Burke`s Book Store

Burke's Book Store, which has survived the depression and two World Wars, was begun in 1875 as a family business and stayed that way for 3 generations. Walter Burke Sr. gave birth to Burke's Book Store on Main Street shortly after the Civil War, selling books, newspapers, slates, tin toys, and then, beginning in 1946, public and parochial school textbooks. Bill Burke, who was born above the bookstore, followed in his father's footsteps and, in 1950, began selling used and antiquarian books. In 2000, husband and wife, Corey and Cheryl Mesler, who met in the store, and after working there for over a decade, bought Burke's. In 2007, the Meslers made the decision to sell the property at 1719 Poplar and move the store to its final location in the hip and vibrant Cooper-Young neighborhood. Today, muddling toward the future, the Meslers keep the old flame burning, still cognizant of their role in the community, re-energizing the store's once semi-active publishing arm, still remembering the signed W. C. Handy autobiography, the book bound in skin, the first edition Uncle Tom's Cabin. It's a heady business, a calling, a place of sympathetic magic.
The store has expanded and changed over the years, and now encompasses "the best of the old, the latest of the new, and hard to find collectibles." In the last two years since the move, Burke's has expanded its used book selection to become one of the best in the city (Memphis Flyer's Best Used Book Store, 10 years running), and most recently stepping into the online bookselling arena to offer our wares to the world.
We offer books by categories: African-American History/Literature, Americana/American History, Anthology, Art/Photography, Biography/Memoir, Books on Books, Business, Children's, Civil War, Collecting/Antiques, Comix/Manga, Cooking/Home Decorating, Drama/Film/Dance/TV, Erotica/Sexuality, Essay, Fiction/Literature, First Editions/Signed Editions/Limited Editions, Gardening, Gay & Lesbian, Horror/Science Fiction/Fantasy, Humor, Local, Medicine/Health, Memphis Authors, Memphis History, Movies, Music, Mystery/Crime/True Crime, Mythology/Folklore, Native American History/Literature, Parenting, Philosophy, Poetry, Psychology, Reference, Religion/Spirituality/New Age, Science/Nature, Sets/Leatherbound, Signed Books, Southern History, Southern Literature, Sports/Hunting, Tennessee History, Textbook/Technical, Trains/Ships/Aircraft/Cars, Travel/Adventure, Women, World History.
Used and Rare Books. We stock used titles in a variety of subjects, as well as first editions, signed copies, and rare books. We currently have approximately 13,000 of our used and rare items listed here on our site for you to browse or search.
New Books. We also stock new titles in our store, with particular concentration on newly published fiction and nonfiction, paperback classics, fiction and literature, Memphis writers and history, and southern literature.
Returns. All sales on used titles are final. New books may be returned for a refund within 7 days.