Inside the Glasgow rare books shop once visited by Johnny Cash

A steady stream of traffic rushes above the basement-level bookshop on Bath Street. “You’ll have heard of Johnny Cash?” Cooper Hay says, 73 years old with fifty years trading in antiquarian books behind him.

In the hush of his literary sanctuary in Glasgow city centre, cocooned by wall-to-wall bookshelves, the bookseller recalls a surprise visit from the legendary American singer. “He has very strong Scottish connections,” Hay explains. Cash stopped by Cooper Hay Rare Books shortly after it opened in 1985 - the bookshop is now one of the city’s longest surviving.

The encounter was just one of the shop’s many brushes with celebrity at the time. “I remember discovering I was in a Louis Vuitton guide to Glasgow mentioning the bookshop,” the Ayrshireman says, peering up at Bath Street pavements with their own long history.

His memories are vivid, and shared with warmth. “I remember seeing Giorgio Armani in Glasgow and you couldn’t mistake him – he was wearing a full length fur coat!” Hay chuckles.

Other than “a few minor royals, film stars, pop stars” and the “right-hand-man” of Silvio Berlusconi savouring the collection at Cooper Hay Rare Books, antiquarian bookselling has been a quietly successful business for Hay in the forty years since opening his own shop.

His status as Scotland’s only “real” antiquarian dealer has helped, with specialist collectors often travelling from afar to handle items in Glasgow before purchase. As such, footfall is of little importance to Hay’s niche trade, buying and selling stock worth hundreds of pounds, if not much more.

One of the “nicest things” sold by the bookseller was a set of Robert Burns poems which included several letters written by the Scottish poet, as well as even rarer letters from ‘Clarinda’, Burns’ apparent lover and inspiration for his famed 1791 composition ‘Ae Fond Kiss’.

Such a discovery is part of what Hay describes as “the beauty of the business”. “I’ve had fifty years in it and I’m still learning,” he says. “There’s still things that fascinate me that I haven’t really come across previously.”

By his own admission, some of that learning has been directed towards adapting to the circumstances of 21st century antiquarian bookselling. Hay may not be the archetypal Instagram ‘influencer’, but he has made great use of the platform to reach new clients.

With the help of his son, Hamish, who began working at Bath Street in 2017, Cooper Hay Rare Books maintains a healthy online presence. “I would say there has been a big shift to selling online but it’s not necessarily 100% of our trade,” Hamish Hay states. “We’re still a mixture of people who want to see the book in person [or online only].”

With “so much” in the antiquarian bookselling business, which is often passed down through generations, the father-and-son duo hope to open a second premises in Edinburgh, managed by Hamish. Will the specialist trade remain lucrative in years to come? “It’s getting bigger than it ever was because of online [business],”

Hamish says: “There’s a surge in dealers sharing their knowledge with people, and in turn people are really quite interested in understanding what they know. It’s an insight into history that’s not necessarily well-documented because every single dealer has their own perspective on history.”

There are around 2,000 small pieces of history piled high at Cooper Hay Rare Books – all more a work of art than simply a book to be read, with elegant covers, spines and bindings aplenty.

The preservation of history is very much within the job description of an antiquarian bookseller and, in turn, buying such well-crafted items will surely continue to lure the rich and famous to Bath Street. “I’ll just keep on going as long as I can,” Cooper Hay says, as he awaits future important visitors.

Cooper Hay Rare Books at 185A Bath Street, G2 4HU, is open 10am to 5pm Tuesday-Thursday.