WHATELY — The final chapter has come to an end for the Whately Antiquarian Book Center, which will close its door for good in January.
The purveyor of old, rare books, papers and pamphlets has operated out of a 1920s brick schoolhouse as a group bookstore on Routes 5 & 10 for the past two and a half decades, according to co-owner Eugene Povirk.
The store rented space to up to 20 antique book dealers, each with their own interests, and according to Povirk and co-owner Barbara Smith of Northampton was the first group bookstore in New England, and to their knowledge one of the few that exist nationwide.
That concept allows independent booksellers to have a place to display their products that is overseen by a professional staff, so they don’t have to spend time or carry overhead to set up shop. It’s a model more commonly seen in England, Povirk said.
Many of the books sold at the store are out-of-print or were produced through one-time runs, Povirk said. “They’re quite unusual and valuable,” he said. “Some are classics.” They also sell prints, maps and old postcards, known among book dealers as ephemera.
“A one-owner store represents what that owner knows, likes and thinks will sell, while a group shop expands that exponentially, and customers really liked that,” said Smith. “One room always had something for them; it was one-stop shopping, but with a lot of different dealers and all priced differently. They have their choice of condition or price.”
Povirk and Smith said they decided to close up shop because they both wanted to focus on their own second book businesses — Povirk deals in papers, pamphlets and other books related to social reform, labor relations and black studies, while Smith specializes in old children’s books, documents and postcards.
Povirk said he has also offered appraisal services to universities and libraries.
The market conditions for independent bookstores are not ideal, either, these days. Povirk said recent economic downturns, the rise of online shopping on websites like Ebay and Amazon.com and a general trend toward people having less leisure time made used books a hard sell in recent years.
The store’s website notes that it will be holding a store-wide clearance sale until closing.