Fred Bass, 89, built Strand into world-famous brand STRAND continued from p. 1
is used for the Strand’s offices, while another floor is for storage. The store also has a storage unit in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, for more books. Bass worked in the store until his retirement this past November. His daughter, Nancy, has since taken over the store. “For over 30 years, I have had the privilege of working alongside of my dad managing the store,” Nancy Bass said in a statement. “He never had an office and loved when customers told him they enjoyed ‘getting lost in the stacks.’ He spent all of his time behind the buying desk, eager to see what treasures would come across it.” Fred Bass’s business model, taken from his father’s playbook, had always been to keep buying more books. In a 2015 interview with cable news channel NY1 Bass said, “You can’t sell a book you don’t have.” Jim Drougas, the owner of Unoppressive Non-Imperialist Bargain Books, at 34 Carmine St., said he knew Bass from childhood and worked alongside him in the industry for decades. Drougas was a book wholesaler for many years, constantly delivering to Bass. “I could always count on Fred to spend $500 to $1,000 every time I visited,” he said. “I would bring samples of books, had hundreds of copies, and sometimes his buyer would negotiate prices and Fred always wanted to be fair. He was always pushing the envelope in my favor.” The Strand has expanded over the years with name-brand recognition, ratcheting up its collection to “18 Miles of Books,” which is also its slogan, featured on tote bags, pins and its signs. In fact, 15 percent of the store’s sales come from shirts, bags and buttons, designed by staffers and local artists. “People from all over the world come in,” Drougas said. “He built the store into the collective unconscious. People come from Japan to get a bag — they don’t need a book.” Drougas recalled being at a party at the Strand with Bass last spring. “A lot of people in the industry came,” he said. “Fred was fragile already then. I sat down with him and told him what an influence he was, which he already knew, and reminded him what a big impact he had as a bookseller. I showed him a flier for my shop that said ‘One-eighth of a mile of books’ and he got such a big kick out of it.” Along with expanding locations to kiosks at Central Park, and pop-ups during the holidays, the store also carved out an event space in the store for panels, readings and discussions. Susan Shapiro, a bestselling author and writing professor at The New School, said she owes partial credit for her career’s success to Bass. “Doing book events there raised my profile a lot,” she said, adding that the store always live streams events for those who can’t attend. “We could sell a couple
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Januar y 11, 2018
Fred Bass at the Strand at an unknown date.
hundred of books at an event, then tape it, and then I would get tons of phone calls from new students who wanted to take my class based on the event.” While events cost a $15 gift card, Shapiro said, for her students who could not afford the fee, Bass would let her cover it, and have her pay him back in book purchases later. Although a shrewd businessman, Bass was also known for his generosity. A former employee who worked as a bookseller in the late 1970s, who asked not to be identified, said soon after she was hired, she unexpectedly became pregnant and, with no family support to turn to, felt hopeless. “I was clocking out,” she recalled. “The time clock was right by the desk where Fred stood all day buying used books. When I saw him, I burst into tears and kind of blurted out, ‘I’m pregnant and I need an abortion.’ He reached into his pocket and pulled out a wad of cash and gave it to me along with his hanky.” Shapiro said one of the most amazing ongoing features of the Strand — which she first remembers from back when she moved to New York in 1981 — is the $1 book carts outside. “If you have $3 to your name, you can buy three books, that’s huge,” she said. “That’s very exciting to be able to go to a bookstore and buy poetry books, and they were good books. It might be the only bookstore that I’ve been going to since 1981 that is still standing.” Shapiro also spent much of her time selling back the books sent to her by publishers for her to review. She said many did not understand the importance of Bass’s business.
“I made $8,000 in one year selling books back to the Strand,” she said. As with every operation the Strand ran, it was sophisticated and smooth. Shapiro said someone would come to pick up the books from her and hand her either a check or cash. “It was really a huge deal,” she said. “I didn’t know any place else that did that, not on that scale.” She recalled Bass as a fierce businessman. “I would have a $22 Random House book and he would give me 50 cents for it,” she said. “He would say, ‘I have 50 of these.’ But Fred’s truck would come pick them up and he would send me a check. I couldn’t be schlepping boxes of books around. He was ruthless businesswise, but a very kind person.” Andrew Blauner, a literary agent, has held a number of book events at the store, though never met Bass. He said he grew up in the Village and viewed the Strand as a personal sanctuary. “There’s something about that store that has been a place of comfort and safety and connection,” he said. “It was and is a really special, cherishable and unique haven. I won’t ever get to meet Fred and I’m forever in debt to him.” Donald Schmitt, who lives in Jersey City, has been coming to the Strand for more than 20 years. He said he did not know Bass personally, but remembers seeing him around the store all the time. He said the staff is always attentive and helpful. “It’s a great selection,” he said while sitting on a bench and reading on the store’s basement level. “A lot of books at half price or even less than that. It’s a
much more personal place than Barnes & Noble.” In an age of ever-growing technology, plus Amazon Prime, many bookstores have fallen into trouble. Leigh Altshuler, the Strand’s director of communications, said that, in order to stay afloat, Bass focused on what the Internet can’t provide. “We have an event almost every day or twice a day,” she said. “That’s not an experience you can get on a Kindle.” Additionally, the store has a program called “Books by the Foot,” through which people can customize book collections and / or rent books for interior decorators, set designers, commercial spaces and personal libraries. Currently, the Strand is collecting stories from the community about Bass, according to Altshuler. She said the store would most likely have some type of gallery displaying these shared memories later in the year. “His passion and dedication was extremely noticeable,” she said. “His dedication kept things moving in the right direction. He supported so many careers. He was very focused on the community and keeping it together and using a store as a place for that.” Drougas said Bass’s obsession with books could be felt and appreciated citywide. “New Yorkers love books,” he said. “Books are ingrained into the blood of New Yorkers. Even people who become New Yorkers — books seep into their veins.” Bass’s family wished that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Police Athletic League and God’s Love We Deliver. TheVillager.com