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All the United States Alabama Birmingham Museum of Fond Memories at Reed Books

Museum of Fond Memories at Reed Books

A unique book shop with a collection of rare tomes and a nostalgia museum.

Birmingham, Alabama

Added By
Jim Reed
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  Collector of Experiences / Atlas Obscura User
  Collector of Experiences / Atlas Obscura User
  Collector of Experiences / Atlas Obscura User
An assortment of memories and collectables on display.   ArgusFoto (Atlas Obscura User)
  Collector of Experiences / Atlas Obscura User
  Collector of Experiences / Atlas Obscura User
  kitschgirl / Atlas Obscura User
New and old books clamor for shelf space.   ArgusFoto (Atlas Obscura User)
Reed Books was started in 1980.   ArgusFoto (Atlas Obscura User)
Periodicals and illustrations go back 200 years.   jim11 / Atlas Obscura User
Illustrated treasures and prints from past centuries.   jim11 / Atlas Obscura User
Founder and owner Jim Reed in front of the shop.   jim11 / Atlas Obscura User
Old posters such as this are objects of delight.   jim11 / Atlas Obscura User
From one of Jim Reed’s books, Christmas Comes But Once a Day   jim11 / Atlas Obscura User
Santas large and small populate the museum, where Christmas comes but once a day!   jim11 / Atlas Obscura User
Children’s books from every generation reside here.   jim11 / Atlas Obscura User
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About

When Jim Reed’s growing collection of books and random objects started taking over his family's house, he knew there was only one thing to do. He set up a bookstore, in 1980. 

Reed Books is a rare and unusual book store, also housing the "Museum of Fond Memories." This unique shop contains books as old as 500 years and more contemporary books. The museum allows visitors to examine and purchase the antiquarian objects, including some rare volumes most shops no longer carry.

Reed began adding to his already extensive collection of literature and the result was a cozy book loft with old and new books battling for shelf space. The tenor of the store is nostalgia; Reed has great memories of growing up surrounded by books and the bookstore is an attempt to create such an atmosphere for visitors. The shop's "museum" is an assortment of stickers, toys, albums, trinkets, posters, and other objects “you wish your mother had not thrown away." The collection is eclectic, but Jim Reed knows where everything is.

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Bookstores Books Literature Museums And Collections

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Located in the heart of beautiful historic Downtown Birmingham, Alabama, it is within walking distance of eight museums and many unique one-of-a-kind shops, such as Sojourns, What's On Second, Oddities, the Goodyear Shoe Hospital, Forstall Art, and many attractions such as the old Alabama Theatre, The Lyric Theatre, The Carver Theatre, The Imax Theatre, The McWane Center, The Goodyear Shoe Hospital.

Community Contributors

Added By

jim11

Edited By

argusfoto, Collector of Experiences, kitschgirl

  • argusfoto
  • Collector of Experiences
  • kitschgirl

Published

May 26, 2017

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Museum of Fond Memories at Reed Books
2021 3rd Ave N
Birmingham, Alabama
United States
33.516489, -86.805839
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