Dallas Book Scene — 1940s
by Paula Bosse
Browsing at Cokesbury’s
by Paula Bosse
Today is the birthday of my late father, and as a little tribute to his profession, I usually try to post something bookstore-related on his birthday.
A few weeks ago historian Rusty Williams (check out his books) sent me a great article from 1947 by publisher and bon vivant Bennett Cerf who wrote giddily about the Dallas book scene (and about Dallas in general). It’s a little over-the-top, enthusiasm-wise (Cerf was a master publicist and promoter), but he writes with genuine affection about notable bookstores and book people, including Cokesbury and its legendary manager Bliss Albright, McMurray’s Book Store and its legendary owner Elizabeth Ann McMurray, and big-time book collectors Everette Lee DeGolyer and Stanley Marcus. The article was published in the April 26, 1947 issue of Saturday Review, and it can be read here.
Cokesbury was described as being the largest bookstore in the world at one time. After a sizable expansion, it covered six floors and had 18,000 square feet of room for books. The building, designed by Mark Lemmon, was at 1910 Main Street, at St. Paul, with entrances on both Main and Commerce. (And those rounded bookcases are cool.)
Manager J. F. “Bliss” Albright, 1953
The other bookstore mentioned in the article is McMurray’s, a bookstore which is generally written about with impassioned reverence and awe — it may well be Dallas’ most highly regarded bookstore ever. Wish I could have seen it. Where Cokesbury was a massively large bookstore carrying a wide variety of new books, McMurray’s was definitely more of a “curated” small shop, which, from what I gather, served almost as much of a place for literary elites to gather for informal salons as it did as a retail bookstore. If you were a writer of any heft visiting Dallas, you made the pilgrimage to Commerce Street to check out McMurray’s.
Owner Elizabeth Ann McMurray, 1951
Texas literary titans J. Frank Dobie & Tom Lea (in hats), McMurray’s, 1949
Read about the history of both Cokesbury and McMurray’s (and other Dallas bookstores) (except, oddly, the Aldredge Book Store, the store my father was associated with for decades!) in the article “The Personal Touch: Bookselling in Dallas, 1920-1955” by David Farmer, which appeared in the Fall 1993 issue of Legacies. There are some great photos.
Another informative article (with even more great photos!) is “Cokesbury Book Store: The Premiere Book Store in the Southwest” by Jane Lenz Elder, which appeared in the Fall 2012 issue of Legacies.
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Sources & Notes
Top photo is from the Jane Lenz Elder Legacies article.
The Cokesbury postcards were found randomly on the internet.
The photos are from David Farmer’s book Stanley Marcus: A Life with Books (TCU Press).
Thanks again to Rusty Williams for sharing the Bennett Cerf article. Rusty’s newest book, Deadly Dallas: A History of Unfortunate Incidents and Grisly Fatalities, will be published in June, 2021.
More on Dallas bookstores can be found in a bunch of Flashback Dallas posts here.
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Copyright © 2021 Paula Bosse. All Rights Reserved.
Flashback : Dallas 
You think in 2081 folks will fondly remember Wild Detectives and Interabang? I do!
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I hope so!
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Hey Paula, do you remember Virginia’s Book Store (I think on Gaston) near the Dallas Theological Seminary? Virginia lived on the top of the book store for many years. She and her eventual husband were friends of mine and would pick me up in front of the Greyhound station and drive me to the Scholdfield Church every week. I have no idea what happened to her or her bookstore… as usual, you’ve done another great post! Mickey Grant
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Hi Mickey. I’m afraid Virginia’s Book Store doesn’t ring a bell with me. Possibly before my time.
I just checked a city directory, picking a random year — 1967 — and found Virginia’s Book Shop, owned by Virginia Brownlee, at 3812 Gaston.
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That area has changed massively in recent years. Here’s a 2008 Google Maps screenshot showing what looks like it might have been the house you were talking about (long gone): https://goo.gl/maps/f3ZYRjXDYnWANZvs6
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Cokesbury was one of the great Texas bookstores. Long time manager Bliss Albright was great at promotions. When Lon Tinkles The Alamo-13 Days to Glory came out Bliss has pre sold 5000 copies.On the seventh floor was a vast inventory of old stock,new out of print titles,off limits. Every Monday morning for years Bliss would bring down from Seventh severa
carts of books and put them in the aisle near the front door.Most were sold at original price.Among the many treasures i picked up was the Signed limited edition by Frank Dobie The Longhorns.Cokesbury price $25.00.This was in the 1970’s when this one was selling on the rare market for $200.00.After Bliss retired he called me to come over to his house in University Park and buy from
his great collection.Those were to days.Happy Birthday to my long time associate Dick Bosse
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Great memory. Thanks!
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I smiled at the photo of Cokesbury’s, for my mother (the late Margaret T. Waring, of Comanche) often talked about how her mother would take her to Dallas in the 1930s and 1940s to shop at Neiman’s, and then to Cokesbury’s to pick out books to take home. I’m starting the process of selling her library (on ABE), and when I opened her copy of the 𝘋𝘪𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘮 𝘉𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘵 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘴 to catalogue it, there was a Cokesbury’s price sticker on the dj front flap, with its list price of $6.95.
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HI Paula,
There was a small chain of bookstores here in the 70s whose name I just can’t seem to remember (at least, I think it was a small chain…)
Something like “Sterling” or “Signature” – I think it had an S, but I could be dead wrong.
One location in between where La Madeleine and CVS are now, adjacent to SMU; a second location at the Park Lane/Ridgecrest/Fair Oaks corner.
Any ideas?
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Hmm. I remember Century Books on Mockingbird in that strip next to SMU. There was also a Sterlings where the main Half Price Books is now on Northwest Highway — it was, I think, a discount department store which had a large jewelry department — I remember going there with my parents and buying children’s books.
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More great stuff, Paula!
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Thank you!
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“Century”!!! Not spelled with an S, but with an “S” sound! That was it.
Sterling Jewelers was a superb department store with a very fine jewelry section. Located where Half Price is now. I remember the Half Price locations in the old Army Navy store on McKinney, then on Mockingbird, then in the old Captn’s Cargo store on NW Hwy, and finally where it is now. I believe there was a location prior to the one on McKinney.
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[…] a bonus favorite: “DALLAS BOOK SCENE — 1940s” […]
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