My brother and I were spending the day exploring Kittery, York, and Kennebunkport and decided to swing by Wells on our way back up to Portland to see if anything stuck out to us. We were driving up Route 1 and noticed a few antique shops when we approached Douglas Harding. Since my brother is a fan of bookstores, specifically ones that carry old and rare ones, we decided to stop and check it out. DH sits right on Route 1 in a prime location. It's kind of unassuming from the outside, but once you're inside it gives away to how grand the space actually is. There are rooms and rooms filled with books - I kept walking around thinking I reached the back of the store but it just didn't stop! The shop carries a big selection and is neatly organized by section. There are clear indicators as to what is where, and they keep their rarer finds behind glass cabinets. You can honestly get lost for hours in this place, there are so many shelves to browse, and they have something for virtually everyone - from historical encyclopedia to a tell-all guide to Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch. They also have a side room that is filled with maps of spots all around the world for sale. From what I can gather, a father and daughter own/run the shop - they were both friendly and offered help looking for something if we needed it. Overall, this was a great find in Wells - all the times I had been here I had never thought to stop in and I'm glad we did. It's definitely worth exploring if you're in the area. read more

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Lovely to meet and talk to the owner; he's a bit hard of hearing but happy to talk books. He's moved fully into a smaller building, so not as many books but still an interesting collection. read more

Stopped by on my way to Cape Neddick. Amazing bookstore that has endless rooms and collections. They take cash and credit/debit cards. Lots of places to eat nearby. read more

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Wow! This place is HUGE, a vast library of used books and maps at decent prices. I could have been in here for weeks and weeks perusing all the different genres and subjects! Most definitely worth a stop as there are more than just rare and antique books. read more

I've never had a bad experience shopping at this place over the last few years. The owner moved the collection to another building with about 1/8th the number of titles (he told me years ago he was thinking of shutting the other location down). I thought he was going to call it quits and retire. He's really getting on in years now and has hearing and cognitive issues (he said so to somebody who called the store). Not sure why he even bothers running the place anymore given his age and infirmities, but I guess some people just refuse to retire and he probably doesn't have family who want to get involved with it. The store does have some interesting stuff if you look around. read more

My husband and I live in CA now after 40 years in NH. We come back to visit once or twice a year, and always go to this bookstore. We end up shipping back boxes of books (when we had no intention of getting books.) My daughters join us, and we spend way too much time there. But it's O.K.! read more

This bookstore is so charming and has an extensive collection of books. And so reasonable! You'll walk out with an armful by the time you reach the register. The owner is very sweet and offered us some stools to sit on while we were looking through the bottom shelf of landscaping books. Pleasant experience and I'd go again. read more

Harding Douglas Rare Books - Books everywhere you look! - Bookstores Near Me - Wells, Maine

Unbelievably awesome store. This place is huge! If they don't have what you are looking for, it probably doesn't exist. Books and antiquarian prints, maps etc. whenever I'm in Maine I go to Harding Douglas and I am never disappointed. read more

Between here and there The Douglas Harding book and map shop is a cool place indeed, once an old train station, the venerable building is now filled with all kinds of great old books, maps and prints. We were actually looking for modern maps or an atlas of southern Maine, the kind that you use to be able to find anywhere. GPS is great but only gets you where you are going and doesn't give you all the cool stuff between here and there and the stuff in between is usually the most interesting. Maps like this are quickly becoming impossible to fine and I was hoping that a place like this might still have some. When we walked in the lady behind the desk pretty much ignored us, she was far more interested in doing whatever she was doing. But after giving her my most glaring stare she finally looked up and asked if she could help us. She wasn't a whole heap of help because they really didn't have much in the way of useful maps. Just a few atlases of the whole country with the major highways. But what they did have was a whole room of incredible old prints of maps from the last few centuries. A really impressive selection at really reasonable prices. Also lots of cool old books and even a kitty, who was unfortunately far more interesting in sleeping than entertaining us. A very cool and unique store, we ended up buying several lovely prints of Maine lighthouses. If we had more time I would have loved to look around more and would definitely have spent more money here. I saw some great prints of Maine towns that I would love to have. We did find some cool stuff in the store but ultimately we didn't find what we were looking for and our quest for a map continues. GPS is great for getting to where you want to go, but sometimes the journey is far more important than the final destination. read more

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This place is great! I have driven by here for years on our trips to nearby Ogunquit but had never gone in. I got my wish this time and it did not disappoint. I got the impression that Mr. Douglas (who has to be in his late 70s/early 80s) runs this store entirely by himself. The organization is outstanding here and I swear there is not a speck of dust in the entire place. We got sucked in by the room of prints from the beginning and didn't even manage to get a look at the books (no where to put them at the moment anyhow). Both books and prints are meticulously categorized. A joy to browse. Book lovers take note. read more

Harding Douglas Rare Books - Road sign - Bookstores Near Me - Wells, Maine

This place is gigantic. I've never seen a collection like this. Great for people that like older and rare books. The prices are also excellent. read more

Love this place...endless rooms, well categorized, friendly old shop owner, lots of great finds at reasonable prices.

I have been coming here three times a year at least since 1980 and cannot remember ever leaving the shop without a real find in hand. The owner travels the country looking for books and knows what a good one is. When I come here, I have a good chance of finding the books that I am looking for and of finding wonderful books that I wasn't looking for. Check it out! read more

I have never had such a bad experience with the owner of a shop in Wells. Complaining about how your credit card machine won't work to your customers is one thing, but to use profanity, disclaim all technology is bad, and declare your new location won't deal with that "crap" is another. Literally heard an employee dropping the f-word repeatedly and using a string of profanity while I was just a few feet away was ridiculous. Having found three used children books and unaware of the credit card issue, I attempted to pay in cash and came up only a few cents short. Instead of building a repeat customer, owner took the books back, said "sorry" read more

Nasty, mean owner. No thanks.. Prefer my books in a welding atmosphere. Will never go back there.

I was so happy when I happened across this bookstore. It's huge and super well organized, very decently priced, and had great selection. In the three days I was up there, I went twice, making purchases both times. Totally reccomend checking them out. read more

This is one of the finest used bookstores I've ever seen anywhere--enormous, well curated, meticulously organized, and very reasonably priced. When I lived in Boston, I visited regularly; I just went for the first time in years, and was pleased to find it unchanged. If you expect to be fawned over, you might not like the atmosphere--you might not like Maine period in that case--but I find it very pleasant. read more

I think of Bookstores as Cultural Institutions rather than retail outlets--Hardings is a mecca for Bookstore enthusiasts--you will not find a Starbucks in the back--what you will find are rare and wonderful tomes at a great price. Cats roam the place and I found a Jean Cocteau book printed in 1946 that is one of my personal prizes. Whenever driving up Route 1 from York to Kennebunk, stop in and soak up the atmosphere. read more

By far the most magical bookstore I've been in. Plenty of selection. It's hit or miss on modern works but very well organized. Paperbacks are priced well and the owner is kind and helpful. Will definitely be returning! read more

A huge used bookstore. I could have spent the entire day there. Very quiet, plenty of space and so many books! Certain genres had their own room! Lots of different selections and mostly well organized. The sci-fi and fantasy section could be reorganized a bit. But I figured it all out in the end. They've got some really cool older editions of books for people who are into that kind of stuff too. read more

For those of you who love books, this is a must. Beautiful books, maps. Just finished my Christmas shopping.

Okay collection of older overpriced books and prints, housed with a larger bunch of ordinary books. It seemed warmth of welcome might be proportioned to anticipated customer spending. The store cat also scratches and bites without provocation. If a cat can't safely be kept in a store it shouldn't be kept there. read more

This is a nicely sized shop with a decent selection but do yourself a favor and only use it to showroom shop. Almost all of the books at this store can be found for half the cost on ebay and amazon even after shipping and tax. read more

Books were overpriced. Approached the proprietor and made a reasonable offer and he refused to look up from his computer screen, stating in an unfriendly tone that prices are in no way negotiable. When leaving we wished him a good afternoon to which he did not reply or even acknowledge and instead continued to stare at his computer screen. Nonnegotiable prices may be his policy, but out and out rudeness to customers is a choice that results in loss of business. I would never feel comfortable walking into that store again and with all the options available in this day and age there certainly is no reason to. read more

My brief visit to Harding Douglas Rare Books today was one of the most unpleasant customer service experiences I've had, and the quantity of books available does not compensate for the poor general quality. When we walked in, the proprietor told us to ask him if we were looking for anything. After a quick scan around the first room, where there were unfriendly signs all over the place, I asked him where I could find maps of New England towns. He snootily replied, well, we have maps of Maine towns . . . and maybe some Massachusetts as well. He started to tell me where they could be found when a woman stepped forward and offered to show me the maps. She was very pleasant, and was clearly compensating for his rudeness. Entering another room, she showed me a large number of maps of towns not just in Maine, but New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, and New York as well. What was he trying to hide??? Did he only want Maine residents to shop there? After browsing through the maps and books, about 90% of which were not rare, valuable, or interesting, I walked out. On the way out, I said a pleasant thank you to the man, to which he made a barely audible grunt, without even looking up from his computer screen, as if to say, good riddance. Well, it was good riddance, because I'm not returning. read more