Wooden Shoe Bookshop

Wooden Shoe Bookshop was an anarchist bookshop located at 42 Old Compton Street in London from 1966 to 1967.

It was established by Anna Blume, Ted Kavanagh, and Jim Duke with some likely support from Albert Meltzer.

It was remembered by Albert Meltzer has being a hub for radical politics, poetry, and underground/counterculture literature. He considered that as a meeting place, it influenced the beginnings of the new squatting movement, diverted attention in the anti-Vietnam War movement, and contributed to the black flag flying over the barricades in Paris.

When Wooden Shoe closed down, a cryptic note was left saying 'Gone fishing.'

Sources:

Radical Bookshops Listing, Radical Bookshop History Project (November 2023) [Available online here, accessed 15.7.2025]

Kate Sharpley Library website [https://www.katesharpleylibrary.net/jsxnnt, accessed 15.07.2025]