New York: Macmillan, 1937. ix + 137 pages, 12mo, red cloth, d.w. (heavily chipped). New York: The Macmillan Company, 1937. First edition. A very good(+) copy in a good dust wrapper. Presentation copy signed by the author. More
I thought you'd find this interesting: I learned of Argosy by reading a bit of "bad" publicity in the book "Used and Rare" by Lawrence and Nancy Goldstone; no doubt you're familiar with it. (It was unfortunate that the authors had to grind their ax in print in what was an otherwise enjoyable book.) But I had never heard of Argosy before and my curiosity was piqued, so negative comments notwithstanding, I decided to pay a brief visit to the store. I reserved a book (long sought-after) ahead of time because I knew I'd be on an extremely tight schedule with several stops to make in just a few hours' time. Calling to reserve the book was a pleasant, very efficient experience, with a prompt return call to confirm availability. When I stopped in to purchase the book, the greeting (by one of the sisters, I'm not sure which) was extremely pleasant, the service so prompt and also she informed me of a signed letter by the subject I was interested in (unfortunately, I was unable to purchase the letter that day). I found the photo of Lawrence Olivier and Vivien Leigh as Caesar (or Antony?) and Cleopatra which hangs over the register very interesting-- had seen it before in a book. My only disappointment was that I was unable to actually spend time in the store-- it looked so inviting! But I will make it a point to spend time there on my next visit. So you see, even bad publicity can be very beneficial! Thank you for an enjoyable, if brief, experience!
Thanks for the note. I'm actually in NY for a few days and was hoping to get there but have to head back tomorrow. I've been stopping by the Argosy for over 60 years starting when my mother would take me there after shopping at Bloomingdale's and lunch at a long gone restaurant on the east side of Lexington between 58th and 59th that was torn down to make way for Alexander's department store; that is gone too, of course.