Lucius Books

James Hallgate founded Lucius Books in 1993, trading initially in crime fiction first editions before broadening into signed copies, inscribed manuscripts, and antiquarian material across literature, art, history, and science fiction. The business traded from a run of shops on Fossgate through the 2000s and 2010s, then from Micklegate from 2019, before completing a three-year restoration of 70 Micklegate, the fifteenth-century building that housed Ken Spelman Booksellers for more than seventy years. Lucius Books moved into the finished shop in 2026. The firm is a member of the Antiquarian Booksellers Association, the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers, and the Provincial Booksellers Fairs Association, and every item sold carries an unconditional guarantee of authenticity. Staff also buy books and manuscripts directly from the public and attend fairs across the country.