The Lower East Side Has One Bookbinder Left

LOWER EAST SIDE, NY — The literary website LitHub has a great story about the very last bookbinder left on the Lower East Side, a neighborhood that was once home to about 1,500 of them, according to a 1980 census.

The last bookbinding shop is Henry Books, located in the basement of the Congregation Sons of Moses synagogue at 135 Henry St., between Pike and Rutgers Streets. Henry is not the Hasidic owner's legal name, but it's the name he goes by after working on Henry Street for so many years.

The store hosts an impressive perfect score on Yelp. A typical review reads, "I can't say enough about this guy. His craftsmanship is perfect and his turn around is beyond impressive. This guy must work in his sleep."

In fact, LitHub reports that Henry does in fact "keep a small mattress in the shop and sometimes spends the night there."

Luckily for his customers, Henry says he has no plans to retire. Read the full story here.

Image via Creative Commons