Sam Johnson's Bookshop

February 23, 2012

Sam Johnson's Bookshop

On Venice Boulevard, there is a used, or out-of-print book store that's been around for a while. It's not the kind of book store that you'd think of visiting to get the newest bestseller. Nothing there is new. In fact, even the people who work there, or who own the store, are old folks who just seem to love old books and are having a good time hanging out at the store.

I don't know if they make money, because during the Christmas holidays when I visited, I was the only customer there at 7:00 p.m. The owner came in and asked the cashier how much they made that day. The lady behind the counter said that they made about $100 that day. My purchase added another $50 to that amount, but still, that's not much. I vaguely remember that years ago, when I first visited Sam Johnson's, the owner told me that he purchased the property where the store stood so that he didn't have to deal with the cost of ever increasing rent. So, maybe they are doing okay.

A decade ago, we were all lamenting that independent bookshops are being pushed out of business by all-in-one mega stores like Barnes and Noble and Borders with the the packaged gifts and the coffee shops. But considering that a decade later, in my neighborhood of West Los Angeles, both Barnes and Noble at the Westside Pavilion and Borders Books on Westwood Boulevard shut down, it's a wonder that the small indy stores like Sam Johnson's and another gem, Children's Book World still remains. Maybe there is hope for independent book stores after all

At Sam Johnson's, there are lots of out of print, or first edition books in every category. I like the arts and architecture sections. I found an out of print book about the Los Angeles Union Station for $15, and a book of Frank Lloyd Wright's architecture signed by the photographer who took the architectural photos in the book for $20. Both were great Christmas gifts for my brothers in law, one a train buff, another an architect.

My greatest find at Sam Johnson's were the 1973 Herge Archives of the Tintin comic books, published by Casterman, covering Herge's work from 1929 to 1940. The Archives are of the original black and white drawings and are in French. Unfortunately, I only got volumes 1, 3 and 4. Sam Johnson's didn't have Volume 2.