THERE’S something special about discovering antique books; some have their page edges turned and their binding broken, while others have been left untouched, prized possessions never to be read.

The print might have faded over the decades or centuries, but the words are still as powerful as ever.

For any bookworm, an antique book shop is the perfect place to get lost in literature.

Michael Moon’s bookshop in Whitehaven is one of these places. The antiquarian bookseller has been finding new homes for old books since 1970.

Around 50,000 books are crammed into the Lowther Street shop, attracting book-lovers locally and world-wide.

And now the shop’s rich collection of vintage books and manuscripts are being promoted online on the likes of Tumblr and Instagram.

Michael Moon works with his son Peter. The pair’s love of books gives them an enthusiasm to buy and sell unusual and antique books.

Michael’s work as an antiquarian bookseller spans 45 years.

He was brought up in Lancashire as the son of a master grocer and he later moved to Cumbria where he began working as a nurse at West Cumberland Hospital.

On retiring from that job at the age of 26, he began working for himself selling books – and the rest, as they say, is history.

His first shop was in Beckermet before opening a second one in Whitehaven.

The Beckermet shop closed in 1984. But, the bookseller remained a firm fixture in Whitehaven with his business on Roper Street before moving to Lowther Street in 2007.

The shop has 13 rooms, crammed with around 1,000 book shelves and holds an estimated 50,000 books.

In the past few years, son Peter has played a major role in promoting online the vast selection of books they sell.

With such a selection of books from vintage paperbacks to ancient manuscripts, dating from 1490 up to 1900, there is a host of literature on offer.

Michael says: “We are really spoiled in here, we’re like kids in a sweets shop. We have got to find out what we’ve got and how best to market it.”

Stocking such a variety of books has also brought about international acclaim.

Peter says: “People don’t realise that, although we are a local bookshop, we have international customers.”

Books have been carefully packaged to far-flung places around the globe including Sarawak, Iceland, New Zealand, Australia and Russia.

Last year alone, the bookstore’s postal bill was about £6,500.

“It will be a hard task to find a place we haven’t sent books to,” says Michael.

The bookseller has a great enthusiasm for searching and buying out-of-the ordinary books, ones that have a history to them and ones that are desirable for customers to buy.

He said: “We are still learning. You’re only as good as your curiosity – the answer is out there, you just have to find it.”

So what does Michael enjoy most about the job? “The books we haven’t found yet!” he says.

As well as buying and selling old books, Michael has re-printed a selection of historical books which would otherwise be lost or very scarce. They provide a glimpse into bygone eras which he is always keen to share with local readers.

He says: “One of the things that I felt when I opened was to put something back into the business. There are 50 books that would not be here in any shape or form if I hadn’t worked on them.”

One of the latest books – Frank Porter’s 1882 Postal Directory of Whitehaven, Workington, Maryport and Neighbourhood – took 30 years to collate.

Peter’s role promoting the shop on the likes of Tumblr, Instagram and Facebook has given thousands more bookworms the chance to see what this iconic bookshop has to offer. Thousands of images of books have been posted on Tumblr in the past three years. All the shots are taken by Peter who says: “We are showing off the books to their best advantage.”

He said the images show people different types of books in “an accessible way”.

One of the most popular images is a row of antique books with their mottled pages.

“People are interested in pretty books, arty shots, and general images that are not restricted by language. They seem to like books that are aesthetically pleasing,” he added.

There is a different audience for Instagram and Tumblr than Facebook, which has a more local audience, he added. And book fairs have been a popular way to expand their audience, with fairs as far north as Skye and as south as Bristol.

What does Peter enjoy most about the job? “I’ve been brought up around books. I’m used to them being there. It would be odd not having them around. “We could all tell tales of books we would like to have kept but we’ve had to sell them. I enjoy finding new homes for old books.”

Also helping in the shop is Louisa Moon and her husband Brian Goodwin.

So, if you want to give a new home to an old book, check out the shop, and you may just find a long-lasting hidden treasure.