THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Features CHURCHILL at CHARTWELL
> READ THE FULL ARTICLE at WSJ.com
Selling the Myriad Products of Churchill's Toil and Sweat, by Joanne Kaufman, in the December 11, 2008, issue of the Wall Street Journal, offers readers an insight into the history and development of Chartwell Booksellers on the occasion of the store's 25th anniversary.
According to proprietor Barry Singer, Chartwell, which is now in its 25th anniversary year, is the world's largest dealer in Churchill materials -- books, photographs, signed documents and ephemera. There's even a Toby jug or two.
Out-of-print collectible copies of Sir Winston's 34-book oeuvre, many of them first editions, line the back shelves of the store, which is tucked into the arcade of Park Avenue Plaza, an office building on East 52nd Street.
The article highlights some of the store's more notable clients, including Henry Kissinger, Caspar Weinberger, and Rudolph Giuliani:
"In the first few days after 9/11," continued Mr. Singer, "Rudy kept holding up this book 'Five Days in London,' which was written by John Lukacs about Churchill just after he became prime minister and the Nazis were bombing the hell out of London and his own people were pressing him to make peace with Germany and get out of the war. Rudy said 'this is what I'm reading to get through the crisis.' At the time we sold that book hugely."
In 2008 Chartwell Booksellers celebrated its 25th year as an independent bookstore in the heart of midtown Manhattan - the only standing bookshop in the world devoted to the writings of Winston Churchill.
STORE HOURS
MONDAY through Friday10:00 to 6:00
SATURDAYS (December Only)
10:00 to 6:00
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