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Abstract
In 1989, a literary landmark in New York City closed. Scribner’s Bookstore, 597 Fifth Avenue, stood at the epicentre of Manhattan’s retail district. The Scribner’s publishing company was then 153 years old. In the 1920s, driven by genius editor Max Perkins, Scribner’s published Fitzgerald, Hemingway, and Wolfe. Scribner’s Magazine was The New Yorker of its day. The bookshop and publisher occupied a 10-storey Beaux-Arts building, designed by Ernest Flagg, which eventually won protection from the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. Medallions honoured printers Benjamin Franklin, William Caxton, Johann Gutenberg, and Aldus Manutius. The ‘Byzantine cathedral of books’ offered deeply informed personal service. But the paperback revolution gained momentum, bookshop chains like Barnes & Noble and Brentano’s adopted extreme discounting, and the no-discounting Scribner’s business model became unsustainable. Real estate developers swooped in. The bookshop’s ignominious end came when Italian clothier Benetton took over its space.
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Berg, A. S., 1978. Max Perkins: Editor of genius (New York: Dutton).
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Burlingame, R., 1946. Of Making Many Books: A hundred years of reading, writing and publishing (New York: Scribner).
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Delaney, J. (ed.), 1995. The House of Scribner, 1846–1904 (Detroit: Gale).
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Delaney, J. (ed.), 1997. The House of Scribner, 1905–1930 (Detroit: Gale).
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Dunlap, D., 1989. ‘Landmarks Unit Studies Scribner Store’s Interior’, New York Times, 12 February, section 1, p. 54.
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Marcano, T., 1997. ‘Benetton Adds Books’, New York Times, 20 March, section B, p. 8.
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McDowell, E., 1989. ‘The Media Business: Scribner name and store are sold to B. Dalton’, New York Times, 12 May, section B, p. 15.
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Scardino, A., 1989. ‘Scribner’s Site to Be a Bookstore Again: A Brentano’s branch’, New York Times, 14 September, section B, p. 9.
| All Time | Past Year | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 270 | 75 | 19 |
| Full Text Views | 23 | 9 | 4 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 40 | 18 | 7 |
Abstract
In 1989, a literary landmark in New York City closed. Scribner’s Bookstore, 597 Fifth Avenue, stood at the epicentre of Manhattan’s retail district. The Scribner’s publishing company was then 153 years old. In the 1920s, driven by genius editor Max Perkins, Scribner’s published Fitzgerald, Hemingway, and Wolfe. Scribner’s Magazine was The New Yorker of its day. The bookshop and publisher occupied a 10-storey Beaux-Arts building, designed by Ernest Flagg, which eventually won protection from the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. Medallions honoured printers Benjamin Franklin, William Caxton, Johann Gutenberg, and Aldus Manutius. The ‘Byzantine cathedral of books’ offered deeply informed personal service. But the paperback revolution gained momentum, bookshop chains like Barnes & Noble and Brentano’s adopted extreme discounting, and the no-discounting Scribner’s business model became unsustainable. Real estate developers swooped in. The bookshop’s ignominious end came when Italian clothier Benetton took over its space.
| All Time | Past Year | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 270 | 75 | 19 |
| Full Text Views | 23 | 9 | 4 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 40 | 18 | 7 |