August 2026

Our well-loved store was once a well-loved home

On a summer day in 1898, Lyle Coulter and his dog, Pug, posed for a photo in front of their home at 1416 S. Broadway. On a summer day in 2026, a family historian, Irene Dayley, found the photo in her mother's attic, looked up the address of the house on Google, discovered the house was still standing, and, furthermore, saw that it was a used and rare bookstore. It seemed only appropriate to Irene that she reach out to us -- and she did. We've framed the photo she sent and hung it in the store. It seemed a fitting way to mark our 17th birthday.

Every birthday reminds us how grateful we are for your support. Used bookstores are a dying breed, but we continue to thrive -- despite rising rents, Amazon, a decline in reading and literacy, and everything else the fates have thrown at us.

Luke has been gone since 1954, but his childhood home is now home to booksellers who lovingly care for it -- and even a dog who carries on Pug's residence.

This month's Puzzler

On August 6, 1809, this man was born in Somersby, Lincolnshire, England. The fourth of twelve children born to the wife of an English clergyman, he was a precocious child who was bitten early by the poetry bug. Well before his teenage years, he was writing poems that emulated the styles of Alexander Pope, Sir Walter Scott, and John Milton.

After an unhappy adolescence in which he was subjected to the bullying that is often handed out to bookish young men with an interest in poetry, he attended Trinity College, Cambridge. His college experiences were far more satisfying, in large part because of his membership in a secret society of young intellectuals who called themselves “The Cambridge Apostles.”

He went on to become the most famous poet of his era, the author of such classic poems as “The Lady of Shalott,” “Crossing the Bar,” “Locksley Hall,” and “The Charge of the Light Brigade.” In 1850, at age forty, he was appointed by Queen Victoria to succeed William Wordsworth as poet laureate of England. He went on to serve in that position for forty-two years (the longest tenure of any English poet), until his death at age 83 in 1892.

Who was this man?

(Answer below)

This year's Rocky Mountain Book & Paper Fair

carries on a 472-year-old tradition

History's first recorded book fair was in Frankfurt in 1554. Printers, binders, and booksellers from throughout Europe gathered there to trade and sell books. Bookfairs have been going on ever since, with a few differences:

There now is a MUCH greater selection of books to choose from.
The booksellers are familiar with bathing and deodorant.
There's free parking

There's also a new location for this year's book fair -- the Ranch Events Center at 5280 Arena Cr., Loveland. We're excited about it, and hope you'll visit. We have free passes at the store, but if you're unable to come in, we will mail you one -- just ask.

The fair will be Friday, August 14 from 1-7 pm. and Saturday, August 15, from 10 am to 4 pm. It looks like there'll be a lot of dealers to visit, so plan accordingly.

We hope to see you there.

A bookseller's diary

Saturday, May 16, 2026

A motley crowd made it to Printed Page today: A guy with a skull and crossbones prominently tattooed across his throat asked if we had a copy of "How To Win Friends and Influence People." A young woman bought a copy of "The Prophet" to add to her library of 29 copies of "The Prophet." A young guy bought a copy of "Gilgamesh" and filled me in on its history, including the part where his prof lectured about it speaking Sumerian.

People were full of questions: "Do you have a copy of 'Lord of the Flies'?"

"Yes, it's in our gardening section."

"Seriously?"

"Yes, it was MISFLIED."

And, "If you could talk to any author, living or dead, who would it be?"

"A living one."

And, "What is your favorite book?"

"One that I wrote. But I know the proper answer is probably the Bible."

I asked a woman how she found us. "Chat GPT." That was a first.

People bought books on the Sino-Japanese war, the Kama Sutra, dinosaurs, Arabic myths, 19th century manners, and spirituality. Popular authors were Joan Didion, Kurt Vonnegut, Rudyard Kipling, Carl Sagan, Dostoyevsky, Homer, Machiavelli, and Cervantes.

I was grateful it was busy, as Saturdays need to be in our business.

As I closed, laughing couples walked hand-in-hand down the front sidewalk to bars and restaurants. Out back, a gaggle of laughing black-shirted tattoo artists passed a fog-generating bong.

As I started down the alley, a homeless guy with a blanket over his shoulders was coming the other way with his shopping cart. Five or six brooms stuck out of it. He was badly sunburned. I rolled down my window as I got even with him. “It looks like you could need some help,” I said, and gave him some money. He thanked me.

Everybody deserves a little break on Saturday night.

- Dan Danbom

And don't forget...

We're on Instagram @printedpagebookshop, where you'll frequently see new arrivals. And we're on Facebook, too -- more Puzzlers there!

Puzzler answer

Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Thanks to Dr. Mardy Grothe for the use of his puzzler. Visit him at drmardy.com.

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Denver, CO | 80210 US

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