The Argosy Book Store is

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

's oldest

independent bookstore An independent bookstore is a retail bookstore which is independently owned. Usually, independent stores consist of only a single actual store (although there are some multi-store independents). They may be structured as sole proprietorships, ...

. Located at 116 East

59th Street 59th Street station may refer to: *59th Street (BMT Fourth Avenue Line) in Brooklyn, New York; serving the trains *59th Street (IRT Third Avenue Line) a demolished elevated station in Manhattan *59th Street (IRT Ninth Avenue Line) a demolished ele ...

in Midtown

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the List of co ...

, it occupies an entire six-story

townhouse A townhouse, townhome, town house, or town home, is a type of terraced housing. A modern townhouse is often one with a small footprint on multiple floors. In a different British usage, the term originally referred to any type of city residence ...

with various sales floors specializing in first editions,

Americana Americana may refer to: *Americana (music), a genre or style of American music *Americana (culture), artifacts of the culture of the United States Film, radio and television * ''Americana'' (1992 TV series), a documentary series presented by J ...

, leather bindings, antique maps and prints, and autographs. The store, also noted for a wide selection of bargain books, has its own framing and shipping departments and owns a large warehouse in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...

History

The Argosy was founded in 1925 by Louis Cohen, who picked the name, in part, because it started with the letter "A" and would be listed early in telephone directories. Originally located in the old Bible House on Fourth Avenue's famed "Book Row," it moved to 114 East 59th Street in the 1930s and then moved next door to its current address in 1964 when the previous building was replaced with a skyscraper. Cohen's wife, Ruth Shevin, managed the store's art gallery into her 90s"A shrine to books past clings to independence"
''

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'' (October 13, 1997) and worked with several other family members over the years. Now in its third generation of family ownership, the store is operated by Cohen's three daughters and grandson. Since its inception, the Argosy has worked with many prominent customers, including President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

, who ordered books from an early catalogue, and later First Lady

Jacqueline Kennedy Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis ( ; July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994) was an American socialite, writer, photographer, and book editor who served as first lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. A po ...

, who needed help stocking the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, Washington, D.C., NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. preside ...

library with Americana. President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (Birth name, né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 ...

has been a regular customer ever since the owners restored his flood-damaged collection of books in

Chappaqua Chappaqua ( ) is a hamlet and census-designated place in the town of New Castle, in northern Westchester County, New York, United States. It is approximately north of New York City. The hamlet is served by the Chappaqua station of the Metro-N ...

, New York. Other high-profile customers have included

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

, Stephen Sondheim,

Princess Grace Grace Patricia Kelly (November 12, 1929 – September 14, 1982) was an American actress who, after starring in several significant films in the early to mid-1950s, became Princess of Monaco by marrying Prince Rainier III in April 1956. Kelly ...

Sally Field Sally Margaret Field (born November 6, 1946) is an American actress. She has received many awards and nominations, including two Academy Awards, three Primetime Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a Cannes Film F ...

Donatella Versace Donatella Francesca Versace (; born 2 May 1955) is an Italian fashion designer, businesswoman, socialite, and model. She is the sister of Gianni Versace, founder of the luxury fashion company Versace, with whom she worked closely on the devel ...

Oriana Fallaci Oriana Fallaci (; 29 June 1929 – 15 September 2006) was an Italian journalist and author. A partisan during World War II, she had a long and successful journalistic career. Fallaci became famous worldwide for her coverage of war and revolution ...

, and

Kevin Rudd Kevin Michael Rudd (born 21 September 1957) is an Australian former politician and diplomat who served as the 26th prime minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010 and again from June 2013 to September 2013, holding office as the leader of the ...

Patti Smith Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter and author who became an influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album ''Horses''. Called the "punk poet ...

was briefly an employee in 1967. In October 2012 the Argosy suffered extensive damage during

Hurricane Sandy Hurricane Sandy (unofficially referred to as ''Superstorm Sandy'') was an extremely destructive and strong Atlantic hurricane, as well as the largest Atlantic hurricane on record as measured by diameter, with tropical-storm-force winds span ...

, when bricks dislodged from the 32nd story of the adjacent building and crashed through the store's roof. The resulting flood affected the top two floors and destroyed many historical artifacts, including acts of congress signed by

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was previously the nati ...

. The store made a full recovery by the fall of 2013.

In popular culture

The Argosy, known for its elegant old-world interior, has been used as a setting for movies and TV dramas, including ''

The Front ''The Front'' is a 1976 drama film set against the Hollywood blacklist in the 1950s, when artists, writers, directors, and others were rendered unemployable, having been accused of subversive political activities in support of Communism or of b ...

'' with

Woody Allen Heywood "Woody" Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American film director, writer, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades and multiple Academy Award-winning films. He began his career writing ...

, ''

Law and Order In modern politics, law and order is the approach focusing on harsher enforcement and penalties as ways to reduce crime. Penalties for perpetrators of disorder may include longer terms of imprisonment, mandatory sentencing, three-strikes laws a ...

'', and ''

Person of Interest "Person of interest" is a term used by law enforcement in the United States, Canada, and other countries when identifying someone possibly involved in a criminal investigation who has not been arrested or formally accused of a crime. It has no le ...

''. Alfred Hitchcock's film ''

Vertigo Vertigo is a condition where a person has the sensation of movement or of surrounding objects moving when they are not. Often it feels like a spinning or swaying movement. This may be associated with nausea, vomiting, sweating, or difficulties ...

'' also features a bookstore of the same name situated in San Francisco. It has also been used as a background for fashion shoots and television interviews. It was prominently featured in the 2018 movie ''

Can You Ever Forgive Me? ''Can You Ever Forgive Me?'' is a 2018 American biographical film directed by Marielle Heller and with a screenplay by Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty, based on the 2008 confessional memoir of the same name by Lee Israel. Melissa McCarthy stars ...

'' and is among the New York bookstores where the real-life

Lee Israel Leonore Carol "Lee" Israel (December 3, 1939 – December 24, 2014) was an American author known for committing literary forgery. Her 2008 confessional autobiography ''Can You Ever Forgive Me?'' was adapted into the 2018 film of the same name s ...

had attempted to sell her forgeries. It was also featured in the 2019 movie '' The Goldfinch''. The store and its history was the subject of the 2019 documentary ''

The Booksellers ''The Booksellers'' is a 2019 American documentary film that was directed, edited, and produced by D.W. Young. It was executive produced by Parker Posey, who also provides narration in the film. The film explores the world of antiquarian and rar ...

''.

References

External links

Official Argosy Book Store websiteArticle in ''The New Yorker'': Argosy Book StoreArticle in the ''Los Angeles Times''Spanish article in ''Nuestro Tiempo''
{{Coord, 40.7624, -73.9691, type:landmark_region:US-NY, display=title Bookstores in Manhattan Independent bookstores of the United States Antiquarian booksellers Book selling websites Midtown Manhattan Shops in New York City Bookstores established in the 20th century American companies established in 1925 Retail companies established in 1925 1925 establishments in New York City