About Us

The Old Tampa Book Company was opened in 1995 by David Brown and his wife Ellen in Tampa’s downtown business district. Sixteen years later it has grown from 2,000 to more than 40,000 books.

An article in the local newspaper described the store as:

“Couple’s Store is one for the books”

Tampa Tribune –  ”David Brown can’t help himself. He’s a book addict. On vacation and business trips, he pores over piles of books in estate, library, and university sales and anywhere else he can find to buy secondhand books.”

That explains the look of the Old Tampa Book Company.  Books fill the shelves and are stacked on top of them.  They cover tabletops. Books line high walls and even can be found in the bathroom.  The overflow volumes crowd the $1 sale sidewalk carts.

Member of Florida Antiquarian Booksellers Association (FABA), Florida Bibliophile Society, Friends of the Library, Tampa Historical Society and  Tampa Independent Business Alliance (TIBA).