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Left Bank Books May Stay Open, Keeping Independent Bookstores Alive in the West Village

By DNAinfo Staff on December 15, 2009 7:56am  | Updated on December 15, 2009 7:46am

Left Bank Books at 304 W. 4th St.
Left Bank Books at 304 W. 4th St.
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Nicole Breskin/DNAinfo

By Nicole Breskin

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

WEST VILLAGE — Left Bank Books, a beloved treasure trove of rare and first editions, may not close for good after all.

The store’s management has identified a potential new location in the hopes of reversing the pattern of bookstores going bust around the West Village and Greenwich Village.

The store — which is home to a prized copy of Ernest Hemingway’s 1923 debut book “Three Stories and Ten Poems” signed by the famed author’s son and biographer — will close its W. 4th St. location next month after nearly 20 years in business due to soaring rent costs, according to management.

“The landlord wouldn’t renew our lease,” said Left Bank Books owner Kim Herzinger. “If he had made an offer it would have been for far more money than we could afford.”

Rare and first edition titles at Left Bank Books.
Rare and first edition titles at Left Bank Books.
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But Herzinger now hopes to establish a new bookstore nearby at W. 12th St. and Eighth Avenue.

“It’s a space we can afford in the right spot,” Herzinger said. “It’s a little larger and little more expensive. But, I think, we can hopefully afford it.”

A lease at the new shop has not yet been finalized. But management hopes the bookstore, one of the few remnants of the old bohemian West Village lifestyle, will endure.

Right now, Normal Mailers’ personal copy of “The Naked and The Dead” from 1948 is one sale for $10,000, while a 1936 first edition copy of Margaret Mitchell’s “Gone With the Wind” is priced at $7,500 and, a 1953 first edition of Ian Fleming’s “Casino Royale” is selling for $1,500.

New Yorker Jeff Panish, who is a regular at Left Bank Books, was crushed to hear that the store might shut. He hopes there will be a new incarnation of Left Bank Books.

“It’s a shame to lose a store like that,” he said. “The best part was when you’d walk in and you’d never know what you’d find. They have beautiful stuff. It’s artwork, really.”

The Village and surrounding streets has seen a spate of closings of independent bookstores due to various hardships from the rise of e-books to overall hard financial times.

Oscar Wilde Bookshop on Christopher Street, which was believed to be the oldest gay and lesbian-themed bookstore in the country, closed in March this year, with management citing difficulties in the economic crisis.

Librería Lectorum on W. 14th St., which had reportedly been the city's oldest and largest Spanish-language bookstore, closed in 2007 to open up a Web-based store.

Even big business bookstores, like Barnes & Noble, have been affected by the book bust. The chain closed its location at 675 Sixth Ave. that wrapped between 21st-22nd streets for 15 years. Barnes & Noble’s Astor Place location also shuttered in 2007.

A 1966 copy of
A 1966 copy of "Batman vs. the Fearsome Foursome."
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Nicole Breskin/DNAinfo

“It’s very tough with Kindle, Amazon and everything else,” said Carolyn Epstein, the co-owner of Biography Bookshop, on Bleecker Street. “We’re just hoping we’ll make it.”

Biography Bookshop also recently avoided closing after 25 years in the neighborhood by moving down the street to a new location. The story now sells new books, but specializes in literature, history, cookbooks and, of course, biographies.

Toby Cox, who owns Three Lives bookstore, said his store is one of the oldest in the neighborhood after 31 years of business. He believes he offers something no e-book or Kindle can.

“People still want the experience of being in a bookshop,” said Cox. “They still want to touch the books and share that passion with others who love to read.”

Left Bank Books has hundreds of rare and first edition books.
Left Bank Books has hundreds of rare and first edition books.
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Nicole Breskin/DNAinfo