To use the Tabard Inn Library you signed up for a lifetime membership for $3 (which would be about $100 today). This entitled you to borrow books for an additional 5¢ per book. The kiosks could be found in drug stores and other retail establishments. Eaton also had a home delivery book service called the Booklovers Library. The scheme didn’t last long but did result in the creation of a huge mailing list that Eaton attempted to use for other businesses. Does this sound familiar? My local Von’s grocery store has a DVD rental service kiosk out front that still gets use.
No, I’m not going to build a Tabard Inn Library reproduction for myself but I certainly admire this beautiful example.
If you’d like more background on the Tabard Inn Library and related businesses head over here.
A heavy piece of furniture with all its weight on one central point makes me nervous. It just seems like a malfunction waiting to happen.
Good point. When I started building solid oak furniture I was surprised at how heavy it is.
The Tabard Inn, Southwark was the establishment from where Chaucer’s Canterbury pilgrims departed. Apparently, at the time, it was far from being a high-class establishment and had a clientele composed largely of “pilgrims, drunks, travelers, criminals, and prostitutes”. Sounds much more interesting than a rotating cupboard full of books!
A hundred bucks for a lifetime of books seems like a bargain. Of course, not if the company folds rather quickly. Interesting. I’ve never heard of this Little Free Library style predecessor.