essentially large posters) in German, tons of vintage textbooks about surgery. A whole lot more I can’t remember. Generally priced $ 20-​$ 100. Don’t forget to look in the glass cabinets, where the truly valuable books are.
There are also hundreds of vintage ads, all in separate plastic sleeves, spanning topics from beauty products to vintage automobiles to household goods. They also have antique maps (1880s-​1910s) and antique Harper’s Weekly covers and illustrations. There’s an entire section on antique prints and illustrations, all generally $ 3-​$ 15 per sheet — Ms Beffrey snagged a whole slew of 1880s entomology and sea life illustrations, and vintage Through The Looking Glass illustrations.
If you’re into vintage postcards, you’re in luck — there are what seems like thousands of them, sorted by category (greeting, Christmas, sights) or by state. Starts at 25 cents each!
Some of these treasures require digging, so plan to spend some time here. FYI checkout can be arduous, everything is handwritten and if you want an itemized receipt then prepare to wait an extra 5 – 10 minutes as they re-​write everything a second time.
Would definitely come back!

I love an old bookstore. There’s just something about the aroma of antique paper and leather that delights me. That being said, it’s impossible for me to walk past Wentworth & Leggett.
The store itself feels small, but manages to stock shelves upon shelves of vintage and used books, photographs, maps, postcards, and more. I managed to find a pocket copy of a French essayist on my last stop (c. 1880s, excellent condition, priced at around $ 12 if my memory serves me correctly), and picked up a few postcards from the 10 – 25 cent section on this trip. My little brother has also succeeded in finding two Doctor Dolittle books at W&L – fairly good finds, since they are now out of print and only found at used bookstores. Both were priced lower than a modern hardcover from a larger store, and were in excellent used condition. Besides, the local history section is a great place to learn more about Durham.
Undoubtedly, you can get similar books for cheaper prices off of Amazon or by digging through enough book sales. Stores like W&L are valuable for the atmosphere, as well as for the ability to find rare or out-​of-​print books that are missing from other locations. (Rare books don’t need to be pricey, either – my dad found a nice vintage copy of Waiting for Godot for only a few dollars.) Besides, W&L provides such great selection of other antiques, including beautiful fashion prints and photographs dating back hundreds of years. It’s always hard to leave without purchasing one… or two… or a whole box!

This book store offers the most diverse selection of new, used, and super rare books. That’s not all, there are maps, original ad prints, postcards and much more. This is definitely a quiet and quaint bookshop that you will certainly enjoy and return to.

I love this shop. I love it love it. I visit whenver I’m in town, which is now once every few years, which is wretched. Wentworth & Leggett was the first used and rare shop that got me hooked on collecting rare books and prints excised from damaged books (I was 15). I have to say, I would be at this shop every weekend if I lived in Durham. Bright Leaf Square is better for its presence, and the booksellers are knowledgeable and reasonable in their pricing. If you want to get something for nothing, look elsewhere.

I visited 4 bookstores in Durham last weekend and saved this one for last because I love rare books. When I left Durham, I was astonished at the realization that the bookstore with the best selection and prices was not Wentworth & Leggett but rather one found in a mall.
I was beyond disappointed with Wentworth & Leggett. They had a decent selection of great literature but a store that calls itself «Rare Books» should not be charging $ 12 for a book club edition of a book published in the 90s. And I looked at each book in the fiction section and failed to notice one rare book among them. And those non-​rare books they did sell were all overpriced. The store itself is located in a nice outdoor shopping mall and I’m guessing the rent it must pay is the reasoning behind its high prices. I just can’t bring myself to spend that much money on books I can buy locally on the cheap elsewhere.

This place is awesome blossom.
There’s a ton of old books, of course, since it’s a used and rare book store. It’s a pretty standard selection of topics, trending toward non-​fiction with a sizable history section. But there’s also a huge selection of old prints and maps from books — dozens of old illustrations of birds and maps of failed attempts at carving up the Balkans. There’s also a smattering of old North Carolina political buttons, so if you collect those you might be able to find some interesting ones for sale.
The few times I’ve been there the counter has been manned by a sort of wizened old fellow who had a ledger in front of him and calculated the tax and wrote out all the prices by hand on it before charging you. Sort of like a store out of Harry Potter.
Only substantial complaint is that they seem to keep odd hours, and sometimes the employees leave during the posted business hours and shut the place down.

Something about Wentworth and Leggett made me think of shopping at the library — getting to take home (permanently) all those hardcovers and old books with the plastic dust jackets. No one else fantasizes about that? Okay, whatever.
They have rare and used books, including some valuable first editions, some of them signed. The books they sell seem to be primarily non-​fiction, and there was a special section devoted to North Carolina. In the children’s section, I was really intrigued by some books I remember reading at my grandmother’s house many moons ago. They also have vintage maps and postcards.