Here at the end of February, 2010, the last Duthie Bookstore has closed for good.
All the books are gone. The 53rd and Last Annual Book Sale began January 28th and within one week there were almost no books left. At 40% and then 60% off, the books flew off the shelves; in the end it wasn’t so much the books themselves that customers wanted, it was mementos of the last books bought at Duthies.
By the middle of February, all the last books were boxed up - amounting to 30 small boxes- and given to the Vancouver School board. The store is bare, with empty shelves and magazine racks, and Vancouver, after 53 years with one, then several, then many and then again one Duthie bookstore, is completely without a Duthies. It is, as many mournfully remark, the ‘end of an era’.
Crap.
ReplyDeleteA few days ago I found a Duthie's bookmark hidden inside a dusty old book on UBC bookshelf. I was completely taken by the 1960s-era graphics and had no choice but to tuck it in my book and sneak it home. I'm so glad I came across your blog and can read about the history of this important place. It certainly stays alive through your writing. Cheers!
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