ATHENAEUM BOEKSTORE, AMSTERDAM

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‘How empty was Amsterdam, without your shop on the Spui.’ 

David de Goede: ‘On the fiftieth anniversary of Athenaeum Bookstore, the book Is u bekend met het alphabet? (Are you familiar with the alphabet?) was first published. It’s a book full of hilarious anecdotes about Athenaeum. On page six there is a text by Ischa Meijer: ‘The news here is constantly moulting, Self-importance becomes crippled; And yet, how empty was Amsterdam, without your trade on the Spui.’ 
That’s exactly right. Athenaeum Bookstore and the Singel Publishers have been a source of inspiration for me to begin mapping independent (literary) bookshops.’