He opened his first actual store in 1965 in Mt. Carroll Illinois. It was part of a bigger venture. We were students at Shimer College. With 4 other students, Rick and Pat Pottinger and Barry and Gail Karp, we opened a coffee house. The Golden Shovel. The coffee house had a store. I made jewelry for the store. We organized art exhibitions. The others arranged the coffee house business. Chris ran the bookstore.
The second store was in our house, still in Mt. Carroll. Chris sold books to students.
When Chris graduated from college he sold his bookstore to the student government and brought his family to New York City. He got a job at Equitable Life Assurance but he was still really a book dealer. It only took a few years for him to drop the Life Assurance game and become a full time book dealer.
Golden Shovel - Mt. Carroll, Illinois 1965/1966
used texts and other books out of house
Benton Street, Mt. Carroll, NYC 1966/1967
Christopher P. Stephens, Bookseller Inc. (out of apt.)
75 Ft. Washington Ave 1968-1975
325 38th Street, NYC 1973 -
Madison Ave. between 33rd & 34th 1977 - 1978
Canfield Stephens 67th Street 1978
52nd Street NYC 1979 - 1981
7 Terrrace Dr, Hastings on Hudson 1981 - 1993 (out of house)
riverrun 1994 - present
Today is Chris' birthday. I first celebrated his birthday with him 44 years ago. He turned 22. I was almost 18. We were already married. So many book adventures, so many life adventures were still ahead of us. So many still are.
C., H.B. Love, L.
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