UPPER EAST SIDE — Crawford Doyle Booksellers has closed its doors after 21 years on Madison Avenue.
Wife and husband, John Doyle and Judy Crawford, closed their 1082 Madison Ave. shop, between East 81st and East 82nd streets, on Tuesday after deciding to retire, they said.
"People like the business but it's time to close," Doyle, 82, said inside the nearly-empty bookshop on Friday. Most of the shelves were barren, with boxes strewn about and only a case of rare books intact.
"It's very sad," Crawford, 75, added. "I loved the people and our employees were like a family. As John says, just look at us. It's just the right time."
The independent bookshop was one of the last left in the neighborhood — only the Corner Bookstore at 93rd Street remains. The area was once a haven for literature lovers, but "not so much anymore," said Thomas Talbot, the store's manager.
Crawford Doyle opened in September of 1991 when Talbot was a teenager, and has been part of the neighborhood's makeup through the years and a go-to for rare book collectors, he said.
Most of the rare books Crawford and Doyle sold were classics, like first editions of books by Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Graham Greene, among others.
Before Crawford Doyle Booksellers, Burlington Books occupied the space for decades.
"There's been a bookstore on this block for over 75 years," Talbot said. "There's a long history of a bookstore being here. This is a great loss for the neighborhood, but all good things must come to an end."
The owners will continue their rare book business by appointment only at their Carnegie Hill apartment, they said.
To make an appointment, call 212-288-6300 or email crawford.doyle.booksellers@gmail.com.
