Author [EN] [PL] [ES] [PT] [IT] [DE] [FR] [NL] [TR] [SR] [AR] [RU] [ID] Topic: World's [third] oldest bookstore to close. Tears are heavily encouraged.  (Read 4346 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline Lumi Kløvstad

  • Specialist in Revolutions, Smuggling, Gunrunning, Bootlegging, and Orgies
  • Master Hunter
  • *****
  • Posts: 1945
  • Simon's in goddamn Smash
  • Awards Permanent Resident: Seems to always be around to post/reply.
    • Awards
  • Favorite Game: Castlevania 64 (N64)
  • Likes:
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.



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

[Note: my original source identified it as the oldest in the world. Not so. The third oldest. Still a damn shame.]
« Last Edit: June 23, 2017, 07:10:12 PM by The Bloody Aperture »
How not to be a dark lord: the answer to that is a terribly interesting answer that involves an almost Jedi-like adherence to keeping oneself under control and finding ways to be true to yourself in a way that doesn't encourage the worst parts of you to become dangerously exaggerated and instead feeds your better nature. Also, protip: don't fuck with Alchemy or strike up any deals with ancient Japanese Shinigami gods no matter how tempting the deal or how suavely dressed the Shinigami is.

Offline X

  • Xenocide
  • Master Hunter
  • *****
  • Posts: 9361
  • Gender: Male
  • Awards SuperOld Dungeonite: Members who have been around since the oldOLD days. The Unfazed: Never loses his/her calm, even in the most heated arguments. The Retro Gamer: Has a heated passion for the oldschool VG Titles.
    • Awards
  • Favorite Game: Super Castlevania IV (SNES)
  • Likes:
Re: World's oldest bookstore to close. Tears are heavily encouraged.
« Reply #1 on: June 22, 2017, 08:49:44 PM »
0
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?
"Spirituality is God's gift to humanity...
Religion is Man's flawed interpretation of Spirituality given back to humanity..."

Offline Lumi Kløvstad

  • Specialist in Revolutions, Smuggling, Gunrunning, Bootlegging, and Orgies
  • Master Hunter
  • *****
  • Posts: 1945
  • Simon's in goddamn Smash
  • Awards Permanent Resident: Seems to always be around to post/reply.
    • Awards
  • Favorite Game: Castlevania 64 (N64)
  • Likes:
Re: World's oldest bookstore to close. Tears are heavily encouraged.
« Reply #2 on: June 22, 2017, 10:39:23 PM »
0
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.
How not to be a dark lord: the answer to that is a terribly interesting answer that involves an almost Jedi-like adherence to keeping oneself under control and finding ways to be true to yourself in a way that doesn't encourage the worst parts of you to become dangerously exaggerated and instead feeds your better nature. Also, protip: don't fuck with Alchemy or strike up any deals with ancient Japanese Shinigami gods no matter how tempting the deal or how suavely dressed the Shinigami is.

Offline Shiroi Koumori

  • Guardian of the Night
  • Global Moderator
  • Master Hunter
  • *****
  • Posts: 4667
  • Gender: Female
  • Birth, Death and Rebirth... Everything is a cycle.
  • Awards 2018-06 Sprite Contest Runner-Up 2015-04- Sprite Contest Silver Permanent Resident: Seems to always be around to post/reply. The Unfazed: Never loses his/her calm, even in the most heated arguments.
    • My DeviantArt Page
    • Awards
  • Favorite Game: Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (PS1/SS)
  • Likes:
Re: World's oldest bookstore to close. Tears are heavily encouraged.
« Reply #3 on: June 23, 2017, 01:29:29 AM »
0
Sigh... what a shame. I love bookstores.

Offline Lumi Kløvstad

  • Specialist in Revolutions, Smuggling, Gunrunning, Bootlegging, and Orgies
  • Master Hunter
  • *****
  • Posts: 1945
  • Simon's in goddamn Smash
  • Awards Permanent Resident: Seems to always be around to post/reply.
    • Awards
  • Favorite Game: Castlevania 64 (N64)
  • Likes:
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.
How not to be a dark lord: the answer to that is a terribly interesting answer that involves an almost Jedi-like adherence to keeping oneself under control and finding ways to be true to yourself in a way that doesn't encourage the worst parts of you to become dangerously exaggerated and instead feeds your better nature. Also, protip: don't fuck with Alchemy or strike up any deals with ancient Japanese Shinigami gods no matter how tempting the deal or how suavely dressed the Shinigami is.

Offline X

  • Xenocide
  • Master Hunter
  • *****
  • Posts: 9361
  • Gender: Male
  • Awards SuperOld Dungeonite: Members who have been around since the oldOLD days. The Unfazed: Never loses his/her calm, even in the most heated arguments. The Retro Gamer: Has a heated passion for the oldschool VG Titles.
    • Awards
  • Favorite Game: Super Castlevania IV (SNES)
  • Likes:
That is relatively good news to hear. Still its a shame about the Morpurgo store.
"Spirituality is God's gift to humanity...
Religion is Man's flawed interpretation of Spirituality given back to humanity..."

Tags:
 

anything