High Valley Books
882 Lorimer Street between Driggs and Bedford Avenues
Open by appointment / Phone: 347 889 6346
Tucked away on Lorimer Street, just across from McCarren Park in Greenpoint, a vast and considerable collection of rare and out of print magazines, books and postcards live together, safely stored and maintained as High Valley Books. The shop is owned and run by Bill Hall, a collector who has amassed an eclectic mix of hundreds of vintage fashion, art and design publications for over twelve years. The items in High Valley Books’ collection dates back to fashion magazines from as early as the late 1940s to etiquette books on dating from the 1950s to contemporary novels with unique and seldom-seen book covers.
With publications in such good condition, holding one, like a Harper’s Bazaar from 1961, one is immediately taken back to the year it was published (and taken aback with the original price of 61 cents). With a larger page size, the editorial design and fashion it shows off, the magazine becomes a historical snapshot of that period in fashion and in design. For the even more intense fashion enthusiast, High Valley’s collection also extends to shoe catalogues, like Ferragamo’s shoe designs with photos and descriptions back to the 1920s.
High Valley doesn’t only have fashion publications however. Hall’s collection includes a trove of rare and old books of literature like a 1952 hardcover edition of Lewis Carroll’s Alice In Wonderland or a 1902 edition of The Life of Charlotte Bronte.
Though the shop is available by appointment only, Hall keeps the web shop’s selection quite comprehensive, with notes on the condition of each item, so that a trip out to Greenpoint might not even be necessary.
-Janet Kim
