Fred Bass, the 89-year-old co-owner of The Strand, died yesterday. The cause was congestive heart failure, according to multiple published reports.
There's a tribute to him outside the four-level store on Broadway at 12th Street, as these photos by EVG regular Daniel show...
Several outlets have published features on his legacy, including at The New York Review of Books ... and Quartz.
His daughter, Nancy Bass Wyden, will reportedly continue on with the ownership of the Strand.
6 comments:
RIP and thanks for the strand, home of a zillion great books and also of many of my dollars!
The Strand is a local treasure. Sincere condolences to the Bass family.
And let’s not forget that Bass’s daughter Nancy’s husband is Oregon Sen. Bill Wyden (D) who voted against the Iraq war and has enough integrity to stand up to leaders of both major parties.
Check that, Sen Ron Wyden.
The Strand Bookstore, (i.e., Fred, and his father Ben) was so helpful to me in my life that I don't have words to explain. The world has missed Ben for many years now, and it will certainly miss Fred. Wonderful people, wonderful place to have worked. Knowing the Bass family was a blessing for me.
For many years the Strand was my go-to store for cheap books. On certain days the proofs would arrive, and the proof hounds would pour through them for under a dollar bargains. I don't really think of it as a used book store anymore, as there are more new books than used. But there are still bargains to be found: on the rack outside I recently saw a yellow box with National Geographic maps for every region of the country. 16 maps. $2!
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