Imagine walking into a store dedicated to women and being inspired by a woman who fought through lots of hardship. Harriett’s bookshop embodies the personality of its namesake in a podcast interview with Libro. Fm, the owner, Jeannine Cook, states Harriett’s is “a place where you come to understand (a) bit more about the historical context that this woman (Harriet Tubman) lived in and how we could adapt from her humanity.” (Butze). The bookstore not only uses historical context but the feel of the place can be described as showcasing the personality of its namesake as well. In the same interview, Jeannine states, “The furniture is nimble, and everything’s always moving… and Harriett was a small but mighty woman” (Butze).

The design of Harriett’s bookshop lacks color on the walls and the shelves, but it adds its color by having the covers of books faced out and alternating between books in each box to create a variety pattern. The owner’s mother, Celia Cook, explains that the shop is “so classy and soft and attentive” (Butze). She demonstrates that even the décor has been chosen to create an atmosphere that encapsulates the feeling of empowerment for women through women. Harriett’s bookshop is ever-changing in what books they sell in their store but have what Jeannine Cook calls “foundational foremothers” or “foundational texts,” which are Toni Morrison, Zora Neal Hurston, and Octavia Butler, who are always displayed in their store (Butze).

Harriett’s bookshop has a highly curated variety of books that changes frequently. The bookshop is split into two levels. Both levels demonstrate a different purpose but share a theme of invoking learning and growth. When you first see Harriett’s bookshop, the first thing you notice is its books that are displayed in the front window. These books are usually the foremothers, which helps to showcase their ideals from the start (Rebolini). When you enter the bookshop, visitors immediately notice the wallpaper and how the books are displayed. The walls are painted to look like the shelves are built into the wall. The store is white with black outlines for the bookshelves and picture frames painted on the wall. The overall bookshop gives off a two-dimensional feeling. The vision behind the two-dimensional feeling was to have people feel like they were stepping “inside a book” (NBC). Once a visitor is done marveling over the walls, they notice a square shelf that sticks out in the middle to act as a wall to make another room that splits the front desk and the stairs to the basement. On these shelves, they showcase newer books written for women by women. The front desk has more books behind the counter and more shelves in front. Behind the front desk, there is a painted drawing of Harriet Tubman. Next is the children’s corner with books that help to inspire children in different aspects or to teach them. The children’s books are focused on picture books of children of color and activism. For example, they have a children’s book about the origin story of Harriett’s Bookshop. Right next to the children’s corner is a door that leads to an outside reading garden.

The hallway walking to the garden is also full of two-dimensional drawings with women from the past and quotes also being displayed leading to the door. The reading garden is a little area with a two-dimensional classy look, with white tables and chairs, bookshelves with books, and green plants that help to give in an earthly atmosphere.

images from Foursquare

The design of Harriett’s bookshop lacks color on the walls and the shelves, but it adds its color by having the covers of books faced out and alternating between books in each box to create a variety pattern.

The basement floor is called the Underground, and it is decorated like a nightclub. She hosts her book club down there. The underground showcases the concept that bookshelves are “power symbols” and influence how people interact with them within the room by the way they are shaped in the space (Pyne, 57). They showcase this by having bookshelves along the wall and having a wide-open space, portraying that the bookshelves are essential, but having more people being able to meet is more important.
The Underground is a place where visitors look at books through candlelight to pay respect to those before them who had to hide that they could read. The Underground also has special days where silent browsing happens to extend respect to their ancestors (Rebolini). The Underground is decorated with “thought-provoking” quotes and questions to have visitors not only thinking about their next book but also what this book could help to teach them (Poitevien). According to the assistant of Harriett’s bookshop, the books sold in the basement are generally gently used 5-dollar books “grouped in deep categorical dives.” An example of the books would be a fiction shelf focused on post-civil war life, the Harlem Renaissance, and women politicians.

The books in Harriett’s have a specific focus on activism and women. They focus on text that helps to improve society, but also, sometimes, the owner will put in books that she likes and thinks the community should learn more about. She talks about how bookshops are not a “box” and that they live “outside the realm of boxes” (Butze). She is talking about how bookshops create their way of fitting in and standing out. She also states that her bookshop is not an “airport shop” and that she focuses on what the community needs and wants to read that fits in the realm of her quest. She has said that she has gotten an airport book to see how the community would react. The responses from the community were interesting. People questioned the book’s placement, which she put on the bottom shelf, and others expressed that this was their guilty pleasure to read (Butze). This concept of being able to choose what you sell is reinforced in an article called, The Science and Recent History of Bookstore Design. The article talks about how owners have more freedom in who they can bring into their stores vs. how it used to be the publisher sent into the highest buyer (Manusos).

Harriett’s bookshop overall is a place that is cultivating the young mind. It uses as much of the space as she can to illustrate her love for not only books but also for bringing about change. The quotes on the walls and the people she has illustrated showcase this, as well as the events and books she hosts and displays in the bookshop. The owner’s knowledge and experience create a movement through books. This bookshop uses its space not only to inspire and educate but to keep history relevant so that no one forgets, and they continue to fight until every injustice to women and women of color is resolved.

Sources

Butze, Olivia. “Libro.Fm Podcast – Episode 12: ‘Interview with the Owners of Harriett’s Bookshop.’” Libro.Fm Audiobooks, 27 Mar. 2023, blog.libro.fm/libro-fm-podcast-episode-12-interview-with-harriets-bookshop/#transcription.  

“Harriett’s Bookshop.” Foursquare, foursquare.com/v/harrietts-bookshop/5e35b8a132cdc20008ddbb52. Accessed 1 Nov. 2023.

image of a Harriett’s Bookshop front . https://www.inquirer.com/life/harrietts-bookshop-sit-in-activism-20201009.html.

Manusos, Lyndsie. “The Science and Recent History of Bookstore Design.” BOOK RIOT, 23 Feb. 2022, bookriot.com/the-science-and-recent-history-of-bookstore-design/.  

NBC, https://www.nbc.com/the-kelly-clarkson-show/video/philadelphia-bookstore-honors-harriet-tubmans-legacy-with-deliveries-on-horseback/993861984. Accessed 1 Nov. 2023.  

Pictures of Harriett’s bookshop on Yelp . Https://Www.Yelp.Com/Biz/Harriett-s-Bookshop-Philadelphia.

Poitevien, Jessica. “This Philadelphia Bookstore Honors Harriet Tubman’s Legacy with Literature, Art, and Activism.” Travel + Leisure, Travel + Leisure, 21 Oct. 2022, www.travelandleisure.com/trip-ideas/harrietts-bookshop-philadelphia.  

Pyne, Lydia. “Bookshelves as Signs and Symbols.” Bookshelf, p. 57. 

Rebolini, Arianna. Harriett’s Bookshop Owner Jeannine Cook Says Connection Is at the Root …, 28 Feb. 2022, www.oprahdaily.com/entertainment/books/a39186848/jeannine-cook-harrietts-bookshop/. 

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Pictures of Harriett’s bookshop on Yelp . Https://Www.Yelp.Com/Biz/Harriett-s-Bookshop-Philadelphia.