When a diner or shoe store closes the two rarely raise the ambient decibels while, when a bookstore closes, the future of civilization is imperiled. The difference is that bookstores, for many, symbolize their residual faith in the society we live in. From childhood we learned by reading and have always since relied on this basic skill to understand the world. When a book store closes we often feel a sense of threat.
Such angst should not be surprising, as for more than 20 years our children and their children have been learning online and many simply have not become emotionally attached to the printed word. Information yes, books not necessarily.
For those us of a certain age this is difficult to accept but our reality has long been that bookstores have been disappearing for decades. That another closed on April 28th in Boulder, Colorado, seems inevitable.
What brings me to this subject as that the proprietor of Red Letter Books announced, “that after 31 years at 1737 Pearl St., we are being asked to leave. Developers are going to tear down half the block on 17th and Pearl to make way for luxury condos and upscale dining. Heartbreaking. We thought we had more time, but it looks like we are being asked to leave by April 29th. We would like to make it clear that this is not our decision, nor is this due to the pandemic. We’ve been contributing members to the neighborhood for 31 years. Sadly, no longer. We will continue selling books in some capacity, but at the moment, we do not have a new location. We are not entirely sure when our lady plan for the public will be. Please stay tuned for more information.”
I’ve looked over their web presence and haven’t found a database of their material which looks to be of the catch and catch can variety. Many bookstores in their last stages become everyday bookfairs providing tens of thousands of possibilities but little or no cataloguing. Such material is often priced by fiat, “all material in a section is $10” or some other number. Such an approach has long been employed elsewhere to turn browsers into buyers.
I have no doubt the firm and their friends will find each other on the web, quite possibly on Facebook, as they seem to have a robust presence. Yahoo also seems to be keeping tabs on them.
And one last word, they seem to be trying to raise capital on a go-fund-me basis. Such efforts sometime work but long term solutions cannot depend on charity.
Sotheby's Bibliothèque Jacques Dauchez - Autour de Dubuffet
5-19 June
Sotheby’s, June 5-19: Bissière, Roger. Cantique à notre frère soleil de saint François. 1954. 1,000 - 1,500 EUR
Sotheby’s, June 5-19: Céline, Louis-Ferdinand. La vie & l’œuvre de Philippe Ignace Semmelweis. 1924. Rare édition originale, avec envoi. Joint : La Quinine en thérapeutique, 1925. 4,000 - 6,000 EUR
Sotheby’s, June 5-19: Céline, Louis-Ferdinand. Mort à crédit. 1936. Édition originale. Bel exemplaire sur Hollande. 2,500 - 3,500 EUR
Sotheby's Bibliothèque Jacques Dauchez - Autour de Dubuffet
5-19 June
Sotheby’s, June 5-19: Chillida, Eduardo ─ Emil Cioran. Face aux instants. 1985. Un des 100 exemplaires sur Arches. Eau-forte signée. 600 - 800 EUR
Sotheby’s, June 5-19: Dubuffet, Jean. Ler dla canpane. L’Art Brut, 1948. Édition originale. 3,000 - 5,000 EUR
Sotheby’s, June 5-19: Dubuffet, Jean. L'Herne Jean Dubuffet. 1973. Un des 100 exemplaires du tirage de luxe avec une sérigraphie originale en couleurs. 1,000 - 1,500 EUR
Gros & Delettrez Livres & Manuscrits Arméniens Jeudi 12 juin 2025 Paris, Francis
Gros & Delettrez, June 12: BIBLE, Venise 1733, reliure arménienne
Gros & Delettrez, June 12: CHARAKNOTS, manuscrit XVIIe-XVIIIe siècle
