Several years ago I decided to take an art history survey course at UC’s Clifton campus. As a pleasant diversion, I would walk from Clifton to Over the Rhine and eat at Stenger’s Cafe on Vine Street. One of the routes taken would be to go down Ravine, then hang a left at McMicken and from there proceed to Vine Street. One day I decided to go the other way up McMicken. I was enthralled with the seedy old brownstones in the neighborhood, which reminded me of Harlem.On McMicken a little further up from Ravine, I chanced upon a four-story brownstone with a small plaquard above the door, which read simply, “The Book Store.” I tried to open the door, but it was locked. When I got back home, I looked it up in the phonebook, found out the shop’s hours, and returned for a closer inspection.
When I opened the door and went in, I couldn’t believe the sight before me. A riot of books! From floor to ceiling, there were books everywhere. Having apparently run out of shelf space, they were stacked to dizzying heights on the floor.
As I walked through the rooms and up the stairs, I saw books on every conceivable subject: math, science, philosophy, art history, literature, psychology, photography, sociology. On every floor there were mannequins gussied up in vintage clothing. Movie posters for sale hung on the walls.
On subsequent visits I got to know the proprietor of this establishment, and he filled me in on his story.
Tom Brengelman bought the storefront on 454 W. McMicken and in 1979 opened it as a used bookstore. Originally he bought books on subjects that he had a passion for. Majoring in math and fine arts at OSU in Columbus in the 1960s meant that he was enamored with math, art history, and architecture. So he started amassing an impressive collection on these subjects.
Coming of age in the 1960s as a college student also implied an interest in the left wing political movements which started at the turn of the century. This translates to a huge inventory of books on early American proletarians like John Reed and Emma Goldman. There is also one whole wall stocked with the history of Marxism and Bolshevism. Above the bookcases there is a picture of Marx’s tomb in England, taken by Tom during a trip there in 1973.
Another motif of the 1960s was the counter-culture. Tom has one of the best selections of the beat generation writers anywhere in the city. Jack Kerouac, Alan Ginsberg-it’s all there.
Mr. Brengelman’s interests are those of the inquisitive autodidact, and so there simply is not any subject which remains untouched. Other highlights of the inventory include a full assortment of the Modern Library editions of the classics of literature, books in foreign languages (specializing in French and German) and poetry.
One of the great joys of shopping a bookstore with so much diversity is finding a book that one has devoted a lifetime to find. For years I have been searching for a book published by the Fashion Institute of Technology in 1975 called “American Fashion.” I came upon a near perfect copy for $15. This is a phenomenal buy because this out of print book has a market value of about $50.
Another facet of shopping at The Bookstore is the books that are sold to Tom by some of the UC professors up on the hill. Several years ago I took an Italian Renaissance course taught by a brilliant adjunct professor with deep scholarly interests who trades at The Bookstore. I have managed to come behind him and pick up the second hand books that he has just sold to Tom. This is quite a feat because this guy has great taste in history and always seems to be reading the right stuff.
Because of the kind of persons drawn to a store such as this, there are often spontaneous debates that take place among the customers of The Bookstore. The subjects are on many of the current intellectual topics of the day. One Sunday afternoon, there was an interesting discussion on the validity of Noam Chomsky’s linguistic theories.
There are also “happenings” that occur at The Bookstore that feel a lot like serendipity. Once, when I was there, a customer from Michigan called in and asked for a specific book on Kentucky lawyers. An individual at the store overheard the conversation and asked, “Who is that guy?” It turns out they were old friends that hadn’t spoken for some time, and a 45 minute talk ensued on the phone.
Mr. Brengelman is supplementing the income on the floor with internet sales, but so far his prices haven’t risen in the store.
Tom always has a fresh cup of gourmet coffee for his customers, so drop by and browse. The hours of The Bookstore are Saturday and Sunday 2-5 p.m., and the telephone number is 621-4865.