The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1923-09-13
.MADGE JENISON
TELLS A STORY
Narrative of Experiences
as a Bookseller in
New Book.
THE SUNNISE TURN

How Madge Jenison, former Kenosha
high school teacher, turned aside from
the writing of three-volume novel to
start bookshop at New York is told
in her own matchless and intimate way
in book just published by buttons
called the "Sunwise Turn" Every
thing was an adventure, the finding of
the store, the finding of a name, the
buying and above all the selling of
books, and back of the whole big
idea.
"The name" writes Madge Jenison in
this delightful narrative, twas one of
the crises through which we passed.
There is sin and virtue in name.
We wanted one that would mean some
thing. Katherine Anthony and Eliza
beth Irwin begged me whatever 1 did
not to call it Ye Little Bookie Shoppe.
All kinds of titles of the thum-nail
variety were offered. Carl Zicrosser
suggested Here are, Ladies. My part
ner telephoned one day that Amy Muir
ray had drawn up in the net of her
Gallo wisdom the. name the 'Sunwise
Turn They do everything daesal
(sunwise) here. Father Allen had told
her of the people of Eriskay-tfor they
believe that to follow the course of the
sun is propitious. The sunwise turn
is the lucky one
So They Hung it in the Wind. Z
at never quite seemed to me the
name of shop. 1t seemed to me like
the name of a short story in the At
lantic, or a strange house that you
might come upon on a turn of wild
road. But liked the meaning, and
meaning is what we live by. Our
theory was that we meant to sell books
in a more modern and civilized way
than they were being sold, and carry
them, if the powers were in us, into
the stream of creative life of our gen.
Grafton. So we became the Sunwise
Turn.
A Modern Bookshop.
"The business world took a glance
at this name and said that it could
not be. 1t called US the Surprise Town
Book Shop, and the Unwise Turn Book
Shop. One enterprising stenographer
addressed us as the Sunwise Furn. Co.,
and asked if we were getting the best
wholesale price on carpets. We had
letters that-opened MY dear Mr.. Turn
*. S. Turn, Esq., and Dear Sunbeam
in charge
"You know, Miss Jenison," said
Michael after he had considered the
title for some days with some wrink-
ing of the nose, 81 believe I'll open a
tea shop next door and call it the
likewise Turn"
The story goes on to tell what hap
pened when the traffic cop at the cor
ner of Fifth avenue and Thirty first
street said they couldn't hang their
sign, and how the two partners felt
when they received clip which read,
Balance at the bank, thirty-seven
cents" and how they received their
first draft on sight."N
Pluck Was Their Capital.
They won out at last the two part
ners by sheer pluck, although the au-
thor does not say so, and finally moved
uptown to bigger quarters in the Yale
club building near the Grand Central
where they were due to do $4,000
worth of business a year.
"Our victory was that we had an
idea. Our idea was that thought is
the great function by which we all
live. Any book that was honest work
we read and honored and Sold Our
function was to pass on what had been
nobly created, to see that it circulated
instead of/lying lost in a dust heap to
keep the wind away. 1t was to make
talent common thing passing quick
ly from hand to hand that we were
there"
Near to Human Beings.
The book is full of swift incisive
portraits of customers who come in
and out of the store, "black velvet la
girl and put her in her place, cap
tain of artillery, former president of
Sears Roebuck, and an author to whom
they tried to sell his own book with
out success.
"A bookshop is dug out of human
ity' like Rembrandt's portraits" says
Miss Jenison. 'It is hard to get at
the important people of the world
ROLAND points out that ins sixty years
Pasteur never went to theater. Ry-
der was not man you would find on
satin sofa. But they go to book
shops. And sometimes 1 think that
the uninteresting people are as inter
esting as the interesting ones. l never
really had all the people l wanted un-
til had shop. 1t used to seem to me
that if we ever came to the point where
we were So expert that we worked
behind three Office boys, or desks with
our names in mahogany frames at the
end of them, we should lose something
we could not replace with any eff
cheney. You can never be exclusive
without excluding something"
T. s,v..2a E04oT ~