Washington Post columnist Michael Dirda's essay on a recent literary pilgrimage to New York City brought back memories of my Manhattan book adventures.
On my first trip to New York City, in October some 50 years ago, I was dazzled by the towering dome and soaring bookshelves at Scribner's Bookstore at 597 Fifth Avenue. The building was the headquarters of Charles Scribner Sons, where editor Maxwell Perkins welcomed to his office Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Thomas Wolfe, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings and other writers whose masterpieces he shaped.
The bookstore's long gone, and Scribner's swallowed by publishing conglomerates. Yet the Charles Scribner's Sons sign still greets crowds on Fifth Avenue from the side of the building. Passing by in the throng of people, I have often imagined heading up the stairs to Mr. Perkins' office.
In my most exciting New York City book adventure, I purchased a first edition of Joseph Mitchell's "My Ears Were Bent" for $325 at the fondly remembered Gotham Book Mart, which closed in 2007 after nearly 90 years in business. The store, with its famous sign "Wise Men Fish Here," was located in the Diamond District at 41 W. 47th Street, near the old offices of the New Yorker and The New York Times.
When I asked about Mitchell's rare first book, the long-haired New York wise guy clerk headed to owner Andreas Brown''s upstairs apartment and brought down the copy, which I bought, despite the strain on our family finances. For a much lower price, I also acquired a collection of Jimmy Cannon columns.
The store over the years attracted a glittering literary clientele, from T.S. Eliot to Henry Miller. It was the home of the James Joyce and Finnegan's Wake societies. Founder Frances Steloff, who worked in the store into old age, was the "Miss Franny" of the Band's "The Weight."
Dirda mentions two of my favorite New York City places, the New York City Public Library and the Grolier Club.
I look forward to new visits there. But most of my New York City book adventures are ghosts from the past.
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