 |
| Nicky
Salan loved all children’s books, but one of her
favorites was A.A. Milne’sWinnie-the-Pooh. This photo,
showing Salan sharing a bench with the real Pooh Bear,
used to hang above her desk at Cover to Cover, the
bookstore she founded in 1976. |
Nicky Salan, founder of the long-celebrated Cover
to Cover
bookstore, has died. Salan, who was also a pioneer in the San
Francisco
children’s book trade, passed away on Oct. 10 after a long
illness. She was 77.
Cover to Cover was a Noe Valley institution that
flourished for
almost 30 years at several locations in the neighborhood. The
bookstore
developed out of Salan’s love for children’s books, which in
turn grew out of
her efforts to help desegregate the San Francisco city schools
back in the
1960s. During that struggle Salan had determined that San
Francisco children
did not have sufficient access to quality books. “Even the
schools did not have
enough books for kids to read at that time,” said her
daughter, Debra Salan.
Trying to remedy the situation, Salan started a
book fair
business, called the Book Rack, which she operated out of the
basement of her
Haight-Ashbury home. She held book fairs in schools and
various neighborhood
locations twice a week for several years.
In the mid-1970s, Salan took the next step and
opened Cover to
Cover. The bookstore’s original location was at 24th Avenue
and Clement Street
in the Richmond District. Initially, Cover to Cover carried
mostly children’s
books as well as books on Jewish literature and culture.
Gradually, Salan
expanded her inventory to include more general interest books.
“Throughout her
career,” said daughter Debra, “my mom’s goal was to match the
right person with
the right book.”
In the early 1980s, Nicky Salan
opened a second Cover to Cover store, in Noe Valley at 24th
and Sanchez
streets, where See Jane Run is now. Some years later, wanting
a larger space,
Salan moved the store to 3812 24th St., near the corner of
Church Street,
occupying today’s Shoe Biz site. Feeling overextended, she
eventually decided
to close her Richmond District store and concentrate on making
the Noe Valley
location a success.
One of Salan’s triumphs, and an indication of her
standing in the
children’s book industry, was the appearance of author J.K.
Rowling at a
signing and reading of her third Harry Potter book at Cover to
Cover in 1999.
It was the only signing to take place at a Bay Area bookstore.
Over the years,
many other noted authors chose Cover to Cover as a setting to
introduce their
work to the public.
Tracy Wynne, who worked for Salan for nine years
from 1990 to
1999, and who in 2000 took over the bookstore with partner
Mark Ezarik when
Salan decided to retire, said it was “a real honor” to work
with her.
“She was incredibly talented when it came to
children’s books,”
Wynne said, calling her “a national figure” in her field.
Cover to Cover’s last location was on Castro
Street, near 24th
Street. The store finally shut its doors in 2010, a victim of
the economy and
the changing nature of the book business.
Nicky Salan was born in Ellicott City, Md., the
daughter of Sam
and Florence Caplan. Her father owned a
general merchandise store and her mother was a teacher and
member of the
Women’s Army Corps (WAC) during World War II. Salan attended
Bucknell
University in Pennsylvania before switching to Barnard College
in New York
City, graduating from there in 1955. While at Bucknell, Salan
staked an early
claim to fame in the literary world by dating future author
Philip Roth for
almost a year. Roth, who would later become famous for such
works as Goodbye,
Columbus and Portnoy’s Complaint, was
also a Bucknell
student.
After graduation, Nicky wed Marty Salan, a future
advertising
executive. Early in their marriage, Marty was drafted into the
army, and Nicky
went with him when he was assigned duty in Hawaii.
On their way back to Maryland after military
service, the Salans
stopped off in San Francisco. According to Debra, Salan took
one look at San
Francisco and said, “I’m never leaving this place.”
Salan quickly became involved in community
affairs, protesting
against the Vietnam War as well as working for the integration
of the San
Francisco public schools.
In retirement Salan passed her time at her house
on Vicksburg
Street, where she had moved after she and her husband
divorced. She followed
the San Francisco Giants religiously, never missing a season
opener. She was
also an avid crossword puzzle player and a gourmet cook.
Besides daughter Debra, Salan is survived by a
son, Fred; three
grandsons, Aram, Daniel, and Marco Salan; and her beloved
chihuahua mix,
Charlie, who “misses her very much.”
Services for Salan were held on Oct. 12 at San
Francisco’s Sinai
Memorial Chapel. Contributions in Salan’s name are welcomed at
the Nicky Salan
Library Fund at Grattan School, 165 Grattan St., San
Francisco, CA 94117.
