Printers Inc. Bookstore
TypePrivate subsidiary
Founded1978 (1978)[1]
FounderJerry Shurtleff (co-founder)[2]
Defunct2001 (2001)
FateOut of Business
Headquarters310 California Ave, Palo Alto, CA
301 Castro Street, Mountain View, CA[3]
Number of locations
2
Area served
Palo Alto, Stanford, Mountain View, Menlo Park, California, United States
Key people
Susan MacDonald and Gerry Masteller (to 1999)
Matthew Duran (to 2001)[4]
Products
  • Books
  • Magazines
Websitepibooks.com (Historic)

Printers Inc. Bookstore (1978–2001) was an independent bookstore in Palo Alto and Mountain View, California, that closed in 2001. Printers Inc is referenced in sonnets 8.13-8.16 of Vikram Seth's 1986 novel, The Golden Gate.[5][6][7]

History

In 1978,[1] five Kepler's Books alumni (including Jeffrey Shurtleff and Anne Leathers) founded Printers Inc. Bookstore. The original Palo Alto store at 310 California Avenue[8] occupied a former thrift store location.[2][9][10][11] A second store was located at 301 Castro Street in Mountain View, California.[8] Printers Inc. Bookstore was also a popular destination for Stanford University students.[12] The Printers Inc. Cafe originally shared space in the California Avenue branch in Palo Alto[13] and subsequently moved next door.[8] American author Frances Mayes describes this history in her 2006 memoir, A Year in the World: Journeys of a Passionate Traveller:

Susan and Kate, with their friend Jeffrey, then opened Printers Inc., a literary bookstore on California Avenue in Palo Alto. They installed a coffee bar/cafe,[14] which was revolutionary. No other bookstore in California, or maybe the United States, had done that in 1978. We were sipping cappuccinos and reading Merwin at Printers long before Starbucks ever pulled an espresso. The bookstore for its whole life was a fulcrum for the entire community and surroundings. Meet me at Printers. Eventually they expanded into an adjacent building for a larger cafe. The reading series was stellar. They opened a second store.[15]

In the early 1990s, chain bookstores such as Borders and Barnes & Noble began to compete with independent bookstores such as Printers Inc.[1][2] The rise of Amazon.com also affected Printers Inc. and other independent bookstores.[16] Thus, in December 1998, Printers Inc. announced that it would be closing.[8][12][17] The local community protested the closing, however, as the owners began to search for a new partner.[18] In March 1999 Printers Inc. was resurrected under new management.[4][19] This management lasted until 2001 when Printers Inc. Bookstore closed for good.[20][21][22][23] The Printers Inc. Cafe, however, did not close as it is under different management.[8][20][24]

Documentary

The 2006 documentary Indies Under Fire tells the story of Printers Inc. and other independent bookstores affected by the new economy.[25] Director Jacob Bricca stated that he made the documentary after Printers Inc. closed: "I took the [store's closing] very personally ... I grew up in Palo Alto and spent many hours reading and hanging out at Printers Inc. I saw the strong connection the community had to the bookstore and, like others in the film, was very distressed at its closing."[26]

Photographs

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Kazak, Don (June 5, 1996). "BUSINESS: Borders opens today downtown". Palo Alto Weekly. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 Hayde, Monica (December 11, 1994). "The novel approach". Palo Alto Weekly. Retrieved August 10, 2015.
  3. ↑ "A WORD TO READERS". San Francisco Chronicle. September 23, 1999. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
  4. 1 2 Kazak, Don (March 26, 1999). "BUSINESS: Palo Alto Printers Inc. to remain open". Palo Alto Weekly. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
  5. ↑ Seth, Vikram. The Golden Gate, (New York, Vintage, 1991): 179-180
  6. ↑ Bobb, Dilip (June 15, 1986). "Vikram Seth: Literary sensation". India Today. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
  7. ↑ Haven, Cynthia (November 23, 2010). "Happy birthday, Bell's Books!". Stanford University. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 Breitrose, Charlie (December 11, 1998). "COMMUNITY: Printers Inc. will shut down in March". Palo Alto Weekly. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
  9. ↑ Harrington, Jim (September 10, 1997). "Sweet home, California". Palo Alto Weekly. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
  10. ↑ Margolies, Elliot (September 22, 2006). "Battle of the bookstores:New documentary follows the struggles of small California booksellers". Palo Alto Weekly. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
  11. ↑ Doyle, Michael (October 31, 2005). "How Kepler's changed the world". Palo Alto Weekly. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
  12. ↑ Brown, Kim (1980). "BOOKSTORES". The Stanford Daily, Volume 178, Issue 50, 10 December 1980. Retrieved December 27, 2015.
  13. ↑ "Printers Inc. Bookstore & Coffee Bar (Book Cover)". Retrieved December 30, 2015.
  14. ↑ Mayes, Frances (2006). "A Year in the World: Journeys of a Passionate Traveller". Broadway Books, p. 330. Retrieved December 27, 2015.
  15. ↑ Kazak, Don (December 16, 1998). "Our Town: Amazon.com'd". Palo Alto Weekly. Retrieved August 10, 2015.
  16. ↑ Zinko, Carolyne (December 26, 1998). "Internet Smashing Small Bookstores / Printers Inc. in Palo Alto to close". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
  17. ↑ Kazak, Don (February 3, 1999). "BUSINESS: Printers Inc. owners still looking for partner". Palo Alto Weekly. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
  18. ↑ "For Printers Inc., a Surprise Ending". Stanford University. 1999. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
  19. 1 2 "MOUNTAIN VIEW / Books Inc. takes over Printers Inc. location". San Francisco Chronicle. June 18, 2001. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
  20. ↑ Bloss, Jaime (April 20, 2001). "Time running out for Printers Inc". Palo Alto Weekly. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
  21. ↑ Bloss, Jaime (April 27, 2001). "Palo Alto Printers Inc. to close". Palo Alto Weekly. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
  22. ↑ Kazak, Done (July 4, 2001). "Saving a bookstore: When Printers Inc. in Palo Alto shut down about a month ago, it felt like a connection with an earlier time had been severed". Palo Alto Weekly. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
  23. ↑ Harris, Malcolm (September 23, 2011). "Obituary: Borders Books and Music". The New Inquiry. Retrieved December 27, 2015.
  24. ↑ Schwartz, Nomi (October 17, 2006). "Bookstores to Offer Screenings of Indies Under Fire -". American Booksellers Association. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
  25. ↑ Schwartz, Nomi (August 23, 2006). "Indies Under Fire: Bookstore Battles on Film". American Booksellers Association. Retrieved October 29, 2015.

37°25′39″N 122°08′40″W / 37.4274°N 122.1444°W / 37.4274; -122.1444

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