239 Post (1921-1948)

The exterior of 239 Grant, ca 1921
The exterior of 239 Post, circa 1921. (Collection of Jean Rodgers)

On 22 October 1921, after twelve years on Grant St., Elder moved his bookstore to 239 Post, across the street from where the 1898 store had been. The new store offered several advantages, including larger sales areas, plus a gallery and lecture hall. As an added bonus, Elder was now across the street from Gump’s, a family-owned, one-of-a-kind store with an international reputation. Paul Elder & Company would remain at this location for twenty-seven years, longer than any other site.

At first glance, one is puzzled how Post St. store could have more room than Grant St., as the building is much smaller. The answer is that architects Bernard Maybeck and C. C. Dakin incorporated sections of two buildings on Maiden Lane (numbers 134 and 140), whose rear walls adjoined the rear walls of 239 Post. It’s unclear whether Elder occupied the entirety of the two Maiden Lane buildings, or whether there was a street entrance into the bookstore from Maiden Lane.

Modern fiction, downstairs across from stationery
A customer entering from Post St. would walk into this room, with stationery (left) and modern fiction. The stairway leads up to the main landing. (Collection of Jean Rodgers)

One of the benefits of hiring Bernard Maybeck for each successive bookstore was that Maybeck was able to incorporate architectural elements of the old stores into the new one. When the Grant St store opened in 1909, many furnishings were brought over from the 1906 Van Ness store: Arts & Crafts light fixtures, medieval chandeliers, stout wooden tables and bookcases. Likewise, when the company moved to Post St., the chandeliers and bookcases also moved, as well as the gothic openwork screens that Maybeck had designed for Grant St.

None of this was visible when a customer entered the store. Immediately inside the Post St. entrance was stationery and modern fiction. Upon climbing the stairs, however, a beautiful landing appeared, decorated with pottery and Asian hanging scrolls. From here, most customers could continue through a beautiful archway into the main book room. The archway was a clever way of masking the transition from the Post St. building to one of the Maiden Lane buildings. The main book room was divided into several sections, including the bargain alcove and fine bindings.

The entrance to the main book room. Note the Maybeck chandelier from the 1906 store.
The entrance to the main book room, as seen from the landing. The archway cleverly masks the passage from the rear of the Post St. building into the rear of one of the buildings on Maiden Lane. (Collection of Jean Rodgers)

Passing through a smaller archway, one arrived at the “Paul Elder Gallery,” a lecture hall and performance space. There had been a gallery at Grant St., but it was much smaller. Elder made excellent use of this new, larger, gallery: over one hundred artists held exhibitions here, and there were frequent readings by featured authors. There were also music concerts, including performances by his three children, who were all talented musicians. His youngest son, Paul Elder Jr., considered becoming a professional cellist, but in the early 1930s decided to enter his father’s book trade instead, and eventually became proprietor when Paul Sr. retired in the early 1940s.

Back at the stairway landing, one could climb a short staircase in the other direction, back towards Post St., to reach the art room. Elder still thought of himself as both a bookseller and an art dealer. Although in 1921 the Arts & Crafts Movement was beginning to fade, soon to be overwhelmed by Art Deco, here at Paul Elder & Company there was still plenty of quality Arts & Crafts artwork for sale.

The main book room, facing north towards Post St. The stairway landing is through the archway at center right. Note the oak tables originally made for the 1906 Van Ness store. The white archway at center left probably leads to the gallery/lecture hall. (Collection of Jean Rodgers)

The 239 Post building survives and is currently a Graff jewelry store (now numbered 237 Post), but it has been remodeled multiple times and is nothing like it was during Elder’s time. It is no longer connected to the two buildings on Maiden Lane. Indeed, after Paul Elder & Company moved to Sutter & Stockton in 1948, the building at 140 Maiden Lane became quite famous: it was remodeled by none other than Frank Lloyd Wright. Originally known as the V.C. Morris Gift Shop, it is now ISAIA men’s wear. It is the only Frank Lloyd Wright building in San Francisco, and it’s full of curved designs such as a bricked archway, a spiral ramp, and a bubbled glass ceiling. Wright used the ramp as a prototype for his famous circular ramp at the 1952 Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City.1“Inside the only Frank Lloyd Wright building in San Francisco,” by Tessa McLean, 10 Apr 2023, https://www.sfgate.com/sfhistory/article/frank-lloyd-wright-building-san-francisco-vcmorris-14830042.php

The bargain alcove in the main book room, with another Maybeck chandelier (1906) and screen (1909)
The bargain alcove in the main book room. Note the Maybeck chandelier from the 1906 store, and the Gothic wooden screen from the 1909 Grant St. store. (Collection of Jean Rodgers)
The fine bindings area of the main book room
The fine bindings area of the main book room. The Gothic window tracery was probably moved here from the Grant St. store, but there are no surviving photos of it at that location. (Collection of Jean Rodgers)
Stairway landing in the main book room, including a Maybeck gothic screen from the 1909 store.
Stairway landing in the main book room, looking back towards Post St. The down staircase leads back to the modern fiction room, and the up staircase leads to the art room. The gothic openwork screen at top center is probably the pair of swinging entry doors from Elder’s booth at the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition. To the right of the screen are two drawings by British cartoonist Bruce Bairnsfather (1887-1959). (Collection of Jean Rodgers)
The art room, on the mezzanine (the windows in back are directly over the front entrance)
The art room, located on the second floor above the main entrance. The windows on the far wall look out over Post St. (Collection of Jean Rodgers)
The art gallery and lecture hall
The art gallery and lecture hall. (Collection of Jean Rodgers)
The former Elder bookshop in its 2003 incarnation as a Bulgari store.
The former Elder bookshop in its 2003 incarnation as a Bulgari store. (Photo by David Mostardi, 2003)
The former Elder bookshop, now numbered 237 Post, is today a Graff jewelry store. (Photo by David Mostardi, 2023)
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    “Inside the only Frank Lloyd Wright building in San Francisco,” by Tessa McLean, 10 Apr 2023, https://www.sfgate.com/sfhistory/article/frank-lloyd-wright-building-san-francisco-vcmorris-14830042.php

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