King-size bookseller: Used and rare bookstore is Detroit institution

By Jo Mathis Legal News Michigan's largest bookstore is not the place to go for a choco mocha latte while the kids enjoy a puppet show and your spouse plops into an easy chair with a stack of best-sellers. A supersized Barnes & Noble, it's not. John K. King Used & Rare Books at 901 W. Lafayette is a four-story Detroit institution. And if you didn't bring your camera, you'll wish you had, because everywhere you turn, there is an image you'll want to capture, whether that's a quirky still life, a funny hand-written sign, an old library book last checked out in 1908. Mary Ann and Charles Glane of Saugatuck stop into John K. King Bookstore whenever they're in Detroit. "There's nothing like this anywhere; I just love it," she said. "We're bookstore people anyway, but this by far the most interesting and the most fun. Even if you don't find what you're looking for, you find what you're looking at very interesting." "There's always something new, and the people are very, very helpful," added her husband. "It's like a treasure hunt." Detroiter John K. King bought the abandoned Advance Glove factory at 901 W. Lafayette in 1983, and within a few years had filled all four floors and the basement. He also bought the old Otis Elevator building behind the store, and set up his offices and a rare book room there, with more books in the basement, and his own living quarters in a loft upstairs. First-time customers are overwhelmed by the 900 categories of books, said store manager Tom Heitjan, who has worked at the store for 26 years. "It's a huge place, so we give them a map so they know it's a manageable space; there's some order to it," he said. Some people are surprised to know there not only is a John K. King, but that he's most likely on the premises. When Borders opened a bookstore in downtown Detroit years ago, a manager was quoted in the Associated Press saying that it was about time downtown got a bookstore. King, now in his "nascent 60s," read that article while standing in his celebrated four-story bookstore on West Lafayette. "We were here before Borders, we were here during Borders, and we're here after Borders," said King, who figures he owns at least a million books among his three Detroit area stores that include the flagship store on the western edge of downtown, a smaller store in Detroit's Cultural Center near Wayne State University, and another in Ferndale. Some customers are regulars with a general passion for books; others collect a certain author or series; while others have heard about that huge place on West Lafayette and want to see for themselves. "We have signed Lincoln documents," said King. "We have some phenomenal stuff here." A recent customer had been in searching for old books about Kentucky to give to an older relative, so she was invited to the rare book room to continue her search. "She was interested in anything having to do with Kentucky, including bourbon," said Heitjan. "We didn't have any bourbon, but John had a bottle of prohibition whiskey for medicinal purposes. So we sold her that." "Bait and switch!" quipped King. "She comes in for a book and we sell her a bottle of hooch." The rare book room was the setting for a scene in the soon-to-be-released film, "The Double" starring Richard Gere and Topher Grace. "I got to hang out with the doubles -- the people who would stand here while they adjusted the lights so that Richard Gere wouldn't have to stand there doing nothing," said Heitjan, who had another brush with celebrity recently when he realized his customer was musician David Byrne, founding member and songwriter of The Talking Heads. King employs a dozen people, who tend to stick around a while. And it's not for the creature comforts of the building. There's no air conditioning in the main building, so it gets a bit toasty on the fourth floor in July. And it costs at least $100 a day to turn on the boiler in the winter, so keep your coat on. "We're very conservative in our expenditures so that way, we can survive," King said. "So if there's a downturn, we're not living large." He's seen a lot of small business owners go in debt to try to look successful. As for Borders? "I think they got what they deserved," he said. "They put a lot of independent bookstores out of business. So they didn't care about the mom and pop shops. They wiped out these poor people who loved books and really wanted to make something of their lives selling books. They just rolled over them. So now we have big empty stores all over the place, and the little stores are never going to come back." Competition from the internet has put a dent in sales, but King says he still makes a decent living and hopes to be there a good while longer. For specialty and out-of-print books, he believes its one of the top five bookstores in the country if you're talking square footage. King keeps things simple by buying books outright rather than on consignment, and he much prefers reading an actual book than words on a computer screen. "Books are very self-sufficient," he said. "They're self-contained." You don't have to buy and download anything for them. If you drop a book, it's not going to fall apart. You don't need a battery for a book." And books smell better, he said. So what's King reading right now? "I was reading the New York Observer -- til you bothered me," he said with a smile. Through his retail business and rare book catalogues, he's handled countless books, autographs, archives, papers, original photographs of famous people. He often buys entire collections from the estates of the deceased. "They don't argue as much as the live ones," King said with a slight smile. Is there anything he wouldn't sell at any price? "Nah," said King, whose personal book collection is small, includes nothing of great value, and lines the bathroom of his loft. "I can't be like an alcoholic bartender. It's not good for business. So if I collect and compete with my customers, I don't think it would be fair." King said it's the continually changing stock of books that keeps 'em coming back. "We have a wide selection that's very hard to find in most places for our kind of books," said King. "Most used book dealers now are on-line. And we're here. We're physically here where people can come visit, explore, find things. Our prices are reasonable. We serve the public. We have a good staff. Everything sort of works out. "We have faith that we're going to make it." Published: Wed, Dec 21, 2011

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