Barrow Bookstore

08/12/2026

The Underground Railroad in Concord Massachusetts. Look inconspicuous and step into the page of Allen French’s OLD CONCORD (pub. 1919) and a passage about Underground Railroad activities in Concord. Visiting Concord? Experience more by visiting the the Concord Museum, Thoreau Farm - Birthplace of Henry David Thoreau, The Wayside - Home Of Hawthorne, The Ralph Waldo Emerson House, Louisa May Alcott's Orchard House, and The Robbins House to learn more.

08/12/2026

From “The Peace of Wild Things” by Wendell Berry.

“When despair for the world grows in me…
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.”

***

Image by Wayne Marinovich

08/11/2026

“I [rolled] lonely as a cloud [full of beads that click and clack].” To the out of town family visiting Concord Massachusetts today with your little yellow and white clad twins, their toy was left behind in Barrow Bookstore and awaits reunification.

08/11/2026

Welcome into the page of Henry David Thoreau’s WALDEN Ch. 1, and virtually visit his cabin site as Thoreau describes building his cabin by the shore of Walden Pond.

08/10/2026

“The sun himself is weak when he first rises; and gathers strength and courage as the day gets on.” ~Charles Dickens, THE OLD CURIOSITY SHOP.

Image by Oleg Gapeenko

08/09/2026

If you’re a writer or thinking of putting your thoughts to paper, have you ever wondered, “who would read this? Who would like my writing?” When his book WALDEN: or LIFE IN THE WOODS was published on August 9, 1854, Henry David Thoreau might have asked that same question.
Little could he know that, in the century after his, a (literally) high-flying speed-demon would like Thoreau’s writing so much that he purchased a limited edition Manuscript set of the Complete Works of Henry David Thoreau. The set contained a handwritten page by Thoreau of lines later used in his famed essay “Life Without Principle”.

The set has one of the wildest backstories Barrow Bookstore has ever researched! Buckle your seat belts and revisit the tale, or see it for the first time, in the Barrow Bookstore Book Backstory linked below.

***
Thoreau Manuscript Set No. 355 is available in Barrow Bookstore, or on our website.

Every book has a tale, and sometimes it’s more than the one in the ...

08/09/2026

A unique offering from The Old Manse. With the spirits of famed writers, and perhaps the eye of a judgmental minister or two, watching over you, learn to make your own linocut bookplates. Please see their post for details.

Want to add a special touch to your personal library? Join us for a Linocut Bookplate Workshop at the Old Manse on September 13. Inspired by our storied literary history and the beauty of the Old Manse grounds, we'll be creating our own unique stamps to personalize our bookshelves!

Space is limited, to find out more and reserve your spot visit: https://thetrustees.org/event/448346/

08/09/2026

“How many a man has dated a new era in his life from the reading of a book.” -Henry David Thoreau, WALDEN, Ch. 3.

The August 9th date today marks the 172nd anniversary of the 1854 publication of Henry David Thoreau’s WALDEN: OR, LIFE IN THE WOODS.* Published by Boston publisher Ticknor and Fields, 2,000 copies were printed, the full title only appearing only on the first printing spines as Thoreau later changed his mind and shortened the title to just “Walden”.

Do you remember when you first read WALDEN?

Photograph: Editions of WALDEN available in Barrow Bookstore. From Left to right: First Edition/First Printing bearing the original full title; a First edition /Early Printing; First English Edition; 2 volumes first edition thus Houghton Mifflin set; First Edition Thus published by Thomas Crowell; and several 20th & 21st century editions.

*Allen, pg. 9

08/08/2026

“Books are the most mannerly of companions, accessible at all times, in all moods, frankly declaring the author’s mind, without offense.” -Amos Bronson Alcott

08/08/2026

MA Tax Free Weekend is here! Whatever you do, and however you get there, enjoy your day.