Public House Bookshop (PHB)

Public House Bookshop (PHB) on Little Preston Street was a haven for alternative left literature and press, fanzines, avantgarde jazz recordings and a generally diverse mix of books and publications.

It occupied the ground floor of what was once a pub giving the bookshop its name. Its specialist subjects were women's studies, contemporary literature, Native American anthropology, critical theory and development studies.

PHB was owned and run by John Kieffer and Richard Cupidi (an American).

They were both knowledgeable about their entire stock and in the areas of Native American mysticism and improvised music. They stocked 7000 titles and their publishing house was Darkhorse Press.

The bookshop was a meeting place and information and publicity point valuable to the arts events. Many events took place in the basement room of the shop. It also had a specially illuminated room for micro biotic plants.

Sources:

'A Haven for Bookshops', My Brighton and Hove [https://www.mybrightonandhove.org.uk/topics/topicbusi/bookshops/bookshops, accessed 4.7.2025]

The Radical Bookseller, No.4, Jan/Feb 1981; No.5, Mar/Apr 1981; No 75, 1991