When it comes to gold-star book finds, budget-conscious bibliophiles can do no better than Coas Books in Las Cruces, New Mexico. The 30-something-year-old shop’s two locations—one of which is right next to the Farmers Market on Main Street, should you ever need bread as seedy as your next beach read beach read on a Saturday morning—are both brimming with covetable throwbacks. You’ll have to roll up your sleeves and dig to find them, though. (Books are divided into sub-sections like Travel and Food & Drink, but unbridled chaos seems to be the main organizing principle.)

The short stack of beverage-themed tomes pictured below was plucked from the substantial food section at the Main Street store, where many titles are priced to move at $3.50 or less. Other spoils included an illustrated version of James Beard’s classic bread-making book from 1974, a pocket-sized 1959 printing of Old Mr. Boston’s ultimate bartender’s guide, and a rare first-edition of The Savoy Cocktail Book. FYI, that last one sells for $500 at Coas—about $1,500 less than it goes for online.

317 N. Main St., Las Cruces, NM; 575-524-8471.
1101 S. Solano Dr., Las Cruces, NM; 575-524-8471, ext. 2.

Additional photos by Cartogramme