Evelyn de Mille (August 1, 1919 – October 31, 2013) was a

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known for being the first woman in

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to own her own stand-alone

bookstore Bookselling is the commercial trading of books, which is the retail and distribution end of the publishing process. People who engage in bookselling are called booksellers, bookdealers, book people, bookmen, or bookwomen. History The found ...

.Evelyn de Mille
, ''

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''; URL accessed May 19, 2006. She opened her first bookstore in 1956.Brennan, Brian, "Evelyn de Mille: Book seller extraordinaire: After 43 years in the trade, retailer is ready to turn the page on an illustrious career Series: International Year of Older Persons",, Calgary Herald. Calgary Herald. Calgary, Alta.: Jun 27, 1999. pg. E.1.FRO In 1974 she became the first woman in Canada to found a bookstore chain. In 1972, she was the first female president of the

Canadian Booksellers Association The Canadian Booksellers Association (CBA) is an organization that promotes and advocates for Canadian booksellers, publishers and authors. Its membership is open to bookstore owners and "affiliated stakeholders" like authors and publishers. The org ...

. In this role, she helped found the ''Bookseller of the Year Awards''. In 1974 she sold her business to

W H Smith WH Smith plc, trading as WHSmith (also written WH Smith and formerly as W. H. Smith & Son), is a British retailer, with headquarters in Swindon, England, which operates a chain of railway station, airport, port, hospital and motorway service st ...

, with whom she was involved in a legal dispute. Evelyn de Mille bought the Owl's Nest bookstore in 1979 and operated it until she sold it in 1996. In 1999, she announced she was retiring permanently from the trade and would sell her last remaining book store, DeMille Technical Books. It was later sold to

McNally Robinson McNally Robinson Booksellers is a family-operated chain of Canadian independent bookstores founded in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1981. It is managed by new owners Chris Hall and Lori Baker, formerly managed by Holly and Paul McNally. As of 2019 it h ...

bookstore chain. In 1998, she was awarded an honorary degree as a Doctor of Laws by the

University of Calgary {{Infobox university , name = University of Calgary , image = University of Calgary coat of arms without motto scroll.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms , former ...

. DeMille Technical Books operated as part of McNally Robinson's Calgary store from 2002 until McNally Robinson closed the store in 2008. Under the advice and mentorship of Evelyn DeMille, the assets of DeMille Technical Books were bought by Charlie Perry and the bookstore was re-established under the name DeMille Technical and Business Books Ltd. The bookstore store continued to serve professionals, trades people and students from its location in downtown Calgary at (Second Level) Standard Life Tower, 639 5th Avenue S.W. Until a few months before her death Evelyn DeMille was an advocate of independent business and was an advisor to DeMille Books. In January 2016, DeMille Technical Books suspended its operations.Toneguzzi, Mario, "DeMille book store in downtown Calgary suspending operations".
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'', January 12, 2016. Evelyn purchased a page of the Gutenberg bible, and donated it to the University of Calgary, where it now resides in their library. This entry will be updated with news on her further willed donations and long-term support to the University of Calgary.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:De Mille, Evelyn Businesspeople from Calgary Canadian booksellers 1919 births 2013 deaths Canadian company founders Canadian women company founders

Further reading

References