Gotham Book Mart

The Gotham Book Mart was a famous midtown Manhattan bookstore and cultural landmark that operated from 1920 to 2007. The business was located first in a small basement space on West 45th Street near the Theater District, it then moved to 51 West 47th Street, then spent many years at 41 West 47th Street within the Diamond District in Manhattan, New York City, before finally moving to 16 East 46th Street. Beyond merely selling books, the store virtually played as a literary salon, hosting meetings of the Finnegans Wake Society, the James Joyce Society, poetry and author readings, art exhibits, and more. It was known for its distinctive sign above the door which read, "Wise Men Fish Here" (sign created by artist John Held, Jr.). The store specialized in poetry, literature, books about theater, art, music and dance. It sold both new books as well as out-of-print and rare books.

The store was opened January 1, 1920 by Frances (Fanny) Steloff. Steloff's husband, David Moss, suggested both the store's name and its "Wise Men..." motto, which was inspired by Washington Irving. Steloff nurtured the store as a literary sanctuary for the avant-garde, distributing copies of the banned Lady Chatterley's Lover, Henry Miller's Tropic of Cancer, and safeguarded Anais Nin's books when she fled Paris. Under Steloff's oversight, the store became a meeting place for the literati and 20th century cultural icons, essentially serving as a literary salon.

In February 1947, the James Joyce Society was founded at the Gotham with its first president, John Slocum (a Joyce bibliographer) and Steloff was its first treasurer. The first member was T.S. Eliot.

The success of the store was partly due to Steloff's demanding nature and attention to quality, as well as business acumen. Steloff lived in an apartment above the store and later sold it in 1967 to book lover Andreas Brown. Upon selling the store to Brown, Steloff told him that he was not the owner, but the caretaker or custodian. Steloff continued working at the store as a consultant after selling it.

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