Welcome to Bison Books!
Serendipity awaits you in our friendly shop, where we offer an eclectic, fresh collection of around 20,000 meticulously-curated antiquarian and good used books.
We have a long-established reputation of easygoing professionalism and maintain a refined selection of everything from first editions, fine bindings and antiquarian books, to Indigenous studies, literature, art, and classics, with new acquisitions daily.
We are located in the heart of downtown, in a bright space with lofty ceilings and towering windows which look out onto one of Winnipeg’s busiest pedestrian thoroughfares.
We are always purchasing good books. We seek out and pay a premium for, valuable books, including rare books, fine bindings, illustrated books, first editions, signed books, and more. We also offer book searches, acquisitions development consultations, appraisals, movie rentals, and mail orders.



Feeling very grateful for the A/C in the shop today 😅, everyone who has kept us busy & supported us this summer ❤️, and for this long weekend—which will surely include moments similar to the scene above (from William Kurelek`s `A Prairie Boy`s Summer`) 🌞🌾📖
We`re closed Sunday & Monday this week. Back to regular hours on Tuesday.
Enjoy the weekend, and we will see you soon 😊
#bookstore #smallbusiness #books #canadianartist
We`re constantly buying new books from local bibliophiles and serendipitously rehoming them to readers around the world 😊
If you have books you`re hoping to sell to us, read our latest blog post for a guide to our buying process. 🤝
Follow the link in our bio to find our blog and some other helpful webpages, too!
Swing by the shop to see what we`ve acquired this week. 📚🐛We`re open 10 to 4:30, Monday through Saturday.
#books #usedbooks #secondhand #blog #bookstore
Monday #bookstacks !!!
DM to hold or inquire. We offer local delivery and worldwide shipping, and we’re open for your visits from 10 to 430, Monday through Saturday (closed holidays).
#goodbooks #usedbooks #usedbookstore #booksellerlife #bookstagram
Fancy some $5 fiction? 📚
Here are just a few trusty pocketbooks that could be yours for a fiver each!*
The new arrivals cart is full, we`re adding new stock to our website, and some comfortingly peculiar ambient albums are all queued up. Come say hi 🤗
We`re open 10:00 to 4:30 today and tomorrow.
*and a little pocket change worth of tax, too
#classicbooks #winnipeg #shoplocal #bookstore
And another one: a nice hardcover copy of The Little Prince!
This is a Harcourt edition marked 1943, but certainly a later reprint.
The first edition was published in 1943 by Reynal and Hitchcock, and had many unique ‘points of issue’, including the colour of the cloth and the lettering thereon.
#thelittleprince #childrensbooks #classicbooks
A lovely copy of a wonderful book!
I loved the story when I was a kid and then I loved reading it to my kids a few decades on. This is probably the nicest copy of the first edition, that I have had the pleasure to acquire.
$45.
#canadiana #canlit #childrensbooks #firsteditions
Who doesn’t love Ronald Searle? Here is one of a few of his books we acquired from a housecall out in the West End yesterday! 😍
#ronaldsearle #wine #artbooks #cartoons #illustratedbooks
We are HIRING!
A couple of our loyal lynchpins plan to adjust their schedules in September, opening up some hours for a friendly, curious, kind person who meshes well with our quirks, can fill one or two weekday shifts, and brings in a good cover letter and résumé detailing the reason for the interest, and existing skills transferrable to the position. Bonus points for in-person drop offs directly to me (Aimee: I’m here most weekdays).
#winnipegjobs #nowhiring #finditdowntown #booksellerlife
Are you on our mailing list?
Todays newsletter includes some news, sneak peeks at fresh acquisitions, and more!
To join the list, and receive occasional missives, click the link in bio.
What’s the news? We will soon be HIRING! Stay tuned.
#booksellerlife #winnipeglocal
This just in!
V.
Pynchon’s debut novel.
First edition.
Gorgeous lilac boards, classic gradient dustjacket.
DM to inquire.
#pynchon #v #firstedition #literature
Did you know that Louis Riel wrote poetry?
These poems were composed in 1879 when he was in exile in Montana. At the time of publication, there was some uncertainty as to the poems’ authenticity, so the Riel family included a statement at the end of the book, certifying that this is a true copy of the documents written and composed by Louis “David” Riel.
This ephemeral little item used to be quite hard to come by. It has become slightly less scarce over the last five or ten years, possibly because his name is now so recognizable that people understand what it is, they have found in the attic! Luckily, this also means that the price has come down somewhat.
DM to reserve or inquire.
#louisriel #keepinitriel #poems #poetry #poesies #francais
Leave a Want 📚🤞
If you can’t find what you’re looking for in store, you can leave a “want” our website to be automatically notified if that title ever becomes available!
Be proactive about tackling your to-read list without having the sacrifice the charm of buying used & local 😁
Visit our website to read a blog post with clear instructions on how to use the Leave a Want feature 👩💻
What’s on your to-read list? Let us know in the comments 👇
A decades-steady regular client popped in this morning and sold me these two nice signed first editions* by homegrown fantasy fiction superstar Guy Gavriel Kay!
Kay was born in Saskatchewan, raised and educated in Winnipeg, earning his BA in philosophy at the U of M (same!).
These are books one and three of the Fionavar Tapestry; one is warmly inscribed “with thanks for a thoughtful assessment”.
*”The Summer Tree” is the 1984 M&S first printing; “The Darkest Road” is the first US edition.
#firsteditions #fionavartapestry #guygavrielkay #canlit #fantasyfiction #signedbooks
Some fresh staff picks 📚😍
Look for the golden bison in store to find a shelf of books our crew admire or fiercely recommend.
If any of these pique your interest, DM us to put it on hold!
We`re open 10-4:30 today, closed Monday for the holiday, and then back to regular hours on Tuesday.
Come grab a long weekend read 😊
A surprise @ohdoughnuts delivery is fueling a busy day of cataloging, packing US orders (we ship worldwide!), and freshening up our window display📚✨🍩
We`re open Monday through Saturday, 10am to 4:30pm
p.s. Z`s shirt is from @verynicebook, for all those who agree that books ARE very nice things 😊
#shoplocal #winnipeglocal #bookstore
Who’s here for the jacket art? Canadian lit? First editions?
🙋🏻♀️🙋🏻♀️🙋🏻♀️
These are the Andre Deutsch first editions of Richler’s first and fourth novels.
These just in, amongst a handful of other nice Richler books.
#canadiana #canlit #firstedition #bookcollecting #bookcollections #literature #oldbooks #dustjacketart #bookdesign
In the 1880s, William Saunders edited the magazine ‘The Canadian Entomologist”, and in 1883 wrote “Insects Injurious to Fruits”, both of which confirmed his renown as an entomologist and horticulturalist.
He went on to establish experimental farms in Canada, where he conducted research in cereal culture, dairying, animal husbandry, horticulture, forestry, and the application of chemistry botany to agriculture.
This volume collects an article he wrote in 1886, with the first 20 bulletins of the Central Experimental Farm Program, Ottawa. 1886-1894.
#canadiana #agriculture #oldbooks #research #farming
Anne!
These may look alike, but:
the stack includes books by four different publishers;
some include the original dust jackets and others don’t;
none is in wonderful condition but they’re generally pretty good;
some are first editions and others are much later printings;
they range in price from $12 to $150.
One could reasonably pay $10-20,000 for a first edition of Anne of Green Gables, which was published by Page, Boston, in 1908. The first Canadian edition followed.
#anneofgreengables #lmmontgomery #classicliterature #oldbooks #firsteditions
Can’t make it in?
We are now offering local delivery! 📚✉️
For a fully automated experience, shop our website (link in bio) and select the local delivery option; or browse our grid full of book photos, or call/email/DM with a title or author request, and let us know you’d like your order delivered.
Local delivery is $8 plus GST within 15km of the shop, or $12 for farther flung locales (including East St Paul, Headingley).
#shoplocal #supportsmallbusiness #winnipeglocal #wpgnow #ywglocal
#bookstacks feat. Vonnegut, Hammett, Chandler, Proust, et al. 📚
DM to hold or inquire, or pop in! There’s a lot more where these came from…
#vonnegut #raymondchandler #dashiellhammett #proust #classic #literature #fiction #vintagebooks #classicbooks #classicliterature #bookstagram