We are still here and have been making some amazing acquisitions

Thanks for looking at our blog and we are happy to be posting some good news about the store- we are moving higher on the local search results for bookstores in town and have been able to acquire some high quality books that are improving our stock and exciting to deal in.  We purchased a collection of high end fashion books, some of which are listed now and some photos of a book about Grace Coddington, the legendary stylist at Vogue, are pictured below.  We've also purchased some beautiful sets from the 1800s which are in solid shape and extremely decorative, for any of you reading this who appreciate the finer aspects of book binding.  We have 34 volumes of Walpole's writings bound in the same leather binding as the last photo, along with a beautiful 6 volume set of Smollett's Works from 1806.  We have purchased books on Ferraris, samurai swords, Oregon history and lots of stuff in between.  Please take a look at the photos below and let us know if you have anything special or interesting that you would like talk to us about selling.  Thanks for looking.

New Photography and Art Websites

So I have been interested in photography for quite a while, but only started taking pictures seriously in the last 9 months or so.  My Mother was a photographer when I was younger, though she now focuses more on her Chinese art, but I've always been interested in the medium and decided that I would pick up a camera and see what happened.  9 months later I decided to put up a photography site to let people see my work and so I thought I would post the link to it here, in case anyone is interested in taking a look at it.  I would love to hear your feedback if you have any, and my email is on the contact me link on the homepage.  www.nilehagen.com


The second thing I have been working on is a website showcasing some vintage magazine covers we got into the store a while ago.  They are beautiful examples of the Art Deco style and we have over 20 original Erte covers, if you happen to know who that is.  Most of them are available to be sold and generally on a frame to suit basis.  Please check out the site and let us know if you are interested in any of these beautiful, original pieces:

www.vintagemagazineart.com

Longfellow's Books Named One of Portland's Best Places 2010/2011!!!

Congratulations are in order for us as we have recently learned that we are to be included in the new edition of Portland's Best Places.  We have been included 4 times in the last 9 years and this year it is particularly gratifying as we have been particularly dedicated to keeping the store clean, presentable and chock full of beautiful books and magazines as of late.  You can find the link to the new edition here:  Amazon.com: Portland's Best Places and we hope you will check it out.

Beautiful sets for interior decorators and bibliophiles alike

We have had some contact from local interior decorators looking for attractive books to buy to fill the needs of their clients.  We also notice that some of the books we have in the store are quite attractive and would be to any bibliophile.  Making them even more interesting is the fact that most stores don't carry many multi-volume sets and that we love the quality of antique publishers in lots of cases, thus I thought I would post some photos of books- some recently acquired and others we have had for years that I know someone out there wants.  The first photo is of some limp suede leather volumes with beautiful gilt on the spines, and then there are some sets that I'm sure will interest some of you.  Honestly we have approximately 20 other sets which might be of interest if you are looking for such attractively bound books, not to mention all of the single volumes in the store.  Please let us know if you would like more information and we hope to see you in person.

Nile

A wonderful review of the store written by an intrepid bibliophile

One of our new customers is apparently a blogger, and a good one at that from what I can tell.  Tiah came into the store a couple of weeks ago and wrote a very nice review of the store on her blog, which we are providing a link to here.  Please take a look for some photos taken by a customer and her thoughts on the store, which include the words "chaotic" and "higgeldy-piggeldy" but only in the nicest possible way.  Thanks for looking and I will be posting some photos of some books new acquisitions in the next couple of days.

http://placeofpassage.com/2010/07/27/longfellows%C2%A0books/

Thank you very much for looking at our blog (Also, Dante's Infernos have sold)

We have had a recent rush of inquiries regarding one of our posts- the copies of Dante's Inferno from the mid-1800s.  While we wish we had a thousand copies of these books to sell, unfortunately they were sold within a month of acquiring them and we haven't seen any similar copies since.  We will certainly post photos of any copies we acquire in the future and we thank you very much for looking at our blog and website.  It appears as though traffic on the blog and site have picked up considerably as we went over a year without any inquiries regarding these books and now have had many in the last two weeks.  Thanks again for looking and we hope you will check back next time you are looking for rare/antiquarian/interesting materials.

My first music tip- Diane Birch

So I'm interested in music, as we all are. I spent a while refining my tastes and seeking out things that I like/which interest me. When you come into the store I might be playing anything from Prince, Aretha, Etta James, Van Morrison, Frightened Rabbit or something more obscure. That being said, if customers are in the store I normally lean towards more accessible, less funky/distracting music. I am a big fan of all kinds of music and feel obligated to endorse a friend's music, in case you haven't heard of her. Her name is Diane Birch and she was born in South Africa before moving to Los Angeles and living in Portland off and on, which is where she met a friend of mine and eventually me. She put out an album last year on S-Curve Records (Tom Jones' record label- awesome). She's a very talented pianist, writes all her own music, and is the proud owner of a beautiful voice. Her website is www.dianebirch.com and the cd is entitled 'Bible Belt'. I highly recommend you checking out her site, cd and everything else you can find. She is an extraordinarily talented woman and a great person to boot. Last thing: She played a show here and in Seattle last weekend and I got to see both of them. I took the photo posted above, and I will embed a couple of videos, including one featuring her singing with Daryl Hall from Hall and Oates (awesome again!). Also, my friend Colin referenced us on his blog, located at http://www.smoking-drinking.com/. He is an extremely creative and talented DJ, graphic artist and person. If you go to his site and search for Longfellows you will pull up a short post on the store with some photos.

You never know what you'll find in this place

I have been working here steadily for the last 3 years, and we have gone through many changes over that time. We have become more proficient at selling via the internet, including other third party sites like Amazon and Abebooks. We have upgraded the stock via acquisitions, estates, and paring back on some of the detritus that builds up over the years. My Father and I have become good friends again and enjoy one another's company. I've also gone through most of the books and picked out the strangest/most interesting things in my quest to learn more about books, the business and everything else. So it's now more rare for me to run across something that makes me smile and marvel at what we have tucked away in the many recesses of the store. However today I ran across a couple of things that made me do just that, so I thought that I would post them to let you get an idea of what you might find when you come into the store. I was looking for a book that had been ordered via Amazon and in doing so ran across a Photoplay edition of "Passage to Marseille", or "Man Without Country". This edition features Bogie, Humphrey Bogart himself, holding his trusty friend the cigarette and looking as distinguished as ever. I haven't seen the movie, but the photos on the front and back covers of the book make me want to. It's the kind of book you will never find in a corporate bookstore, and very rarely in any bookstore period. It's next to a similar book featuring Spencer Tracey and Katharine Hepburn on the front cover, with the title being "Keeper of the Flame". They are symbols of a bygone era. I also ran across an old issue of "The American Poetry Review" featuring selections from Pablo Neruda and a photo of the poet himself on the front cover. It dates from 1981 and I can't imagine how a fan of Neruda wouldn't want something like this. What I've noticed is that most people don't realize that items like these exist, at least the younger generation doesn't think about them, so I wanted to make a quick post about the strange and wonderful things you find when you have your nose pressed into a book all day. Thanks for looking. longfellowspdx@comcast.net or 503 239-5222.

More Magazines- Music, Culture, Art, Nostalgia, Beauty+ Everything Else

I want to post more photos of the kinds of magazines we have downstairs. There is a literal treasure trove of things to see there, and we hope that you will come in and take a look at some of them. They are perfect for graphic designers, artists, dreamers, thinkers, even interior decorators. There is a little something for everyone, and if it's not for you, something would be great as a gift for someone you like or even love. Again, we have magazines from every week from 1950-2000, plus ones from every month back through 1920 and a large selection from the teens. Thanks again for looking- longfellowspdx@comcast.net or 503 239-5222 if you would like to contact us.

Huge Selection of Magazines- Perfect for Birthday Gifts, Conversation Starters, Decoration

As I've always been surrounded by old paper, magazines and ephemera I am mostly desensitized to the awesome things I see on a daily basis. At the same time, there are some magazines and images that are always going to catch my eye. I love magazines dealing with Muhammad Ali/Cassius Clay, plus the old baseball magazines always offer a different view of celebrity and sport than we have today. The fashion magazines give us a different view of clothing, gender, aesthetics and everything else. Playboy and Playgirl do the same thing. A magazine from the 1950s is completely different than one from the 1970s. And we are lucky enough to have extensive collections of magazines dating back to the teens and earlier. I am attaching photos to this post, and I would encourage you to come in and ask me to find you something that interests you from our stock of magazines. Unfortunately our basement is too crowded and dusty to be browsed, but I have a good idea of what is down there and can bring things up for you to peruse if you are interested in a specific subject, era or person. Thanks for looking. Contact us at longfellowspdx@comcast.net or 503 239-5222.

Treasure Hunting/Railroad Magazines from the 1930s-1980s

In an effort to push some of the more esoteric and specialized stock onto you, the unsuspecting public, I'm posting here regarding our collections of treasure hunting and railroad magazines. We have hundreds of treasure magazines with titles like Lost Treasure, Eastern and Western Treasure, Treasure Search, etc. They are mostly from the 1970s and 80s, and I've included a photo here to give you an idea. The railroad magazines are titles like Railroad, Trains, Railroad Conductor, etc. They are from the 1930s-60s, with some later Model Railroader and similar titles thrown in for good measure. Please contact us at longfellowspdx@comcast.net or 503 239-5222 if you are interested in knowing more about them.

N.H.

Thank you very much for looking

After a year and a half I am back again to give you a quick update on what's happening with the store. My Father and I have been getting along pretty well- his health is holding up and I am nearly recovered from a fairly serious concussion I suffered in January 2010. Since I last posted we have acquired a beautiful collection of academic books, 60 boxes of high quality volumes dealing with Ancient Greece and Rome, Mythology, Art, Philosophy, Primitive Societies and more. We have been selling a large quantity of those books online but encourage anyone to come in and browse our stock in the afternoons. I will try to post photos soon. We have also started a Google marketing campaign to let people know that we have rare books, magazines and ephemera. Also to emphasize that we also buy high quality books and pay cash- we are one of the few bookstores in town other than Powell's to do so. January was a great month for us because of back to school sales, and this year has started well, so we will cross our fingers that this year will hold up, as 2009 was quite slow for us, just as it was for everyone else we've talked to. Thanks again for reading, and feel free to contact us at longfellowspdx@comcast.net or 503 239-5222.