Magalleria, independent magazine shop in Bath

We popped into Magalleria in Bath on the way to visit friends in Bristol the other weekend. As a child I couldn’t resist a bookshop, now apparently I can’t resist a magazine shop!

Tucked in Bath’s quaint shopping streets, Magalleria, an independent magazine shop, was founded by Daniel McCabe and Susan Greenwood in 2015. Magalleria is a treasure trove of thoughtful long-form magazines with brilliant photography, like Lodestars Anthology and Ladybeard.

Magalleria is a treasure trove of thoughtful long-form magazines with brilliant photography

Browsing back issues

Other specialist magazine shops I’ve visited tend to focus on selling just the latest issues of magazines, Magalleria is different. It proudly displays back issues alongside the newest editions. Daniel, co-owner of Magalleria, explains that keeping back issues on the shelves is a conscious decision. He says, “We keep back issues because people ask for them – if they like the magazine they’ll trawl for past issues and that’s where we come in.”

It was delightful to rummage around, discovering older issues of magazines like Lunch Lady and Delayed Gratification, which I love. To see all the brightly coloured spines of Lunch Lady lined up next to each other made me want to buy them all!

What I bought from Magalleria

In the end, I bought the latest gal-dem and two older copies of Ethos. It was hard to leave without more with so many great magazines on offer. But as Magalleria have a well organised and stocked online store, I am looking forward to poking around digitally in the meantime!

While writing this post, I had a read of Magalleria’s blog, especially insights into how and why they display older issues – We Have Issues and Shelf Life.