Harry Ransom CenterThe University of Texas at Austin

The Greenwich Village Bookshop Door:
A Portal to Bohemia, 1920-1925

September 6, 2011 – January 22, 2012

As early as 1921, noteworthy visitors to Frank Shay's bookshop, located at 4 Christopher Street in the heart of Greenwich Village, began signing the narrow door that opened onto the store's back room. When the shop closed in 1925, manager Juliette Koenig preserved the door and, with it, a revelatory slice of cultural history. Signed by 238 writers, artists, actors, publishers, and other community members, this unusual artifact presents a unique opportunity to reconstitute the intersecting communities that made the Village an epicenter of American modernism. The exhibition unravels the dense web of professional, intellectual, and personal connections that may be found between many of the seemingly unrelated names on the door and shows how a single artifact can set off a chain reaction, revealing connections and influences that are otherwise forgotten.

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Press Information

News release: Ransom Center Exhibition Explores Greenwich Village Bohemian Culture Through Bookshop Door (PDF)

News release: Web Exhibition Explores History, Connections Between Visitors to Greenwich Village Bookshop (PDF)

Exhibition guide (PDF)

Selection of press images relating to The Greenwich Village Bookshop Door (PDF)

High-resolution images are available for use by press by contacting one of the media contacts on the right-hand side of this page.

Public programs relating to The Greenwich Village Bookshop Door (PDF)

Harry Ransom Center info, hours, and location (PDF)

Fall 2011 program calendar (PDF)