Bookstores in 1946 clustered in affluent neighborhoods where they catered largely to the carriage trade. The grand book emporiums of New York City in 1946 like Brentano’s and Scribner’s were located along Fifth Avenue among the fur salons, upscale department stores and jewelers. Department stores also sold books. Womrath’s operated a chain of stores throughout the city and Doubleday had several locations in addition to its Fifth Avenue flagship. Small, independent bookstores were not a significant factor.
The remainder business had grown big during the Depression and had established its own distribution system and outlets. Drug stores had been the first stores to carry remaindered titles. Low-Cost Reprints of recent bestsellers and classics could be purchased at five-and-dimes, bookstores, department stores and other venues. Paperbacks were relatively new and sold at newsstands, drugstores, five-and-dimes and in the back or basement of some large bookstores.