The Science Fiction Shop

An SF bookstore located at 56 Eighth Ave, New York City, New York 10014, at Horatio Street. Founded by Baird Searles and Martin Last in 1973, it operated until 1986. Its phone number was (212)741-0270.

The Science Fiction Shop also published a quarterly mail-order catalogue, and its advertisements could often be found in the SF magazines of its era.

A 1982 profile in New York magazine said: "Walking into this bookstore is a bit like entering the set of a low-budget Star Trek movie. The walls, ceiling, and floor are all jet black; silver-painted plywood arches emerge from between the bookcases that house titles like Warm Worlds and Otherwise, Darker Than You Think, and Untouched by Human Hands...The used and out-of-print books line the tops of the bookshelves, and the store's philosophy is printed on one edge: 'Science fiction, far from being an unimportant minor offshoot, in fact represents the main literary tradition of the 20th century.' (J. G. Ballard)... a copy of A Reader's Guide to Science Fiction (written by the store's owners) hangs conveniently on a string from the ceiling."

In addition, New York published a photograph of the store.

A Reader's Guide to Science Fiction states that the store was Mr. Searles's idea.

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Store

1973—1986

This is an SF bookstore page. When a floreat "fl." is listed it records the dates for which we have evidence and may not be the store's entire span.