The Art of the Bookstore: The Bookstore Paintings of Gibbs M. Smith

by Gibbs M. Smith

Overview

The unique lives of bookstores across America are captured in words and original oil paintings in this loving tribute to booksellers and bibliophiles.

For decades, publisher Gibbs M. Smith visited bookstores across the United States. Inspired by the unique personality and ambiance of these community cultural hubs, he made oil paintings of these bookstores to feature on the covers of his publishing company’s catalogue each season.

The Art of the Bookstore collects sixty-eight of these paintings, pairing them with quotes, essays and remembrances about bookselling—a pursuit that is often more art than science—from Smith as well as other industry veterans. This volume captures the unique atmosphere of iconic bookshops including New York City’s Strand Bookstore, Washington, D.C.’s Politics & Prose, and L.A.’s Book Soup.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781423612841
Publisher:	Smith, Gibbs Publisher
Publication date:	11/11/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	96
File size:	8 MB

About the Author

Gibbs M. Smith always wanted to be a history professor. But while in pursuit of his master’s degree, Smith wrote a dissertation on Joe Hill–American labor martyr, proletarian folk hero, and songwriter–that profoundly changed his life. After the book was published by the University of Utah press and made into a movie, Gibbs started entertaining the idea of starting his own publishing company. While riding a cable car in San Francisco and contemplating this venture, he wrote Alfred Knopf a letter. "In my view, he was the greatest publisher in America," reflects Smith. Knopf wrote back with words of encouragement; later they spoke over the phone. Gibbs now had the inspiration needed to embark upon this extraordinary entrepreneurial adventure. In 1969, Gibbs and his wife, Catherine, started the company known today as Gibbs Smith, Publisher. With $12,000 in cash earned from the Smiths’ work on the movie Joe Hill, the company published four initial books, which would be used as supplementary texts in college history classes. The first few years were tough, as Gibbs and his wife, Cathy, ran the company out of their studio apartment in Santa Barbara. In 1973, the company relocated to Utah, where Gibbs and Cathy reinvested profits back into the business and lived on savings. They spent the first summer there converting an old barn (built in 1916) on the family farm into offices. It was a race against time, as the barn had no roof and winter was rapidly approaching. During that summer they also managed to publish a new textbook, Utah’s Heritage. This proved to be a very wise decision, as the company’s textbook division provided financial stability during the early years.

Read an Excerpt

What gives a bookstore a personality? Is it the books organized on the shelves? Is it the character of the building that houses the bookstore? Is it the owner? Is it the staff? I can't answer the question I pose. All I can say is I can feel a personality in each store that I visit. It's more than an individual. It's more than the physical location. It's almost magical. The store develops a personality. The store itself becomes an old friend. You're glad it's there, glad you can visit, glad that you can have the connection through the varying moods of your own life. That's why it's very sad when a great store ceases operation-it's like the loss of an old friend. There's an emotional connection. It hurts when a store closes.

Table of Contents

Introduction 8

Booksellers 20

Kroch's & Brentano's 22

Chicago, Illinois
Bank Street Bookstore 24

New York City
Barnes & Noble at Union Square 26

New York City
Strand Book Store 28

New York City
Book Soup 30

Los Angeles, California
Books & Co. 32

New York City
Borders 34

Ann Arbor, Michigan
Broadway Books 36

Portland, Oregon
Chapters: A Literary Bookstore 38

Washington, D.C.
Chaucer's Books 40

Santa Barbara, California
Christopher's Books 42

San Francisco, California
City Lights Books 44
San Francisco, California
Cody's Books 46

Berkeley, California
Collected Works 50

Santa Fe, New Mexico
The Corner Bookstore 52

New York City
The Cottage Book Shop 54

Glen Arbor, Michigan
The Depot Bookstore & Cafe 56

Mill Valley, California
Shakespeare & Co. Bookstore 58

New York City
D.G. Wills Books 60

La Jolla, California
Riverow Bookshop 62

Owego, New York
Kramerbooks & Afterwords 64

Washington, D.C.
Lenox Hill Bookstore 66

New York City
Dutton's Beverly Hills Books 68

Beverly Hills, California
The Elliott Bay Book Company 72
Seattle, Washington
Garcia Street Books 74

Santa Fe, New Mexico
Gotham Book Mart 76

New York City
Green Apple Books 78

San Francisco, California
Hennessey + Ingalls 80

Santa Monica, California
Jay's Book Stall 82

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
El Ateneo Grand Splendid 84

Buenos Aires, Argentina
Ken Sanders Rare Books 86

Salt Lake City,Utah
Prairie Avenue Bookshop 88

Chicago, Illinois
Kepler's Books 90

Menlo Park, California
Madison Avenue Bookshop 92

New York City
Maria's Bookshop 94

Durango, Colorado
Mrs. Dalloway's Literary
& Garden Arts 96

Berkeley, California
Page and Palette 98

Fairhope, Alabama
The King's English 100

Salt Lake City, Utah
Politics and Prose Bookstore 102

Washington, D.C.
Powell's Books 104

Portland, Oregon
Changing Hands Bookstore 106

Tucson, Arizona
Prairie Lights Books 108

Iowa City, Iowa
Rizzoli Bookstore 110

New York City
R.J. Julia Independent Booksellers 112

Madison, Connecticut
Sam Weller's Zion Bookstore 114

Salt Lake City, Utah
Shakespeare & Co. 116

Paris, France
Tattered Cover Book Store 118

Denver, Colorado
Skylight Books 120

Los Angeles, California
Books & Books 122

Coral Gables, Florida
Builders Booksource 124

Berkeley, California
St. Mark's Bookshop 126

New York City
Tecolote Book Shop 128

Santa Barbara, California
That Bookstore in Blytheville 130

Blytheville, Arkansas
Three Lives & Company 132

New York City
Village Books 134

Bellingham, Washington
Vroman's Bookstore 136

Pasadena, California
Warwick's 138

La Jolla, California
Watermark Books & Cafe 140

Wichita, Kansas
Resources 146