FOX AND ROBIN IN CENTER CITY
After 73 years, Robin’s Bookstore in downtown Philadelphia has closed.
Amazon and Barnes & Noble and Border’s and, of course, the Great Economic Downturn forced Larry Robin’s hand. His street-level store is gone and already for rent. However, come February 16, you can mount a flight of stairs next to the old store and reach a new second-hand bookstore and performance space. Whether that will be as welcoming and exuberant as the old place -- remains to be seen.
Robin maintains their website, and you can buy books from him that newfangled way: http://www.robinsbookstore.com/ While I’m at it, let me mention my two favorite newfangled book dealers, Marc Kessler in Boston: www.avonhillbooks.com ; and Suzanne Ostro in New York: http://www.pomanderbooks.com/ . Whodonut Books in Center City at 1931 Chestnut Street and BookTrader on 2nd Street are two other excellent stores which uses AbeBooks.com for Internet orders.
Meanwhile the very best bookstore in Philadelphia is now -- Joseph Fox at 1724 Sansom. The bookstore opened in 1951 and maintains a close relationship between authors and readers. They average five book-signings a week. It’s the best place to meet writers and buy signed and perhaps valuable contemporary first editions. Everybody has a website; the Fox site is: www.foxbookshop.com Now run by the widow of Joseph Fox and their son Michael Fox, it’s spare and elegant and now essential.
[An earlier version of this Note with a number of comments appeared in the Philly Art Blog on February 5.]
Amazon and Barnes & Noble and Border’s and, of course, the Great Economic Downturn forced Larry Robin’s hand. His street-level store is gone and already for rent. However, come February 16, you can mount a flight of stairs next to the old store and reach a new second-hand bookstore and performance space. Whether that will be as welcoming and exuberant as the old place -- remains to be seen.
Robin maintains their website, and you can buy books from him that newfangled way: http://www.robinsbookstore.com/ While I’m at it, let me mention my two favorite newfangled book dealers, Marc Kessler in Boston: www.avonhillbooks.com ; and Suzanne Ostro in New York: http://www.pomanderbooks.com/ . Whodonut Books in Center City at 1931 Chestnut Street and BookTrader on 2nd Street are two other excellent stores which uses AbeBooks.com for Internet orders.
Meanwhile the very best bookstore in Philadelphia is now -- Joseph Fox at 1724 Sansom. The bookstore opened in 1951 and maintains a close relationship between authors and readers. They average five book-signings a week. It’s the best place to meet writers and buy signed and perhaps valuable contemporary first editions. Everybody has a website; the Fox site is: www.foxbookshop.com Now run by the widow of Joseph Fox and their son Michael Fox, it’s spare and elegant and now essential.
[An earlier version of this Note with a number of comments appeared in the Philly Art Blog on February 5.]
posted by Michael Andre at
7:49 PM
2 Comments:
Hi Michael - Trying to get a hold of you for a thing...best way to do this? my email is cbenson67 [at] yahoo [dot] com
thanks...Cara
I mis-spelled Whodunit Books. However, both Book Trader and Whodunit have undignified names. Perhaps they should start a website named Something Better and if that website succeeeds, they should chime in with appropriate new bookstore names.
Cara -- You can email me at MAndreOX@Yahoo.com. Michael.
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