Unidentified drug store with books

Unidentified drug store with books

This tantalizing interior of a drug store with books on the shelves is a photographic copy of an original that Jim Keefe took. Tantalizing because the Woodstock Literary and Library Association, precurser to the Woodstock Public Library, was founded in 1856. Members paid dues of 25 cents per year to have access to the books. The association's collection was housed at various pharmacies around the Square at different times, so we would like to know which location this is. Housing the library collection created additional foot traffic to the store so it was highly sought after by the druggists.

Two men stand near the glass-topped display cases. The gentleman on the right is standing next to a poster (perhaps political, perhaps advertising a show) with only the head-shot of a man and a single 9--probably a date--visible.

A radiator in the middle of the aisle draws the viewer's initial attention. Radiators were invented in 1855.

Two gas lamps hang from the ceiling while a number of gas jets with pipes are attached to the frames of the shelves.

The Woodstock Public Library was incorporated in 1890 and the collection of books from the Woodstock Literary and Library Association was moved to the northeast room of the new Woodstock Opera House.

Keefe, Jim

1856/1889