Mystery Pier Books – where Hollywood gets its literary fix

Harvey Jason was sitting in his trailer with Steven Spielberg in 1996, in the midst of filming The Lost World: Jurassic Park, when he turned to the director and declared he was quitting the business. “I said, ‘Steven, you know what? When we wrap this film, I’m going to go into the first-edition book business with my son Louis.’” 

Jason was deep into a successful Hollywood career at the time. “Steven couldn’t believe it!” says Jason, now 84. “‘What are you talking about? You’re an actor!’” But two years later, true to his word, Jason and his son Louis opened Mystery Pier Books in a picturesque cottage on a passageway off LA’s Sunset Strip. “I have been obsessed with books my whole life,” he says. “My mother would read to me constantly. She was in love with books and I inherited her passion.”

Today, thousands of works of literature line the walls of Mystery Pier’s three rooms. A 2,000-strong collection spans hundreds of years, from the 17th century to Harry Potter, with the books stacked across a jumble of tables and old canvas director’s chairs. The in-house cat, Booksie, can generally be found dozing in front of the plant-filled fireplace. Original film scripts and framed photographs adorn the walls, including the earliest picture ever taken of the Beatles, signed by John, Paul, George and Pete Best. In pride of place is a photo of the Pope with The Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius Loyola by the eponymous 16th-century theologian. “We sold him that!” Jason announces proudly. “It’s one of his favourite books.” 

Hunter S Thompson once threw up on the premises

Jason loves sharing his treasures with visitors. He pulls out a 1734 edition of five of Shakespeare’s plays (including Hamlet and The Tempest, $12,000), one of the first separate printings of the works (in the early days, they published small groupings as opposed to the collected editions that became more common). And inside a glass cabinet I can see Walt Whitman’s The Leaves of Grass (numbered 37 of 600, priced at $25,000), signed by the author. “How’s this for political incorrectness?” he asks as he reaches for The History of the Communist Party, which, he reveals, has been signed by Stalin and Molotov ($35,000).

His personal favourites include Charles Dickens’ Little Dorrit ($7,500). “I loved it as a child!” And he greatly regrets selling a Dutch first edition of The Diary of Anne Frank, of which just over 3,000 copies were printed. He has another painful case of seller’s remorse for The Discovery of DNA, signed by Watson and Crick. “It was a fluke to find it and such a rarity to have something signed by those two men. I know I’m here to sell books, but sometimes they mean so much to me.”

Such books are not easy to come by. “We do extensive research,” he says. They belong to the international book associations and maintain relationships with individual collectors. “It’s fascinating. We go all over the world sourcing treasures.”

Jason’s beady-eyed knack for buying is in high demand with people looking to build their own collections. “We built a library for someone in Pennsylvania several years ago who wanted to collect all the great books, from Ulysses to Orwell, Fitzgerald to Dickens,” he recalls. “We found them, every one a first edition, most of them signed.” Another client came in looking “quite dishevelled, holding two large shopping bags full of empty cans. She asked for Dickens and Shakespeare.” It turned out she was wildly wealthy and became one of their best clients. “You really can never judge a book by its cover!” 

Having been around showbusiness his entire life, Jason is delightfully unphazed by his A-list clientele. Hunter S Thompson once threw up on the premises. Guillermo del Toro, he says, is “walking sunshine with a fabulous library of collectable literature”. Ben Affleck stopped by earlier that week. “He bought a lot of books for his 17-year-old daughter,” says Jason. “I see a lot of creatives come through the door, but it’s what they are looking for that really interests me.” He’s also devoted to Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers who has been a regular client from the get-go. He credits him with having “tremendous intellectual tastes”. And recently Jason and Louis were sent a picture of Dakota Johnson carrying a Mystery Pier Books tote bag. “We had so many requests for those bags it was unbelievable,” he says.

Jason may have left a successful acting career but the love he has for his books and the opportunity to spend every day sharing his passion with his son trumps any award-winning performance. “I have my books, I work with my son,” he says. “I believe I have everything that a man could wish for in life.” 

8826 Sunset Boulevard, West Hollywood, CA 90069, mysterypierbooks.com