97 Years Ago
The June 14, 1928 Colorado Transcript reports that “The Vagabond Book Shop” was visiting at the Golden Campground. This was a custom vehicle that served as both camper and bookstore. The living quarters included running water, a gas plate, and a sink. The bookstore carried 1000 volumes, including “some of the finest literature that the world has produced.”
The owners of the shop were based in Carmel, California but apparently traveled to tourist towns. A Golden resident had been visiting Santa Fe when she met the itinerant booksellers. They were planning to go from Santa Fe to Estes Park, but she persuaded them to make a stop in Golden along the way.
The mobile bookstore was an interesting novelty, but Golden was not bereft of a book source: there had been a bookstore in downtown Golden continuously since the 1870s. The proprietor at that time was Fred Robinson, who owned the bookstore from 1912-1947.
Interestingly, this idea is still around. A search on "mobile book shop in a van" brings up photos of bookshops in vans and trailers. And also, I recently read a novel about an unemployed librarian who buys a van and turns it into a bookshop in Scotland—an enjoyable read for a bibliophile!
