About us


Located in the centre of Cecil Court, the quiet pedestrian lane lined with antiquarian bookshops (tucked away in London's bustling West End), Marchpane opened in August 1989 and is the premier specialist in collectable children's and illustrated books in London. We have books from the eighteenth century to the present day; and one of the largest selections of books by and about Lewis Carroll with many hundreds of different illustrated and translated versions of Alice in Wonderland, and Through the Looking-Glass on our shelves. 


Marchpane is proud to be a key member of Cecil Court's community.


We welcome visitors in person and we keep regular shop hours so no appointment necessary.


On our shelves you will find early publications from Newbery's moral tales to signed first editions of Harry Potter.


We stock all the best British collectable children’s books and nearly always have first or early editions of great classics such as: Winnie-the-Pooh, Peter Pan, The Wind in the Willows, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, The Wizard of Oz, Pinocchio, Nursery Rhymes, in addition to beautifully illustrated editions of Andersen, Grimm and Perrault etc.


We also stock some of the rarest Home Front and political children’s books of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.


The website shows a small, representative sample of the many thousands of books we stock in the shop. Please do get in touch if you are looking for something specific, as we may well have a copy and will always be happy to answer your enquiries.