A look inside NYC’s oldest independent bookstore
Inside NYC’s oldest independent bookstore
Tucked away on East 59th Street, across from Bloomingdale’s, is a true New York City treasure — Argosy Book Store, the oldest independent bookstore in the five boroughs. Founded in 1925, the family-run shop has thrived for a century through six generations, offering everything from rare first editions to signed memorabilia from historical icons. FOX 5’s Richard Giacovas takes us on a journey inside this literary time capsule.
NEW YORK CITY - New York City has no shortage of bookstores, but one in Midtown has been in business for nearly a century.
Back in 1925, a little-known bookstore was born – and this year, Argosy Book Store, on 59th St. across from Bloomingdale's, turns 100.
Dig deeper:
In the autograph department on the top floor, beyond the books, co-owner Adina Cohen has famous letters signed by Civil War heroes and photographs with signatures penned by legendary icons such as Liza Minnelli.
There's even a check signed by Clark Gable – all for sale.
Adina, along with sister Judith Lowry and nephew Ben, are continuing the next chapter in the bookstore journey. Argosy was passed down to Judith and Adina by their father, who worked in a bookstore in high school as an after-school job. His dream was to open one of his own, so he did back in 1925.
Richard Rosenblatt is the man in charge of restoration. He's been rebinding and repainting hundreds of books a day for nearly four decades.
Rosenblatt treats every book with TLC, even the weathered bindings that are exempt from restoration because they're just too delicate to handle.
What they're saying:
Despite new offers coming in almost daily to buy this piece of storied history, Ben says the answer is always no, thank you.
"Cold calls and people coming in and offers, some very good offers," Ben said. "It's really not on the table, it's, you know, I have two kids, and someday, hopefully they'll join the fold."
The backstory:
Why did Mr. Cohen chose the name Argosy?
When choosing the letter, "A" would put the store at the top of the phone book directory.