John K. King Books Explained

John K. King Used & Rare Books
Founder:John K. King
Location City:Detroit, Michigan
Location Country:U.S.
Location:901 West Lafayette
Locations:2
Area Served:Detroit metropolitan area
Key People:John K. King
Industry:Books
Homepage:www.kingbooksdetroit.com

John K. King Used & Rare Books is an independent bookseller in Michigan.[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]

The store has an estimated 1 million books in stock, with a large collection of rare and used titles.[9] In a 2011 article from the online magazine Salon, the store was described as "one of the largest and strangest collections in North America".

The store has four above-ground floors open to customers. An adjacent building has a collection of rarer and notable items available for viewing by appointment only. The rare book holdings are the only cataloged part of the inventory and can be viewed and ordered by visiting rarebooklink.com.

History

The store was established in Dearborn, Michigan by John K. King in 1965.[10] In 1971 it was moved to the Michigan Theatre in downtown Detroit. In 1983 King purchased the abandoned Advance Glove factory, which has since housed the store's collections.[11] Later, two smaller stores were opened: John K. King Books North in Detroit's Ferndale suburb and The Big Book Store in the Cass Corridor neighborhood, adjacent to Wayne State University, specializing in rare comics and paperbacks.

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Hunting rare books a rarely profitable pursuit. James, Sheryl. April 7, 2002. May 10, 2012. Knight Ridder Newspapers. ... John K. King Books in Detroit, one of the nation's biggest and best-known used, rare and out-of-print book dealers..
  2. News: A City of Hard Knocks and Hardwood. Clemens, Paul. June 26, 2005. May 10, 2012. The New York Times. For every hour I've spent at King's, I've heard the same three-word phrase repeated to customers a dozen times: We're not computerized..
  3. News: Traveling by the Book: The Dusty Joys of Secondhand Shops. https://web.archive.org/web/20141007124546/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-1144413.html. dead. 2014-10-07. Narkiewicz, Beverly S.. The Washington Post. Washingtonpost Newsweek Interactive. 1990. ... you'll find John K. King Used and Rare Books, a palace of pleasure if you love old books.
  4. The Real Deals - Readers' Choice - Best of Detroit. Detroit Metro Times. April 27, 2011. Best Indie Bookstore in Detroit.
  5. News: King's used bookstore survives Internet push . The Detroit News. October 12, 2006. King's massive retail inventory is not online -- it wouldn't be cost-effective, he says -- but its rare books are at rarebooklink.com..
  6. Web site: The world's most inspiring bookstores. Salon. Cytron, Megan. May 15, 2011. May 10, 2012. Converted from an abandoned 1940s glove factory, John King is a five-story wooden maze stuffed stairwells-to-ceilings with used and rare books — one of the largest and strangest collections in North America. .
  7. Unique shops give Detroit its own flavor.(Brief Article). Herron, Kevin. April 3, 2000. May 10, 2012. Crain's Detroit Business. A Detroit institution.
  8. News: 10 Great Places to Crawl Between the Covers. USA Today. January 21, 2002. May 10, 2012.
  9. News: Bookseller Collects Used Volumes. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304092646/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-23212026.html. dead. March 4, 2016. Hyde, Justin. Associated Press. July 19, 1999. May 9, 2012. King's world includes as many as 1 million books housed in a converted glove factory, filling four stories in an industrial area near downtown..
  10. News: Sentimental scent of used books embraces you at John King. Zynel, rachel. March 25, 2012. May 10, 2012. Oakland University News Bureau. King opened his first store in Dearborn in 1965, and then moved to the Michigan Theater in 1971. .
  11. Book: Loren D. Estleman. Monte Nagler. Amos Walker's Detroit. 10 May 2012. 30 August 2007. Wayne State University Press. 978-0-8143-3357-0. 5–. That was when John King bought it, tore out most of the partitions, reinforced the interior walls, and filled it top to bottom with books on every subject ....

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