It’s a novel idea — take your business, put it in an out-of-the-way place and wait for people to find you. Out of sight but hardly out of their minds, some of the Chicago area’s most intriguing booksellers seemed bound and determined to set up shop in the most unlikely places: in an alleyway, between two sets of railroad tracks, above a tavern, at a bank or, in the case of one James Bond type, at a predesignated meeting place.
Did somebody say “word of mouth?” Because other than the Yellow Pages, that’s the only way a lot of these bookstores find their customers.
Roger Carlson’s Bookman’s Alley in Evanston, furnished with antiques, oil paintings and Turkish rugs, looks so much like a museum that 10 years ago a young couple came in, walked around awhile, came back to the register and asked Carlson, “Would you ever consider selling any of these books?”
Unlike the giant chain bookstores, they don’t offer huge inventories, cappucino and discounts, and maybe you have to plunk your derriere down on the floor or a really hard stool. Promos lead to the “Pickwick Papers,” not Oprah’s pick. If you find a John Grisham, it’s likely to be a first edition. And you may have to make an appointment to meet when the owner’s finished eating.
Got books? Yes, they do. Here’s a browser’s guide to several worth finding.
– Bookman’s Alley, 1712 Sherman Ave., Evanston. Mention the word “alley” and most people think of seedy passageways lined with cans of trash. But, if you’re willing to look a little, alleys can lead to treasures you won’t find on a main street.
Behind the bustle of Sherman Avenue in Evanston, past the 25,000-square-foot Barnes and Noble, sits Bookman’s Alley, a quiet trove of literary temptations not unlike something you might discover walking down an English mews.
Roger Carlson’s store winds through a series of former garages, originally built in 1924. A faded “No Chauffeuring” sign hangs above the door; portraits of Yeats, Mark Twain, Hemingway and Faulkner are clustered on another wall.
Comfy chairs and couches offer a place to relax and thumb through the slew of rare editions and weighty tomes. Pane-glass windows invite beams of light inside.
The shop’s antiques include model ships, period furniture and a 19th Century printing press. African masks and circus-animal stuffed toys, circa 1905, keep watch over the tall shelves.
Carlson opened in the alley location 17 years ago “because it was rent I could afford,” he says. “It was difficult at first, but it has worked out fine. I wouldn’t want to have a stream of people coming in and out all day long.”
It didn’t hurt that the space was within walking distance of Northwestern University.
His store has nearly 40,000 books sorted into 90 subject classifications. One of the most expensive items, a first octavo edition of Audubon’s Birds, recently sold for $30,000. There are books in the $4,000 range as well as a great number of books going from $10 to $30. A cursory look might uncover an $800 first British edition of “Why England Slept” by John F. Kennedy or a 1936 Wisconsin Dells color travel brochure priced at $12.
Carlson acknowledges that, even though they aren’t direct competitors, the bookstore chains take some business away by virtue of their convenience. Still, he says, his relationship with those stores is collegial, and the chains often give his name to customers who are looking for something that’s hard to find or out of print. Open Sunday through Friday from noon to whenever Carlson decides to close. On Saturdays, the store opens at 10:30 a.m. 847-869-6999.
– Thomas J. Joyce & Company, 400 N. Racine Ave. Tom Joyce likes to say, “I’m not on the wrong side of the tracks. I’m in between the tracks.” He means it. There’s a railroad track to the north, another to the south of his store. This place just whistled at him.
His lofted space is just one of six units in a work-living structure built eight years ago. Somebody lives upstairs of the bookstore. Across the street is a Barnes and Noble.
Previously, Joyce owned bookstores in Geneva and in the Manhattan Building downtown, where “people always complained they could never find a parking space.” (The new place has plenty of parking.)
When he’s not taking phone orders from around the country, Joyce will tell you that his specialty is out-of-print, first editions and original editions. Right now he has a piece of history for sale — a pamphlet of the speech Albert Parsons gave the day of the Haymarket Riot in 1886. (Parsons was indicted, then executed.) Plus look for “Moby Dick,” illustrated by Leroy Nieman with a signed introduction by Jacques Cousteau. 312-738-1933.
– Heartland Books, 126 Benton St., Woodstock. It’s not surprising that this used-book store — with more than 4,000 titles — specializes in the lively arts. Owner James Bykowski also owns the tavern downstairs. Located on the northeast corner of the downtown square, Heartland is at street level, Benton Street Station is down a flight of stairs. The two don’t connect by stairs but manager John Weber says, “I’m always getting books for people downstairs. Thirty percent are artist types, musicians, restaurant industry people.” The bar opens at 3:30 p.m. and the bookstore stays open until 5 p.m., so the hours overlap. Inevitably, Weber says, people come upstairs “and if someone comes into the bookstore on a hot summer day, sure I’m going suggest they get something cool to drink downstairs.” Hours are 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday, noon-4 p.m. Sunday. 815-338-5272.
– Edward Ripp: Bookseller, 3719 N. Fremont St. Is it unusual to buy books in someone’s dining room? Ripp says that either he’ll meet you somewhere or you can make your way to his Wrigleyville abode. “I have the books in my dining room. I don’t eat in there. And if you come by, you have to listen to me talk.” Most clients are referrals, but Ripp adds, “I’m here every day by appointment.” He specializes in rare monographs of Chicago artists such as The Hairy Who, Todros Geller, William Schwartz and Szukalski. Ripp says, “I’m the expert in my ZIP code on woodcut novels,” wood engravings on paper that tell stories (some as long as 200 pages) completely in pictures, no words. Books range from $10 to $3,000. Hours are by appointment. Call 773-281-1451.
– Helena Szepe Books, 1525 E. 53rd St, Hyde Park. It helps to be close to the campus of the University of Chicago; however, this bookstore, run by German emigre Helena Szepe and her Hungarian husband, Stephen Szepe, is on the eighth floor of the Hyde Park Bank and Trust building. “Nobody can see it from the street,” Helena Szepe says.
The Szepes are surrounded by dentists, doctors, lawyers and bankers. Sales come from word of mouth, out of town and overseas. Which is just as well. The rare 16th and 17th Century books in the small, carpeted space have to be handled carefully. Especially noteworthy is their acquisition of Chicago’s 1867 City Council proceedings — signed by Alderman Wicker — mandating the first-ever eight-hour workday, which was followed by the world’s first May Day celebration. Yes, May Day began here, and all Europe followed Chicago’s lead on the labor front, Szepe points out. The bookstore hours are by appointment. 773-684-5686.
– The Gallery, 3827 N. Broadway. The Gallery, situated as it is on a major city thoroughfare, is not off the beaten path. But after you’ve finished the grand tour you might, on your way out, want to investigate the upstairs, where you’ll find another bookstore that owner Bill Fiedler calls “the little hidden treasure of Chicago” — the Florence Hanley Memorial Wing of the Gallery Bookstore, named after a well-known Rogers Park bookseller whose inventory Fiedler bought when she died. It’s the oldest and last used-book store specializing in mysteries, science fiction and horror.
The Gallery’s ground floor is “stacked just off the ceiling to fire code” with used books, Fiedler says. He “guesstimates” there are at least 25,000 titles as well as ephemera and magazines. Fiedler bought the entire inventory of the Gallery bookstore, established in 1927, and kept all the books in his house for two years before reopening at its new location in 1991.
Gallery hours are 1-8 p.m. Monday through Friday, noon-8 p.m. Saturday and noon-7 p.m. Sunday. 773-975-8200. Florence Hanley is open 1-8 p.m. Saturday and 1-7 p.m. Sunday. 773-281-9999.
– ORT Books, 800 Central St., Highland Park. Formerly known as ORT Alley, the bookstore moved in January to its new location, where business has flourished. Nevertheless its setup is unexpected. It’s a store within a store. You can’t get in without first passing through the ORT Value Center, which has resale clothes and household items. Both are arms of an international charity.
The entire collection of books is donated, creating an eclectic range of topics. The store’s Anne Harar estimates the inventory at 8,000 books, with items varying from 50-cent romances to a $10 “collector’s item.”
Harar explains that since their move in January from an alley location, “we’re easier to find and business has picked up. And we now have a parking lot.” Still, she speaks with fondness of the days when “there was a certain charm to being in an alley.”
Hours are 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday-Saturday. 847-433-1172.
– ICS Used Bookstore, 808 Glen Flora Ave., Waukegan. Good books meet good works at this storefront operation, managed by the Interfaith Chaplaincy Services. Profits go to ICF, which benefits the pastoral care at Winchester House in Libertyville and the Lake County Jail. The space has three functions: men’s, women’s and children’s resale clothing; a food pantry (established for referrals by the Church of the Holy Spirit in Lake Forest); and the bookstore, stocked with 22,000 volumes and staffed entirely by volunteers. Donations come from Lake County churches, and manager Ann Lawrence says, “We keep a lookout for rare books. Novels are alphabetized on shelves by subject matter.” Hours are 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Saturday. 847-244-7676.
– Healing Earth and The Earth Cafe, 2570 N. Lincoln Ave. Beyond the crystals, the Tibetan bowls, the incense and the essential oils, the vegetarian cafe and the juice bar are the books. “It’s like the milk in the grocery store; you’ve got to go all the way to the back,” says Dave Riddle. It may seem like an afterthought, but in fact, there are 8,000 all-new books on personal development, New Age books and books that honor plants and animals. Hours are 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday. 773-327-8459.
– Gingko Leaf Books, 1759 Rosehill Drive. Husband-and-wife team Chuck Kroon and Joycelyn Merchant opened duo businesses on a decidedly non-commercial stretch along the Ravenswood train tracks, across the street from the Rosehill Cemetery entrance. Merchant designs jewelry in her part of the space, and Kroon operates the bookstore, with 5,000 books, 20 percent of which are African-American literature and poetry. “We’re sort of a bookstore,” Kroon allows. “We’re set up with shelves and we’re here all the time.” Most of the sales are done through appointment, on-line or through catalog. Call for an appointment. 773-989-2200.
– Village Bookstore, 5612 Broadway, Richmond. Where else can you find a 1860s French oak desk with burled walnut trim, carved legs and two matching chairs with handpainted trim and upholstered seats for $1,200, then go upstairs and read a book? The Eilts family grew up in the very building where they now run a two-story business. You’ll find quintessential Richmond friendliness here. On the main level, Purdy’s Gift Shop features antiques and gourmet foods (with cooking demonstrations on weekends). You may not even know there’s a bookstore upstairs with rare and historical books. Open seven days a week, 10:30 a.m.-5 p.m. 815-678-2528.
