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.