Printers Inc. Bookstore
160px | |
Private subsidiary | |
Fate | Out of Business |
Founded | 1978[1] |
Founder | Jerry Shurtleff (co-founder)[2] |
Defunct | 2001 |
Headquarters | 310 California Ave, Palo Alto, CA 301 Castro Street, Mountain View, CA[3] |
Number of locations
|
2 |
Area served
|
Palo Alto, Stanford, Mountain View, Menlo Park, California, United States |
Key people
|
Susan MacDonald and Gerry Masteller (to 1999) Matthew Duran (to 2001)[4] |
Products |
|
Website | pibooks.com (Historic) |
Printers Inc. Bookstore (1978–2001) was an independent bookstore in Palo Alto and Mountain View, California, that closed in 2001. Printers Inc is referenced in sonnets 8.13-8.16 of Vikram Seth's 1986 novel, The Golden Gate.[5][6][7]
History
In 1978,[1] five Kepler's Books alumni (including Jerry Shurtleff) founded Printers Inc. Bookstore. The original Palo Alto store on California Avenue[8] occupied a former Salvation Army location.[2][9][10][11] A second store was located on Castro Street in Mountain View, California.[8] Printers Inc. Bookstore was also a popular destination for Stanford University students.[12] The Printers Inc. Cafe originally shared space in the California Street branch in Palo Alto[13] and subsequently moved next door.[8] American author Frances Mayes describes this history in her 2006 memoir, A Year in the World: Journeys of a Passionate Traveller:
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Susan and Kate, with their friend Jerry, then opened Printers Inc., a literary bookstore on California Street in Palo Alto. They installed a coffee bar/cafe,[14] which was revolutionary. No other bookstore in California, or maybe the United States, had done that in 1978. We were sipping cappuccinos and reading Merwin at Printers long before Starbucks ever pulled an espresso. The bookstore for its whole life was a fulcrum for the entire community and surroundings. Meet me at Printers. Eventually they expanded into an adjacent building for a larger cafe. The reading series was stellar. They opened a second store.[15]
In the early 1990s, chain bookstores such as Borders and Barnes & Noble began to compete with independent bookstores such as Printers Inc.[2][1] The rise of Amazon.com also had an impact on Printers Inc. and other independent bookstores.[16] Thus, in December 1998, Printers Inc. announced that it would be closing.[8][17][12] The local community protested the closing, however, as the owners began to search for a new partner.[18] In March 1999 Printers Inc. was resurrected under new management.[4][19] This management lasted until 2001 when Printers Inc. Bookstore closed for good.[20][21][22][23] The Printers Inc. Cafe, however, did not close as it is under different management.[8][20][24]
Documentary
The 2006 documentary Indies Under Fire tells the story of Printers Inc. and other independent bookstores impacted by the new economy.[25] Director Jacob Bricca stated that he made the documentary after Printers Inc. closed: "I took the [store's closing] very personally [...] I grew up in Palo Alto and spent many hours reading and hanging out at Printers Inc. I saw the strong connection the community had to the bookstore and, like others in the film, was very distressed at its closing."[26]
Photographs
- Photograph of Printers Inc. Bookstore in Palo Alto
- Photographs of Printers Inc. Bookstore - Palo Alto Historical Association
- Photographs inside Printers Inc. Bookstore
See Also
References
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- ↑ Seth, Vikram. The Golden Gate, (New York, Vintage, 1991): 179-180
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External links
- "Local artist paints history in mural" - The Stanford Daily, October 2, 1979.
- "DIVERSIONS: Browsing through . . ." - The Stanford Daily, August 13, 1982.
- "For Book Lovers Only" - The Stanford Daily, September 22, 1983.
- "Tomes and Texts To Buy or Browse" - The Stanford Daily, September 23, 1985.
- "Local Bookstores" - The Stanford Daily, January 1, 1986.
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- Pages with broken file links
- Use mdy dates from August 2012
- Independent bookstores of the United States
- Defunct retail companies of the United States
- Bookstores in the San Francisco Bay Area
- Palo Alto, California
- History of the San Francisco Bay Area
- Companies based in Palo Alto, California
- Defunct companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area
- Retail companies established in 1978
- Retail companies disestablished in 2001
- 1978 establishments in California
- 2001 disestablishments in California
- Retail companies based in California