Gotham Book Mart records, 1723 - 2006 (bulk: 1967-2006).

Format:

Other

Author/Creator:

Gotham Book Mart.

Language:

English

French

Subjects (All):

Brown, Andreas.

Capote, Truman, 1924-1984.

Capote, Truman.

Steloff, Frances, 1887-1989.

Steloff, Frances.

Williams, Tennessee, 1911-1983.

Williams, Tennessee.

Black Sparrow Press.

Booksellers and bookselling.

Booksellers and bookselling--New York (State)--New York.

Literature.

Literature, Modern--20th century--History and criticism.

Literature, Modern.

Postcards--Collectors and collecting.

Postcards.

Publishers and publishing.

New York (N.Y.)--Intellectual life--20th century.

New York (N.Y.).

National Book Committee.

Intellectual life.

New York (State)--New York.

Genre:

Manuscripts, American.

Audiovisual materials.

Book catalogs.

Broadsides (notices)

Business records.

Cabinet photographs.

Correspondence.

Genealogies (histories)

Legal documents.

Manuscripts (document genre)

Memorabilia.

Photograph albums.

Photographic postcards.

Photographs.

Postcards.

Sales records.

Scrapbooks.

Physical Description:

95 boxes (79 linear feet)

Arrangement:

Organized into IX series: I. Frances Steloff papers; II. Andreas Brown papers; III. Gotham Book Mart employee correspondence; IV. Gotham Book Mart legal documents; V. Gotham Book Mart catalogs and sales records; VI. Gotham Book Mart event/exhibition notices and invitation lists; VII. Other Gotham Book Mart records; VIII. Gotham Book Mart photographs; and IX. Manuscripts and ephemera kept by the Gotham Book Mart.

Place of Publication:

1723 - 2006

Language Note:

The bulk of the collection is English, however, there is a small amount of material in French.

Biography/History:

Founded in 1920 by Frances Steloff, The Gotham Book Mart served as a center for the literary avant garde of New York City and a gateway through which European modernism entered the United States. During its nearly ninety-year tenure as a marketplace for books and ideas, the Gotham was notorious for selling books which were officially banned in the U.S., including Lady Chatterley's lover and Tropic of cancer. In addition, the shop served as an unofficial literary salon, attracting luminaries such as Christopher Morley, Henry Miller, W.H. Auden , Marianne Moore, Tennessee Williams, John Updike, and Allen Ginsberg (who briefly worked in the store as a clerk). It also served as the home of the James Joyce Society, founded at the Book Mart in 1947. In 1967, Steloff sold the store to Andreas Brown, who continued its literary mission while incorporating his own collecting interests, such as a postcards and antique Christmas ornaments. For most of its life, the Book Mart was located in a building at 41 W. 47th Street, in Manhattan's Diamond District. After a series of legal battles regarding loans undertaken to buy the building, Brown was forced to sell the original location and lease a building at 16 E. 46th St. After falling behind on the rent at this new location, Brown was evicted, and the inventory was sold by auction.

Summary:

This collection contains store records, correspondence, manuscripts, and ephemera from the Gotham Book Mart, one of New York City's most iconic bookstores and a hotbed of 20th century literary modernism and American little magazine and small press publishing. It includes records of the day-to-day activity of bookselling during the ownership of Frances Steloff and her successor Andreas Brown, as well as manuscripts and ephemera which the store offered for sale, broadsides, scrapbooks, and vintage photographs. In addition, the collection contains material from Brown's personal collections, including literary appraisals, postcards, and genealogical research. For further detail, see the content notes accompanying each series in the finding aid.

Notes:

Materials Separated from the Resource: Along with the archival material relating to Gotham Book Mart, the store's stock was also gifted to the University of Pennsylvania.

OCLC:

965198159