Strand Books

OTHER LOCATIONS

HOURS
Monday - Saturday - 9:30am - 10:30pm
Sunday - 11 - 10:30pm
Rare Book Room Closes Daily at 6:20pm

In 1927, Ben Bass opened Strand Book Store on 4th Ave, which at the time was home to New York's legendary Book Row.  Named after the famous publishing street in London, the Strand was one of 48 bookstores on Book Row, which started in the 1890's and ran from Union Square to Astor Place. Today, the Strand is the sole survivor.

As the Strand grew in size, the store developed the tagline: "8 miles of books," a measurement that eventually grew to reach 18 miles.

In addition to carrying an overwhelming amount of books, The Strand is further known for their great prices. They carry used books, thousands of new titles at 50% off the cover price, "front list" books and one of the largest collections of art books and rare books in all of New York City.

Another interesting aspect of the Strand is their "books by the foot program", which allows Interior decorators, film/TV set decorators and homeowners the opportunity to buy books in bulk to help fill out your library.

An entertaining example of this program was covered by Austin Kelly in his 2007 New Yorker story Books in Bulk, in which a Strand employee discusses the task of selecting books for decorating purposes.  The employee sites many examples of this program, but one that particularly stands out is the request she received from the set decorators of the film "Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of Crystal Skull."  What type of books would Indiana Jones need?  How about books on paleontology, marine biology and pre-columbian society - all in muted colors that predate 1957.  The article can found here: