Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-07-09
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLEs y. TRACES I'll,

Il real book shop ought to b .
place where the bookioyer can 50 and
feel at home
while this Ii d desired affect ID be
raine6 Nv any store that depends upon
flle Good viii be the public land what
store does not u, II remains peculiarly
true Of the store that eelle books.
Your bo0lxlOyer. the genuine article.
IL :. tinid creature IN the main. He
resents being put under scrutiny. &c
walk into 9 shDp and md hitaeah
stared Ut by clerks automatically
makes him both uncomfortable and
tiMiat with his pocketbn0k.
we have sean book stores mot
jntoDsa WifDaDins customers were treat
"a. as FAR az one could see, a. II they
wrrsn one and all incipient shoplifters.
PERHAPS this place had experienced
depredations by nefarious pernCna. We
hope 20. II deserved It.
The very atmosphere Of tbs place
suggested crime. Although Of impec.
cable thoughts ourselves ~ respect
10 thieveFy, We neyer entered this
store but what we felt en- almost ir-
srepressihie desire to steal = few vol
umee
Perhaps we ought to state right
here that we never yielded 70 the SUD
pressed desire, but manfully fought
IL down every time we caught the
manager and two assistants looking
suspiclOusly in our direction.
We feel at this far date that our
record in heaven would be clearer II
We had slipped Z; couple Of books under
our cnat, and then thrown them 10
thu gutter after we got outside.
Maybe we will go back some cay
and do II, after all, A. book store
...ax.z. n NFENtNtN NWnN1F&11s
sion on q man.
The ideal book shop, In the second
place, ought to be q store that oners
q real selection OF all sorts OF books.
In other words, the true book shop
does not impose its selections on YOU,
but has enough variety, In subject
and price, to allow the book lover 70
make his own selections. We speak
not here against the specialized shop,
but merely claim that, everything be.
ing equal, the wen stocked shop ~ the
better.
THE ideal book shop win not special.
ize in the erotic and semi,erotic. The
true book lover, although he may be
n sophisticate, Ii Just az likely not
be: and toShaye half of the books on
the shelves deal only with what the
lattAr calls medical subjects IL not
likely to appeal to him. and thus It
Is not good business.
The real book shop will let chap
come In, sit Ground, browse around,
buy il he chooses, not buy II he does
not care to buy. 1t ought to be easy
for any shop to spot those who never
buy and deal with them accordingly.
The true book lovers ought u. be left
In peace.
The real shop. and certainly in
America, will be democratic to q de.
gree. 1T will have everything I'm
boOks, from expensive editions to
good cheap ones, but 1t will indulge
In no book snobbery. unless Gus
toner fancies. and then 1t win give
him rs good az he sends.
The true book shop will hRve in
Its employ persons who know and
love books themselves. 1t will not
take tire saleemen and set him to
selling THE EXQUISITE PeFdita," by
u. Darlington, or impound a natural
born seller OF corsets and demand that
she earn her salt dispensing Scott
Fitxgerald's rAll the Sad Young Men
These are but few OF the signs Of
q real book shop. And by these shall
ye know themi