Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/1540685
S o m e o f m y f a v o r i t e N e w York memories i n v o l v e t i m e s p e n t w i t h books: browsing t h e e n d l e s s aisles at the Strand, admiring the Beaux-Arts majesty of the New York Public Library, and leafing through French-language titles at Albertine beneath a celestial hand-painted ceiling. Part of the joy is the surprise — a book I didn't know I needed, three shelves down — and then I'm making a mad dash for my flight home, hauling an overstuffed tote of hardbacks. Now I've added one more stop to my book circuit: Peter H a r r i n g t o n , t h e l o n g t i m e London dealer of first editions and literary rarities, now open on the Upper East Side. I own a few first editions, but I'm not a collector. You don't have to be. When you're in town, stop in for the thrill of meeting history up close. Located on the third floor of an 1880s townhouse on East 67th Street, the shop feels like a private library, with quiet rooms, elegant glass cases, and shelves of fine bindings, manuscripts, and historic volumes. Everything is shown with museum- Peter Harrington, the esteemed London rare book gallery, has launched an elegant flagship on the Upper East Side. By Rebecca Sherman. Photography Matt Harrington. level care, yet prices are clearly marked, and an "open bookshelf" policy invites careful hands-on browsing, e v e n f o r m a n y o f t h e exceptional pieces assembled especially for New York. Imagine turning the pages of one of Shakespeare's surviving First Folios from 1623, the first collected edition of the plays, on display as a part of the opening collection (it's listed for about $6 million), or leafing through an illustrated first edition of Peter Apian's Cosmographicus liber mathematico studiose collectus, among the earliest printed books with a world map including the Americas, listed at roughly $131,000. F o u n d e r P e t e r Harrington issued his first catalog in 1969 from a stall at Chelsea Antiques Market, t h e n o p e n e d b r i c k - a n d - mortar bookshops in Chelsea and Mayfair. His son, Pom Harrington, joined in 1994 and took the helm in 2003. Pom's days read like a literary treasure hunt — part detective work, part diplomacy — as he tracks down rarities for clients such as the late Karl Lagerfeld, whose collection included more than 300,000 volumes on art, architecture, design, a n d f a s h i o n . S o m e t i m e s the mystery lands without warning in Pom's inbox: A widow wrote that her grandson had unearthed a curious volume in her late husband's library. The find was electric — a first edition of Frankenstein, inscribed by Mary Shelley to Lord Byron. It sold for more than $300,000. Other highlights include a signed first edition of John Lennon's lithographs and poems, and a 1938 first edition of Cecil Beaton's New York. Peter Harrington, 35 E. 67th St., New York City, peterharrington.co.uk. Edit The New York Above: Peter Harrington's rare book gallery on East 67th Street. A 1623 First Folio collected edition of Shakespeare's plays.