Obituaries

JAMES THIN

James Thin, bookseller, died on June I aged 73. He was born in Edinburgh on November 26,1923 ONE expects a good booksell - er to be a trifle eccentric. One also recognises that, to sur - vive , he must be a capable businessman. Jimmy Thin was both. What most of his customers will remember best was his passion for books, the trouble he took to seek out what they wanted, and the friendships that grew from his often lengthy and detailed correspondence. What they were probably less aware of was the enormous expansion of James Thin Ltd during his time as managing director. When Thin joined the fam - ily firm in 1949, it consisted of one admittedly sprawling bookshop on Edinburgh's South Bridge, opposite the university. By the time he stood down in 1990, it had grown to a chain of 34 shops,

stretching from Inverness to Portsmouth, with a turnover of £34 million. That it has held its own in the face of fierce competition from larger nat - ional rivals is testimony in part at least to the resilience and knowledge of a man who loved and understood the trade thoroughly. His great passion was anti - quarian books, and even after his retirement he remained a familiar figure on South Bridge, where he continued to look after that side of the bus - iness . He liked nothing better than attending book sales, where he was a keen and discerning bidder. So great was his enthusiasm that on one occasion, in the thick of a snowstorm, with the roads blocked, he donned skis in order to reach a remote sale