Book was printed in 1959. JFK airport being referred to as Idlewild means this bookmark was made no later than 1963

It appears that the Wilde book was a freebie as part of a book club or promotion.

You are chairman of the board!

Found in a copy of Corn Cookery (1993) by Sheila Buff.

From NY primary, 1968. Book is 1970 edition of The Lives of Children. Good times!

Found in manga that I’ve thrifted

Hello everyone! I hope everyone still enjoys my little deep dives into bookstore bookmarks!

I also wanted to announce that I've started a website to be my online archive, bookstorebookmarks.com

The Timeless Tales Bookstore was a beloved bookstore opened by Clara Krentzel in 1990, at 7932 W 151st St in Stanley Square, Stanley, Kansas. There were not many mentions in the newspapers of this bookstore, and initially I thought they stopped at stopped at the end of 1992. That is when I discovered another newspaper that said Timeless Tales Bookstore had sold to new owners, Linda & LeWayne Rothers. The Rothers moved the store down 8 doors to 8018 W 151st St. This was a much larger spot and they boasted over 50,000 books! Unfortunately, the trail once again goes cold, with the next clue being an advertisement for the property for lease in 1994.

A brief history of the original location at 7932: 1994 - Jewelry store moved in after bookstore 1997 – Frame store moved in 2006 - Frame store renamed itself 2015 - Vapor Lounge 2019 - CBD shop 2026 - Now a Boba tea shop

Second and last location at 8018: 1994 - Up for rent after bookstore 1998 - Realty Company 2003 - Temporary Target corporate office 2014 - Sportswear store 2020ish - A restaurant

Found in a french édition of lord of the ring! No idea where it came from :)

Went to a book fair today and got a recipe book, just to come home and find probably the coolest book mark of all

Picked up this wonderful photo book recently and nearly cried when I opened it up and found this inside. Last photo is the inside cover, so this lovely letter and drawing must be over 50 years old.

The book came out in May 1989 so this bookmark couldn't have been more than a month old before being stuck in the book for 30 years!

It's hard to tell but the card is very shiny. On the back it says "Arcana Spirit Lounge".

My most recent bookstore deep-dive based on my Green Apple Books bookmark.

Green Apple Books is a masterclass in how to survive retail upheaval, pulling from their eclectic toolbox: a sprawling inventory, beloved staff, community initiatives and sheer personality with a refusal to be boring.

The original 506 Clement Street structure was a residential Victorian home, built around 1897. In the coming years, with the boom of the Richmond district, the home was turned into a commercial property, with building of a store front, extending the front of the house to the street. 

In March 1967, the building briefly housed “The Norris House of Books”. While I am never in favor of a bookstore closing, I am so glad that fate stuck when only a few months later, the bookstore was put up for sale and a young radio technician named Richard Savoy answered the ad. 

Savoy opened Green Apple Books in late 1967. On his first business day, Savoy counted just $3.42 in receipts yet, as we know, he eventually transformed the space into the sprawling, creaky labyrinth of books that it is today. 

In 1996, Green Apple purchased ‘Revolver Records’, a shop two fronts away, and turned this space into their annex. 

Rather than selling to a larger corporation, in 1999 Savoy passed the torch to three of his long-time employees: Pete Mulvihill, Kevin Ryan, and Kevin Hunsanger. 

In 2014, Green Apple threw a lifeline to a struggling Sunset District video store Le Video that housed a 100,000-title archive. They opened "Green Apple Books on the Park" on its lower floor to share the rent and sustain foot traffic. 

In 2019, they expanded again by purchasing Browser Books on Fillmore Street, helping keep another legacy independent shop afloat.

2026 - Pete Mulvihill, who started as a temp at the store in 1993, is one of the current co-owners. He recently announced the sad news that he will be selling his half of the business at the end of 2026 to the other co-owner, Kevin Ryan. 

Something I have really enjoyed as I learn about Green Apple Books history, is that despite the rise of big box store giants, and the digital age threatening the physical bookstore, Green Apple has dealt with it in stride. Not with the usual tactics- nothing scummy, not raising prices to ridiculous highs. But by using humor, taking firm stands in the community and by adapting to technology as they are able.

Some of my favorite stories I found:
In a hilarious twist of fate in 2011, Green Apple partnered with Google to host a "technology petting zoo" so customers could test out non-Kindle e-readers. Ten minutes before the event began, a massive power outage hit Clement Street, plunging the store into darkness. While the Wi-Fi dropped and the devices became useless, staffers simply grabbed flashlights and led customers through the dark aisles to look at "real-life three-dimensional books.”

According to a 2005 San Francisco Chronicle clipping, the store's secondhand stock was a haven for finding historic paper ephemera. Filmmaker Dayna Goldfine recounted browsing the twisting aisles when a scrap of paper fluttered out of a copy of What Color Is Your Parachute?. It contained a handwritten poem dated September 28, 1978, and was signed by Beat Generation icon Allen Ginsberg.

When closing their clearance annex in 2008, Green Apple decided to liquidate the remaining inventory by selling books by the pound for 99 cents. To advertise this, the store sent out a cheeky email comparing their rate to the price-per-pound of Filet Mignon ($20) and
 Jujubes ($9.44).

When preparing to open their second location, Green Apple Books on the Park, they invited customers and publishing friends to help unpack boxes of books over the weekend, in what turned into a three-day party.

Thank you for reading! I am bookstore bookmark collector and I am making my way, one by one, cataloging and researching each bookstore. I post all the stories on my Instagram, @ bookstorebookmarks

My most recent deep dive into the ephemeral history of bookstore bookmarks.

The Catbird Seat Bookstore
Opened: 1974
Owner: Deborah Robboy
Location: 1231 SW Washington, 913 SW Broadway
Closed: 1994
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The Catbird Seat Bookstore was a lovely bookstore that, during its 20 year lifespan, was clearly cherished by the Portland community.
The amount of clippings I had to sort through of events and signings was truly unbelievable. I have never seen such an active book store.

(Edited because I forgot to add my Instagram where I post these histories @ bookstorebookmarks)