Teary Shutter Signage: Oscar Wilde Bookshop Packs Up on Christopher Street

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The West Village is set to lose a another historic gay and lesbian stomping ground. The Oscar Wilde Bookshop at 15 Christopher Street will shut down at the end of March, a victim of the economy. The fact that people aren't reading as many books as they used to, and that "regular" bookstores now also carry gay and lesbian literature can't have helped either. The sad letter you see above appears on the store's website; City Room has a teary email that owner Kim Brinster sent out to customers today. She told Times reporter Sewell Chan that, "sales had declined by double-digit percentages, compared to a year, each month since August" and that on Tuesday, "the store had only two paid customers."
· Oscar Wilde Books [Official Site, via City Room]