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<b>Bonhams:</b> MANDELSHTAM, OSIP. 1891-1938. Autograph Manuscript, 2 pp, [Petersburg,] January 1913, entitled

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Booking It in Europe - By Karen Wright Amsterdam's Book Exchange specializes in books in English. Gracious sakes, where do I start? We have two grandkids in Holland -- Amsterdam to be exact -- and they keep asking us to come over there and visit. It’s a long way and a very expensive proposition to go, so we figured as long as we were “across the pond,” we would take some time to gad about the continent…our version of the grand tour. We managed to take in six countries and an island in six weeks. Lots of castles, lots of wine and cheese, and of course, being who I am, I had to search out at least one or two bookstores in each town we went to. Though this is by no means a complete catalog of bookstores, it is a pictorial essay of what we found. We began in Amsterdam and found quite a number of boekhandels or bookstores, but not very many where English language books were available. I was glad I had taken along four or five paperbacks from my library to read as I wasn’t sure how many English books I’d find and I don’t speak a word of Dutch. Goddess forbid I should find myself on a plane or bullet train without something to read! The Het Spui Square near the Begijnhof, a Catholic sisterhood, is where a lot of the bookstores and cafes are located. There is a Waterstone’s and the American Book Center, both of which sell new English-language books. More English books, or Engelsboeken, are available at the English Bookshop at The Jordaan. Though there are plenty of used bookstores, the best place to rummage is at the Thieves Market. There are hundreds of booths with all kinds of stuff of every kind. We were warned to watch out for pickpockets because, as my son said, “They don’t call it the Thieves Market for nothing, you know.” I found a great pair of brown cowboy boots and four boxes of books at one stall. Another stall was just devoted to used books, boxes and boxes of them with their titles set up so they were pretty easy to peruse. Mixed in among dozens of Dutch, French, German, and other language books, one could find a few English or American titles. One store in particular, The Book Exchange, catered to English language books and, as titled, did exchanges. The owner said that he had the largest number of used English books in Amsterdam.
Booking It in Europe - By Karen Wright Shakespeare & Co. of Paris. Our next stop was Paris, and I have to admit, we only had three days there, so we didn’t get to too many book stores. Many of the places we would have liked to have gone were so crowded with people that one could spend 2-3 hours in line just waiting for a ticket. As one British friend said, “Brits love to queue up.” I replied, “Americans don’t,” so we didn’t. It was virtually impossible to relax and enjoy seeing a place like Notre Dame because of the people who were packed in shoulder to shoulder. We did go to Musee Cluny, which was not crowded, and was fantastic. We felt privileged to see the famous, exquisite tapestries “La Dame a la Licorne” or the Lady and the Unicorn. However, the two bookstores we did find were great. Shakespeare and Company is quite a well known store in bookselling circles. It is definitely not “just a bookstore” but a haven for booklovers and authors. They have events, festivals, and book signings. When we were there they were having a poetry reading on the second floor. The place is so packed with books that it is very difficult to maneuver around inside because it was also packed with people. But then we found most of Paris to be that way. Everywhere we went was so crowded we could barely breathe. Shakespeare & Co. has quite a long history. It was originally called Le Mistral and established in 1951. The name was later changed to Shakespeare & Co. by the owner, George Whitman, a former professor of physics, author of science books, soldier, and world traveler. He was a close friend of Lawrence Ferlinghetti and has entertained Henry Miller, Anais Nin, Lawrence Durrell and Allen Ginsburg, and many other well-known writers, in his store and in his home. He is hospitable, interesting, and some say, eccentric. Others called him “a light in a dull and homogenized world.” He is presently retired and still living in Paris and nearly 100 years old. He must be doing something right.
Booking It in Europe - By Karen Wright Paris' Abbey Bookshop, inside and out. Our next discovery was The Abbey Bookshop on Rue de la Parcheminerie in the Latin Quarter. It is a great favorite with the ex-pat community. It is owned by Mr. Brian Pence, a Canadian who opened the store twenty-three years ago. He had a great selection of books both in English and in many other languages. Again, they were piled so high and there were so many, that it would have taken a week just to get an idea of what was there. They say they have 37,000 new and used books in English and will do special orders. There is a tiny, steep stairway that goes down into the basement and another that goes upstairs. Only in Europe could you find a bookstore this charming and cluttered, but still orderly. The next day we strolled the Left Bank and saw lots and lots of the famous book stalls and artist’s stalls that line the sidewalk. I bought one small book (no luggage space for more) for my own collection of American West (in Paris, no less). The next morning we made our way, dragging our suitcases behind us, to Gare Lyon (the train station) to go to Nice, then change trains to Monaco, a long and tortuous journey. We were met there by our good friend Walter Raymond, Monaco’s Episcopal Priest, and settled into his guest room to take a few days off. Monaco is a haven for the super-rich. We did not find any bookstores of note, but we didn’t look too hard. There were a couple of small stores in which most of the books were in French and a few in Spanish, but they were so expensive, like everything else in Monaco, that we didn’t tarry. People don’t go to Monaco to read as far as we could see, they go there to shop, gamble, and see and be seen. Everything is fantastically expensive and if we hadn’t had a good pal to stay with, we would not have gone there. We did get to go to one of the most extraordinary botanical cactus and succulent gardens we’ve ever seen. When we left Monaco, we trained off to visit artist friends near Le Lavandou, France which is quite near Cannes. They own a farm which is also the site of a number of Roman and older ruins. They have adapted the remains and built an extraordinary house and cottage on the footprints of the old ruins. Needless to say, they live in a very remote area, so there were no more book stores for the next week. Next month we’ll travel to Spain and Portugal and see what we can find.

Booking It in Europe

- By Karen Wright

Amsterdam's Book Exchange specializes in books in English.

Gracious sakes, where do I start? We have two grandkids in Holland -- Amsterdam to be exact -- and they keep asking us to come over there and visit. It’s a long way and a very expensive proposition to go, so we figured as long as we were “across the pond,” we would take some time to gad about the continent…our version of the grand tour.

We managed to take in six countries and an island in six weeks. Lots of castles, lots of wine and cheese, and of course, being who I am, I had to search out at least one or two bookstores in each town we went to. Though this is by no means a complete catalog of bookstores, it is a pictorial essay of what we found.

We began in Amsterdam and found quite a number of boekhandels or bookstores, but not very many where English language books were available. I was glad I had taken along four or five paperbacks from my library to read as I wasn’t sure how many English books I’d find and I don’t speak a word of Dutch. Goddess forbid I should find myself on a plane or bullet train without something to read!

The Het Spui Square near the Begijnhof, a Catholic sisterhood, is where a lot of the bookstores and cafes are located. There is a Waterstone’s and the American Book Center, both of which sell new English-language books. More English books, or Engelsboeken, are available at the English Bookshop at The Jordaan.

Though there are plenty of used bookstores, the best place to rummage is at the Thieves Market. There are hundreds of booths with all kinds of stuff of every kind. We were warned to watch out for pickpockets because, as my son said, “They don’t call it the Thieves Market for nothing, you know.” I found a great pair of brown cowboy boots and four boxes of books at one stall. Another stall was just devoted to used books, boxes and boxes of them with their titles set up so they were pretty easy to peruse. Mixed in among dozens of Dutch, French, German, and other language books, one could find a few English or American titles. One store in particular, The Book Exchange, catered to English language books and, as titled, did exchanges. The owner said that he had the largest number of used English books in Amsterdam.

Booking It in Europe

- By Karen Wright

Shakespeare & Co. of Paris.

Our next stop was Paris, and I have to admit, we only had three days there, so we didn’t get to too many book stores. Many of the places we would have liked to have gone were so crowded with people that one could spend 2-3 hours in line just waiting for a ticket. As one British friend said, “Brits love to queue up.” I replied, “Americans don’t,” so we didn’t. It was virtually impossible to relax and enjoy seeing a place like Notre Dame because of the people who were packed in shoulder to shoulder. We did go to Musee Cluny, which was not crowded, and was fantastic. We felt privileged to see the famous, exquisite tapestries “La Dame a la Licorne” or the Lady and the Unicorn.

However, the two bookstores we did find were great. Shakespeare and Company is quite a well known store in bookselling circles. It is definitely not “just a bookstore” but a haven for booklovers and authors. They have events, festivals, and book signings. When we were there they were having a poetry reading on the second floor. The place is so packed with books that it is very difficult to maneuver around inside because it was also packed with people. But then we found most of Paris to be that way. Everywhere we went was so crowded we could barely breathe.

Shakespeare & Co. has quite a long history. It was originally called Le Mistral and established in 1951. The name was later changed to Shakespeare & Co. by the owner, George Whitman, a former professor of physics, author of science books, soldier, and world traveler. He was a close friend of Lawrence Ferlinghetti and has entertained Henry Miller, Anais Nin, Lawrence Durrell and Allen Ginsburg, and many other well-known writers, in his store and in his home. He is hospitable, interesting, and some say, eccentric. Others called him “a light in a dull and homogenized world.” He is presently retired and still living in Paris and nearly 100 years old. He must be doing something right.

Booking It in Europe

- By Karen Wright

Paris' Abbey Bookshop, inside and out.

Our next discovery was The Abbey Bookshop on Rue de la Parcheminerie in the Latin Quarter. It is a great favorite with the ex-pat community. It is owned by Mr. Brian Pence, a Canadian who opened the store twenty-three years ago. He had a great selection of books both in English and in many other languages. Again, they were piled so high and there were so many, that it would have taken a week just to get an idea of what was there. They say they have 37,000 new and used books in English and will do special orders. There is a tiny, steep stairway that goes down into the basement and another that goes upstairs. Only in Europe could you find a bookstore this charming and cluttered, but still orderly.

The next day we strolled the Left Bank and saw lots and lots of the famous book stalls and artist’s stalls that line the sidewalk. I bought one small book (no luggage space for more) for my own collection of American West (in Paris, no less). The next morning we made our way, dragging our suitcases behind us, to Gare Lyon (the train station) to go to Nice, then change trains to Monaco, a long and tortuous journey. We were met there by our good friend Walter Raymond, Monaco’s Episcopal Priest, and settled into his guest room to take a few days off.

Monaco is a haven for the super-rich. We did not find any bookstores of note, but we didn’t look too hard. There were a couple of small stores in which most of the books were in French and a few in Spanish, but they were so expensive, like everything else in Monaco, that we didn’t tarry. People don’t go to Monaco to read as far as we could see, they go there to shop, gamble, and see and be seen. Everything is fantastically expensive and if we hadn’t had a good pal to stay with, we would not have gone there. We did get to go to one of the most extraordinary botanical cactus and succulent gardens we’ve ever seen. When we left Monaco, we trained off to visit artist friends near Le Lavandou, France which is quite near Cannes. They own a farm which is also the site of a number of Roman and older ruins. They have adapted the remains and built an extraordinary house and cottage on the footprints of the old ruins. Needless to say, they live in a very remote area, so there were no more book stores for the next week. Next month we’ll travel to Spain and Portugal and see what we can find.