The ART of the BOOKSTORE The $35.00 U.S. The ART of the BOOKSTORE The ART of the BOOKSTORE GIBBS M. SMITH For several decades, publisher Gibbs Smith has been visiting independent booksellers around the country. Inspired by the unique culture and ambiance of these fine bookstores, he made oil paintings to feature on the covers of his publishing company’s catalog each season. Gibbs Smith, founder and president of his This collection of 68 paintings, namesake publishing company, started the THE BOOKSTORE PAINTINGS OF accompanied by essays about business in 1969 with his wife, Catherine, GIBBS M. SMITH the art of the bookstore, captures in Santa Barbara, California. After a couple the distinctive atmosphere of of years, they moved the company to each establishment, from the their hometown, Layton, Utah. This bright lights of Washington D.C.’s book is a celebration of 40 years as an Politics & Prose to the tucked- independent publisher. away charm of Chicago’s Kroch’s & Brentano’s to the magnetism of New York’s Shakespeare Jacket design by Kurt Wahlner & Co. Bookstore. The Art of the Bookstore celebrates Jacket art by Gibbs M. Smith independent voices and the SMITH exchange of ideas, defends the importance of community, explores the alluring power of bookstores, and captures a love ART/BOOKSELLING of the printed word. Contents Introduction 8 Shakespeare & Co. Bookstore 58 Mrs. Dalloway’s Literary Skylight Books 120 Booksellers 20 New York City & Garden Arts 96 Los Angeles, California Berkeley, California Kroch’s & Brentano’s 22 D.G. Wills 60 Books & Books 122 Chicago, Illinois La Jolla, California Page and Palette 98 Coral Gables, Florida Fairhope, Alabama Bank Street Bookstore 24 Riverow Bookshop 62 Builders Booksource 124 New York City Owego, New York The King’s English 100 Berkeley, California Salt Lake City, Utah Barnes & Noble at Union Square 26 Kramerbooks & Afterwords 64 St. Mark’s Bookshop 126 New York City Washington, D.C. Politics and Prose Bookstore 102 New York City Washington, D.C. Strand Book Store 28 Lenox Hill Bookstore 66 Tecolote Book Shop 128 New York City New York City Powell’s Books 104 Santa Barbara, California Portland, Oregon Book Soup 30 Dutton’s Beverly Hills Books 68 That Bookstore in Blytheville 130 Los Angeles, California Beverly Hills, California Changing Hands Bookstore 106 Blytheville, Arkansas Tucson, Arizona Books & Co. 32 The Elliott Bay Book Company 72 Three Lives & Company 132 New York City Seattle, Washington Prairie Lights Books 108 New York City Iowa City, Iowa Borders 34 Garcia Street Books 74 Village Books 134 Ann Arbor, Michigan Santa Fe, New Mexico Rizzoli Bookstore 110 Bellingham, Washington New York City Broadway Books 36 Gotham Book Mart 76 Vroman’s Bookstore 136 Portland, Oregon New York City R.J. Julia Independent Pasadena, California Booksellers 112 38 78 138 Chapters: A Literary Bookstore Green Apple Books Madison, Connecticut Warwick’s Washington, D.C. San Francisco, California La Jolla, California Sam Weller’s Zion Bookstore 114 40 80 140 Chaucer’s Bookstore Hennessy & Ingalls Salt Lake City, Utah Watermark Books & Café Santa Barbara, California Santa Monica, California Wichita, Kansas Shakespeare & Co. 116 Christopher’s Books 42 Jay’s Book Stall 82 Paris, France Resources 146 San Francisco, California Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Tattered Cover Book Store 118 44 84 City Lights Books El Ateneo Grand Splendid Denver, Colorado San Francisco, California Buenos Aires, Argentina Cody’s Books 46 Ken Sanders Rare Books 86 berkeley, California Salt Lake City, Utah It was clear that the books owned the shop Collected Works 50 Prairie Avenue 88 Santa Fe, New Mexico Chicago, Illinois rather than the other way about. Everywhere The Corner Bookstore 52 Kepler’s Books 90 they had run wild and taken possession of their New York City Menlo Park, California The Cottage Book Shop 54 Madison Avenue Bookshop 92 habitat, breeding and multiplying and clearly Glen Arbor, Michigan New York City lacking any strong hand to keep them down. The Depot Bookstore & Café 56 Maria’s Bookshop 94 Mill Valley, California Durango, Colorado —Agatha Christie, The Clocks Barnes & Noble at Union Square NEW YORK CITY Steve Riggio, CEO of Barnes & Noble, Inc.: “Bookselling is, of course, a vocation, but it is also an avocation, an art, and a passion. Like our publishing partners at Gibbs Smith, we at Barnes & Noble view ourselves as creative participants in a community that links authors and readers. “We were deeply pleased when artist/publisher Gibbs Smith chose to honor us by painting a Barnes & Noble store. We were doubly gratified when we learned that the subject was our Union Square bookstore. This towering Beaux Arts structure is not only our flagship store; in many ways, it exemplifies the continuity and traditions of our shared mission; in the words of Gibbs Smith, Publisher, ‘to enrich and inspire humankind.’ “The magnificent Queen Anne style building that our bookstore occupies is the Century Building, formerly the home of Century Magazine, Century Publishing Company, and Saint Nicholas’ children’s magazine. For several decades, many of the finest authors and artists in America roamed its high-ceilinged rooms, mingling with their editors. Walt Whitman, Stephen Crane, Edith Wharton, Frederic Remington, and N.C. Wyeth were just a few of the prominent contributors to the publications. Even Ulysses S. Grant and Theodore Roosevelt were Century authors. “If you walk through our Union Square store these days, you might spot a young poet heading towards the registers with a copy of Leaves of Grass or a new bestseller. Head upstairs and you might be treated to a live event featuring Nick Hornby or John Grisham; Toni Morrison or Don DeLillo; a poet laureate or a rock star; a White House occupant, past or future. One night, we even hosted an upstart author named Barack Obama. “Like Gibbs Smith, we at Barnes & Noble find that what continues and what sustains us is our commitment to connecting writers and artists Gibbs M. Smith, Bookstore, Union Square, New York, 1997. Oil on linen, 16 × 20. to readers. ” THE ART OF THE BOOKSTORE 26 THE ART OF THE BOOKSTORE 27 Christopher’s Books SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA Christopher’s Books was founded in 1991 by Christopher Ellison, a wonderful man from New Zealand. Located on Potrero Hill in San Francisco, the space occupied by the bookstore originally housed an old-fashioned pharmacy. The shop is only 650 square feet, and many of the original pharmacy fixtures are still intact and used as book displays. The entrance is on a street corner where French doors invite the public to come in and browse. Mr. Ellison returned to New Zealand in 1994 to operate a small dairy farm. The bookstore is now owned and operated by Tee Minot, who has managed the store since 1994. The Potrero Hill community is passionate about books and has been very supportive of this well-stocked, well-staffed, corner bookshop. Christopher’s has become a fixture in the community and is one of my favorite bookstores in San Francisco. Gibbs M. Smith, Autumn Evening on Potrero Hill, 2004. Oil on linen, 16" × 20". THE ART OF THE BOOKSTORE 42 THE ART OF THE BOOKSTORE 43 The Depot Bookstore & Café MILL VALLEY, CALIFORNIA Family owned and operated, the Depot Bookstore was founded by William and Mary Turnbull in 1987 and is located in a historic railway depot built in 1925 for the Northwest Pacific Railroad. It is a wonderful full-service bookstore that has become a major cultural institution and has enthusiastic community support. The café is a favorite local hangout, where you can sip a latte on the patio while reading the latest bestseller or watching people on the town square. Each month the café features works of a local artist on its walls. It is a great thing to start life with a small number of really good books which are your very own. Gibbs M. Smith, Mill Valley Bookstore, 2007. Oil on linen, 16" × 20". —Sir Arthur Conan Doyle THE ART OF THE BOOKSTORE 56 THE ART OF THE BOOKSTORE 57.