Entry from July 06, 2005
“Over 18 Miles of Books” (Strand Book Store)
The Strand Book Store (the main location is Broadway and 12th Street) claims that it has "18 miles of books." It used to claim that it had "8 miles of books."
That's a lot of books.
Strand Books
In 1927 Benjamin Bass opened Strand Book Store on 4th Avenue, New York's famous Book Row of America. Named after the famous publishing street in London and an old literary magazine, Strand Book Store has long been known for remarkable deals on great books.
Ben's son Fred began working in his father's store when he was ten years old. After a tour of duty in the Armed Forces, Fred returned to the family business and took over its management in 1956. Soon after, he moved it to its current location at the corner of Broadway and Twelfth Street. When Mr. Bass moved the store to its Broadway site he rented 4,000 square feet of the building. Now, four and a half decades later, he owns the building with Strand taking up five of the eleven floors, and a second store on Fulton Street in New York City's financial district.
(...)
If you're in the New York area, drop by one of our stores. See the famous 18 miles of books and find the book you've been looking for.
29 January 1981, Chicago (IL) Tribune, "Used book store hounds are always up to sniff" by Stevenson Swanson, pg. A2:
The Strand, as its red and white bags advertise, has eight miles of books. This means that if you made a sweeping scan of each and every one of those eight miles worth of titles every single day for about 85 years and 7 months, you would have gazed at enough books to stretch from here to the moon.
2 December 1984, New York (NY( Times, "Somewhere in New York, You Can Buy a Good Book" by James Atlas, pg. BR48:
Over eight miles of books, claims their ads, and I believe it.
New York (NY) Times
Fred Bass, Who Made the Strand Bookstore a Mecca, Dies at 89
By WILLIAM GRIMES JAN. 3, 2018
Fred Bass, who transformed his father’s small used-book store, the Strand, into a mammoth Manhattan emporium with the slogan “18 Miles of Books,” died on Wednesday at his home in Manhattan. He was 89.
That's a lot of books.
Strand Books
In 1927 Benjamin Bass opened Strand Book Store on 4th Avenue, New York's famous Book Row of America. Named after the famous publishing street in London and an old literary magazine, Strand Book Store has long been known for remarkable deals on great books.
Ben's son Fred began working in his father's store when he was ten years old. After a tour of duty in the Armed Forces, Fred returned to the family business and took over its management in 1956. Soon after, he moved it to its current location at the corner of Broadway and Twelfth Street. When Mr. Bass moved the store to its Broadway site he rented 4,000 square feet of the building. Now, four and a half decades later, he owns the building with Strand taking up five of the eleven floors, and a second store on Fulton Street in New York City's financial district.
(...)
If you're in the New York area, drop by one of our stores. See the famous 18 miles of books and find the book you've been looking for.
29 January 1981, Chicago (IL) Tribune, "Used book store hounds are always up to sniff" by Stevenson Swanson, pg. A2:
The Strand, as its red and white bags advertise, has eight miles of books. This means that if you made a sweeping scan of each and every one of those eight miles worth of titles every single day for about 85 years and 7 months, you would have gazed at enough books to stretch from here to the moon.
2 December 1984, New York (NY( Times, "Somewhere in New York, You Can Buy a Good Book" by James Atlas, pg. BR48:
Over eight miles of books, claims their ads, and I believe it.
New York (NY) Times
Fred Bass, Who Made the Strand Bookstore a Mecca, Dies at 89
By WILLIAM GRIMES JAN. 3, 2018
Fred Bass, who transformed his father’s small used-book store, the Strand, into a mammoth Manhattan emporium with the slogan “18 Miles of Books,” died on Wednesday at his home in Manhattan. He was 89.
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