Voyager Rare Books Maps & Prints

I don’t know what it is about the owners of certain small businesses. I’m talking about your cult video owners, your music shop owners, and rare book sellers. They’re always charismatic in the most unusual and undeniable way. They get under your skin. Bill, of Voyager Rare Books, Maps & Prints is no exception. Currently he’s overseas on a book buying trip. Extravagant, much?
Voyager Rare Books, Maps and Prints is a den for those with an interest in history, (definitely a history in books), maps, and other curiosities and oddities. It’s like a real life version of the Cluedo library. Most items are locked behind glass cases, and you get the feeling that everything in there is precious.
In the second room, just across the corridor, there’s a room that exhibits the prints and maps that Bill has collected over the years. There’s old world maps, botanical illustrations and sketches, and a boxed up, taxidermied pheasant on offer (Yes! I was just thinking I needed a pheasant for my dining room centrepiece).
Voyager Rare Books, Maps and Prints really is my favourite refuge in the city. It’s where I come to relax, get high on stale book smell, hang out with Bill, and learn oddball facts about the past. If you want a rare book, you can bring a $ 50 and try your luck, but I’d suggest clearing a few thousand on the credit card first.

While wandering around the beautiful (if not purely aesthetically pleasing, for me at least) Brisbane Arcade in the city, I stumbled across this absolute gem of a store.
Fans of Black Books, come in and talk to the owner Bill and tell me you’re not impressed.
Anything that says ‘rare books’ has my interest, and I was not disappointed. Stocking first edition and classic books all the way from the 1900s (but ask about the oldest book in the store-​not for sale– which dates back to 1875), this small yet packed store is great to wander through. With comfortable red leather chairs near the back of the store, you really get a sense of ‘lost treasure’ here.
Apart from books there are also rare prints of maps and sketches, medical and scientific equipment from yesteryear and uniforms from wars long past.
The owner is passionate about his collection, and will take curious minds on a guided tour of his store and all the wonders within.
A great find in the city, visit this brilliant store for some nostalgic (and sometimes curious) value and to pick up a copy of a first edition book (which will set you back anywhere between $ 40 to a few thousand) or something unique for the person who has it all. Or if all else fails, visit Voyager to talk to the charismatic owner Bill for a free tour of epic proportions. But be nice and buy him a coffee!