Madge Jenison and a friend started their dream bookstore in lower Manhattan just prior to the First World War. Their aim was to sell only works that were truly worth reading, along with paintings, textiles, and crafts from local artists. Over the next half-dozen years the women and their handful of employees became known for their ability to suggest the right books for every reader. They compiled mini-libraries for settlement houses, businesses, and military training camps. They gave away worthwhile books to people who did not have the money to buy them. The "Sunwise Turn" was a short-lived enterprise, but it brought fulfillment and pleasure both to its owners and the readers who chanced to find the shop itself or one of its mail-order catalogues.
Madge Jenison and a friend started their dream bookstore in lower Manhattan just prior to the First World War. Their aim was to sell only works that were truly worth reading, along with paintings, textiles, and crafts from local artists. Over the next half-dozen years the women and their handful of employees became known for their ability to suggest the right books for every reader. They compiled mini-libraries for settlement houses, businesses, and military training camps. They gave away worthwhile books to people who did not have the money to buy them. The "Sunwise Turn" was a short-lived enterprise, but it brought fulfillment and pleasure both to its owners and the readers who chanced to find the shop itself or one of its mail-order catalogues.