Mourning beloved bookshop’s final chapter

SO Robert Johnston’s second-hand bookshop, a haven for bookworms over many years, is to go under the hammer next month to prepare for the £19m development on the Piece Hall, Halifax (Yorkshire Post, November 16).

Robert’s amazing collection of books, including many substantial tomes, will be auctioned as a single lot, and another Halifax landmark will disappear.

It is to be hoped that the collection will stay together and a new store opened not too far away.

It is estimated that the books weigh 15 tonnes and that it will take several lorry loads to move them to their new location.

But can the value of books be measured in terms of their weight? I don’t think so. It is difficult, if not impossible, to imagine the wealth of knowledge, wisdom, history, biography, and hours of satisfying reading that has been stored in that first floor shop over the years.

The shop’s demise is the end of an era. I imagine that it will be an emotional parting when Robert leaves the shop for the last time and I wish him well for the future.