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Off Topic => Off Topic => Topic started by: Lumi Kløvstad on June 22, 2017, 07:03:17 PM

Title: World's [third] oldest bookstore to close. Tears are heavily encouraged.
Post by: Lumi Kløvstad on June 22, 2017, 07:03:17 PM
Morpurgo in Split, the world's third oldest continually operating bookstore, is coming to something of an undignified end.
While most of us would have never been in a position to go and buy all the books to save it (it's in Croatia), we can still mourn the loss of a staple of literature in the world.

Quote
Morpurgo first opened its doors in July 1860, after founder Vid Morpurgo had worked with booksellers for years. That's right, the store is over 150 years old! Split is the metropolitan center of Croatia, making it the perfect place for book lovers to visit. Many of Croatia's finest minds met there regularly to discuss their intellectual pursuits. The store became so famous, that someone wrote a whole book about it. Morpurgo in Split (1860-1947) and the Development of Reading Culture by Dr. Nada Topic details the bookstore's rich history.

Furthermore, it had one of the absolute coolest yet most unassuming store fronts imaginable.

(https://www.bookstr.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/20130714Morpurgo5.jpg)

For a place that had the look and history of something you'd expect to see selling textbooks to Hogwarts students, it sure must have been a magical place to shop.
I'm genuinely sad that the place is closing down forever, but I guess that's sort of a commentary on modern society at large today.
Such a damn shame.

Sauce (https://www.bookstr.com/worlds-oldest-bookstore-close)

[Note: my original source identified it as the oldest in the world. Not so. The third oldest. Still a damn shame.]
Title: Re: World's oldest bookstore to close. Tears are heavily encouraged.
Post by: X on June 22, 2017, 08:49:44 PM
I work at a bookstore so I can sympathise for the people that have to close it down. But if this is the world's oldest bookstore then why isn't it treated like a national treasure? Couldn't the people vie for its recognition as a historical site?
Title: Re: World's oldest bookstore to close. Tears are heavily encouraged.
Post by: Lumi Kløvstad on June 22, 2017, 10:39:23 PM
I work at a bookstore so I can sympathise for the people that have to close it down. But if this is the world's oldest bookstore then why isn't it treated like a national treasure? Couldn't the people vie for its recognition as a historical site?

I don't know how the law for that works in Croatia, to be honest, nor am I certain of the particulars of the closing. I guess my best answer right now is "I don't have a friggin clue". I'll do some cursory searches and see if something like that is underway because it is a good suggestion.
Title: Re: World's oldest bookstore to close. Tears are heavily encouraged.
Post by: Shiroi Koumori on June 23, 2017, 01:29:29 AM
Sigh... what a shame. I love bookstores.
Title: Re: World's [third] oldest bookstore to close. Tears are heavily encouraged.
Post by: Lumi Kløvstad on June 23, 2017, 01:35:57 PM
So I have good news and bad news.

Recognizing it as a historical landmark would, essentially, take too long, and it's due to close before that paperwork could be processed.

The good news is, there are actually two older bookstores still in operation (my original source was mistaken).

Livraria Bertrand can be found in Lisbon, Portugal, and was founded in 1773, and Galignani is in Paris, France and opened in 1856.

So if you're like me and you thrive in ancient bookstores, there's still hope.
Title: Re: World's [third] oldest bookstore to close. Tears are heavily encouraged.
Post by: X on June 23, 2017, 06:08:39 PM
That is relatively good news to hear. Still its a shame about the Morpurgo store.