John K King Books | Used and Rare

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John K. King Used & Rare Books

What began with a high school guidance counselor's wise advice and a '54 Packard has grown into something truly special: a literary wonder sprawling across four floors in downtown Detroit, housing over one million books and stories waiting to be re-discovered.

The Michigan Theatre Building, where King first established his Detroit presence, tells its own story of the city's transformation. Once an ornate Italian Renaissance-style showcase from the 1920s, the theatre was gutted

in 1977 and converted into a parking garage—a haunting reminder of Detroit's changing fortunes. This remarkable space, later featured in Eminem's "8 Mile" and countless commercials, became the unlikely home to King's growing collection.

A Tale of Two
Buildings

As his inventory expanded beyond the theatre's capacity, King sent customers on treasure hunts through the building's maze of upstairs offices, armed with keys and determination to find the special collections they sought. When rising rent forced his hand, King made a decision that would define the next chapter of his story.

In 1965, John K. King started selling used books from the trunk of his Packard, guided by the wisdom of his high school counselor, Elsie Freitag, who recognized that his passion for books and antiques wasn't just a hobby—it was his calling. Legend has it that Elsie even dismissed King early from school on Friday afternoons so he could set up his table at antique shows, a small act of faith that would eventually transform the literary landscape in Detroit.
After a brief stint at college in upstate New York (where he admittedly spent more time scavenging through old barns than studying), King opened his first storefront in Dearborn in 1971, then moved to the iconic Michigan Theatre Building in downtown Detroit.

In 1983, King purchased the abandoned four-story Advance Glove Factory at 901 W. Lafayette Blvd.- A building with a remarkable history of its own. The factory had been jacked up and rolled several hundred feet westward in 1948 to make way for the John C. Lodge Expressway, a feat of engineering that seemed to foreshadow the extraordinary transformations to come.

The building's industrial past still echoes though its halls: the original floor mat greets visitors at the entrance, and the massive red glove painted on its side serves as beacon for book lovers citywide and beyond.

The Big Move

Among the countless volumes that have passed through these halls are remarkable discoveries: original Mark Twain photographs that literally fell from the pages of a biography, a 1950's pamphlet with a signed presentation from a young Senator John F. Kennedy, and archives from automotive barons to literary legends. The store has handled collections from the Dodge and DeLorean families, authors like John Kendrick Bangs and Zane Grey, and countless other notable figures.

Treasures Beyond Measure

A Passion Becomes a Calling

Over the decades, John K. King Books has become a pilgrimage site for bibliophiles, collectors, celebrities, and dignitaries alike. The store has welcomed everyone from Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts and Talking Heads' David Byrne to politicians like Senator Carl Levin and Michigan Governors, plus Hollywood stars including Ryan Gosling and Ben Mendelsohn. Teller of Penn & Teller fame is a regular customer, who, true to form, makes books "disappear" from the shelves and "reappear" in his personal library.

More Than a Bookstore

Today, John K. King Books spans two locations- the flagship store in downtown Detroit, and a smaller outpost in trendy Ferndale. The Rare Book collection can be browsed online at rarebooklink.com, and we've created a Directory by Subject for the downtown store to help navigate our ever-expanding maze of bookshelves.