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The Monkey's Paw

A book collector's dream, this Toronto bookstore has the world's first "Biblio-Mat," a random book vending machine.

Toronto, Ontario

Added By
Donia Varghese
The Bilio-Mat   Courtesy The Monkey's Paw
Inside the bookstore   Courtesy The Monkey's Paw
Inside the bookstore   Courtesy The Monkey's Paw
The Monkey's Paw   Courtesy The Monkey's Paw
  Courtesy The Monkey's Paw
The Bibliomat machine   kimikat (Atlas Obscura User)
The infamous Biblio-Mat in 2021   Cooth (Atlas Obscura User)
The Monkey's Paw   Courtesy The Monkey's Paw
Storefront of the Monkey's Paw   inspector pinto (Atlas Obscura User)
Biblio-Mat at Monkey’s Paw   45rpm (Atlas Obscura User)
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About

All of the books lining the shelves of Stephen Fowler’s bookstore are ones you couldn’t possibly find anywhere else.

Fowler opened The Monkey’s Paw in March 2006 and since then, it has been a haven for antiquarians, complete with medical drawings on the wall and a stuffed crow on a typewriter.

The unusual store, named after a horror short story by author W.W. Jacobs, has old books that range from topics as diverse as the art of predicting female character traits according to breast shape to Canadian Egg Laying Contests.

Fowler selects each book to fit these categories: the beautiful, the arcane, the macabre and the absurd. Monkey’s Paw also has a custom-made Biblio-Mat, a vending machine that will dispense a randomly selected vintage volume when a token is inserted. Tokens can be purchased from the checkout for $5 apiece.

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Bookstores Antiquities Collections Shops Purveyors Of Curiosities Repositories Of Knowledge

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The entrance is four buildings in from Havelock Street.

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Added By

Donia Varghese

Edited By

Blindcolour, nicholasmoreau, Enorama, mainedee...

Published

October 1, 2013

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