2011
Pen and Ink
10 inches x 10 inches
In 2011 it was still The Moravian Book “Store”. It anchored Bethlehem’s business district as a must-stop location if you were window shopping—especially during the Christmas season.
This day in November was a mild one. I noticed the windows lined with Moravian Stars, found a convenient bench on the on the other side of Main Street in front of the Hotel Bethlehem, and went to work rendering an icon: The Moravian Book Store.
It was founded in 1745. History has it that the Moravian Church appointed Samuel Powell of the Church’s “Crown Inn” in the village on the opposite side of the river (the south side) to operate a book shop. In 1871, after operating at several locations, the church moved its bookstore to the “publications building,” a location within eyesight of the Moravian Church. One-hundred forty years have passed since then. It is still there.
To anyone who remembers the Moravian Bookstore in the past, it was a certainty that if you couldn’t find that extra special gift, odds were that somewhere on the crowded shelves and in the packed alcoves of the Moravian Book Store you would discover exactly what you wanted.
In 2018 the Northern Province of the Moravian Church sold the store to Barnes and Noble citing that it no longer wanted to be in the retail business. This modern change I can only refer back to the reader for value judgement.
Moravian College on North Main Street made the Moravian Book “Shop” its main campus bookstore, and you will see students from around the Valley going through its doors. The College put out quite an interesting proposition about their book supplier as well:
“In April of 2000, USA Today ran an article stating that John Smith & Son, the longest continuously-trading bookseller in the world, established in 1751, was closing. Since the Moravian Book Shop was established in 1745, the conclusion was that IT must now be the oldest continuously-running bookseller in the world!”