The ART of the BOOKSTORE - Gibbs Smith Cover Archive

The ART of the BOOKSTORE
Gibbs Smith, founder and president of his
namesake publishing company, started the
business in 1969 with his wife, Catherine,
in Santa Barbara, California. After a couple
of years, they moved the company to
their hometown, Layton, Utah. This
book is a celebration of 40 years as an
independent publisher.
Jacket design by Kurt Wahlner
Jacket art by Gibbs M. Smith
SMITH
a rt/ b o o k s e l l i n g
The ART of the BOOKSTORE
$35.00 U.S.
The ART of the
BOOKSTORE
GIBBS M. SMITH
THE BOOKSTORE PAINTINGS OF
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.
This collection of 68 paintings,
accompanied by essays about
the art of the bookstore, captures
the distinctive atmosphere of
each establishment, from the
bright lights of Washington D.C.’s
Politics & Prose to the tuckedaway charm of Chicago’s Kroch’s
& Brentano’s to the magnetism
of New York’s Shakespeare
& Co. Bookstore. The Art of
the Bookstore celebrates
independent voices and the
exchange of ideas, defends
the importance of community,
explores the alluring power of
bookstores, and captures a love
of the printed word.
Contents
Introduction
Booksellers
8
20
Shakespeare & Co. Bookstore
Kroch’s & Brentano’s
22
D.G. Wills
Chicago, Illinois
Bank Street Bookstore
24
Riverow Bookshop
Owego, New York
Barnes & Noble at Union Square 26
Kramerbooks & Afterwords
New York City
Washington, D.C.
28
New York City
Book Soup
30
32
34
36
38
40
42
44
46
50
52
Mill Valley, California
74
Hennessy & Ingalls
Jay’s Book Stall
El Ateneo Grand Splendid
Ken Sanders Rare Books
Prairie Avenue
Kepler’s Books
54
Madison Avenue Bookshop
76
78
80
82
84
Maria’s Bookshop
Durango, Colorado
Three Lives & Company
108
Iowa City, Iowa
New York City
112
Warwick’s
138
La Jolla, California
Sam Weller’s Zion Bookstore
114
Salt Lake City, Utah
Watermark Books & Café
140
Wichita, Kansas
116
Resources
Paris, France
Tattered Cover Book Store
136
Pasadena, California
Madison, Connecticut
Shakespeare & Co.
134
Bellingham, Washington
Vroman’s Bookstore
R.J. Julia Independent
Booksellers
132
New York City
Village Books
110
130
Blytheville, Arkansas
146
118
Denver, Colorado
86
88
90
92
New York City
56
Tucson, Arizona
128
Santa Barbara, California
That Bookstore in Blytheville
106
Rizzoli Bookstore
Menlo Park, California
Glen Arbor, Michigan
The Depot Bookstore & Café
Green Apple Books
Portland, Oregon
126
New York City
Tecolote Book Shop
104
124
Berkeley, California
St. Mark’s Bookshop
102
Washington, D.C.
Prairie Lights Books
Chicago, Illinois
New York City
The Cottage Book Shop
72
Salt Lake City, Utah
Santa Fe, New Mexico
The Corner Bookstore
Gotham Book Mart
Salt Lake City, Utah
122
Coral Gables, Florida
Builders Booksource
100
Changing Hands Bookstore
Buenos Aires, Argentina
berkeley, California
Collected Works
68
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
San Francisco, California
Cody’s Books
Garcia Street Books
Fairhope, Alabama
120
Los Angeles, California
Books & Books
98
Powell’s Books
Santa Monica, California
San Francisco, California
City Lights Books
66
San Francisco, California
Santa Barbara, California
Christopher’s Books
The Elliott Bay Book Company
Berkeley, California
Politics and Prose Bookstore
New York City
Washington, D.C.
Chaucer’s Bookstore
64
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Portland, Oregon
Chapters: A Literary Bookstore
Dutton’s Beverly Hills Books
Skylight Books
96
The King’s English
Seattle, Washington
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Broadway Books
62
Beverly Hills, California
New York City
Borders
Lenox Hill Bookstore
Mrs. Dalloway’s Literary
& Garden Arts
Page and Palette
New York City
Los Angeles, California
Books & Co.
60
La Jolla, California
New York City
Strand Book Store
58
New York City
94
It was clear that the books owned the shop
rather than the other way about. Everywhere
they had run wild and taken possession of their
habitat, breeding and multiplying and clearly
lacking any strong hand to keep them down.
—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
to readers. ”
26
the art of the bookstore
Gibbs M. Smith, Bookstore, Union Square, New York, 1997. Oil on linen, 16 × 20.
the art of the bookstore
27
Christopher’s Books
S a n F r a nc i s c o , C a l i f o r n i a
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".
42
the art of the bookstore
the art of the bookstore
43
The Depot Bookstore & Café
M i l l V a l l e y, C a l i f o r n i a
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.
—Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
56
the art of the bookstore
Gibbs M. Smith, Mill Valley Bookstore, 2007. Oil on linen, 16" × 20".
the art of the bookstore
57