Waldenbooks Metal Sign
7" x 5" (Horizontal) / 0.12''
$69.99
Sale price
$69.99
Regular price
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Add a strong bookstore-history statement to a reading room, office, study, or collection with this Waldenbooks metal sign. Its subject recalls the company’s journey from a three-cent rental library in 1933 to a widespread bookstore chain found in shopping malls across America. For collectors, former customers, booksellers, and fans of retail history, Waldenbooks connects paperbacks, browsing, and the changing places where people discovered their next book.
Walden Book Company began on March 4, 1933, when Lawrence Hoyt, a former Simon & Schuster sales manager, and Melvin T. Kafka opened a rental library inside a department store in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Named after Henry David Thoreau’s Walden, the business rented books for three cents per day during the Great Depression. By 1948, it had 250 rental locations. Lawrence Hoyt opened the first Walden bookstore in Pittsburgh in 1962, as affordable paperbacks helped shift the company from rentals to retail selling. Broadway Hale Stores acquired the company in 1969 and later became Carter Hawley Hale. During the 1970s, Walden Books gradually became Waldenbooks. Kmart acquired Waldenbooks in 1984. The company expanded into software, educational toys, larger book formats, and related brands, acquired U.S. Coles Book Stores locations in 1987, and operated Basset Book Shop stores before they became Borders locations. In 1994, Kmart combined Waldenbooks, Brentano’s, and Borders into the Borders-Walden Group. Many stores became Borders Express locations beginning in 2004. Borders Group entered liquidation in 2011, closing the remaining Waldenbooks stores.
Waldenbooks Metal Sign
$69.99
Sale price
$69.99
Regular price
| 7" x 5" (Horizontal) | 10″ x 8″ (Horizontal) | 14″ x 11″ (Horizontal) | 20" x 16" (Horizontal) | 30″ x 20″ (Horizontal) | 36″ x 24″ (Horizontal) | 36" x 12" (Horizontal) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Width, in | 7.00 | 10.00 | 14.00 | 20.00 | 30.00 | 36.00 | 36.00 |
| Height, in | 5.00 | 8.00 | 11.00 | 16.00 | 20.00 | 24.00 | 12.00 |
| Depth, in | 0.12 | 0.12 | 0.12 | 0.12 | 0.12 | 0.12 | 0.12 |
Add a strong bookstore-history statement to a reading room, office, study, or collection with this Waldenbooks metal sign. Its subject recalls the company’s journey from a three-cent rental library in 1933 to a widespread bookstore chain found in shopping malls across America. For collectors, former customers, booksellers, and fans of retail history, Waldenbooks connects paperbacks, browsing, and the changing places where people discovered their next book.
Walden Book Company began on March 4, 1933, when Lawrence Hoyt, a former Simon & Schuster sales manager, and Melvin T. Kafka opened a rental library inside a department store in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Named after Henry David Thoreau’s Walden, the business rented books for three cents per day during the Great Depression. By 1948, it had 250 rental locations. Lawrence Hoyt opened the first Walden bookstore in Pittsburgh in 1962, as affordable paperbacks helped shift the company from rentals to retail selling. Broadway Hale Stores acquired the company in 1969 and later became Carter Hawley Hale. During the 1970s, Walden Books gradually became Waldenbooks. Kmart acquired Waldenbooks in 1984. The company expanded into software, educational toys, larger book formats, and related brands, acquired U.S. Coles Book Stores locations in 1987, and operated Basset Book Shop stores before they became Borders locations. In 1994, Kmart combined Waldenbooks, Brentano’s, and Borders into the Borders-Walden Group. Many stores became Borders Express locations beginning in 2004. Borders Group entered liquidation in 2011, closing the remaining Waldenbooks stores.
| 7" x 5" (Horizontal) | |
| Width, in | 7.00 |
| Height, in | 5.00 |
| Depth, in | 0.12 |
Product features
- 100% white aluminum composite — strong, rigid, and lightweight
- Matte full-color print on one side for crisp, non-reflective finish
- Eleven sizes available; horizontal, vertical, and square orientations
- Includes one mounting block, metal plate, and double-sided tape; customer assembly required
- Indoor use only — durable for interior displays
Care instructions
- Use non-abrasive, non-ammonium based products for cleaning. Dish soap with warm water is only recommended for spot cleaning.
EU representative: HONSON VENTURES LIMITED, gpsr@honsonventures.com, 3, Gnaftis House flat 102, Limassol, Mesa Geitonia, 4003, CY
Product information: Generic brand, 2 year warranty in EU and Northern Ireland as per Directive 1999/44/EC
Care instructions: Use non-abrasive, non-ammonium based products for cleaning. Dish soap with warm water is only recommended for spot cleaning.