22. Small Kiosk

At south west corner of President and Harrison intersection

Used books only. Not open regularly.

Only one book bought: The Two Undertakers by Francis Beeding. That was in 1975.

According to an obituary of Chris Barron in the Sunday Times of 21 March 2004 this was run by Rose Balkin from about 1957 to 1998. Thereafter she sold her books outside the Norwood Hypermarket on the first Thursday of every month and at The Hamlet in Turffontein three times a week. All proceeds, about R2 million total, went to The Hamlet School for Mentally Disabled Children, founded by her brother-in-law Maurice Schwartz. She was 83.

23. Arcadian Bookshop

A small shop next to Show Services, the booking agency, in the shopping area of rand central, northside of Jeppe between Eloff and Joubert.

New books

The man in charge, presumably the owner, was Albert Segal. Somehow they never seemed to have anything in my line. I don’t think I ever bought a book there. This was in the 1950s.

This shop moved to the north-west corner of Harrison and President. The area was larger than the previous, but I think the stock was the same, which made it look rather bare. Just before my mother and I visited Israel and Italy I bought 1 small illustrated phrase book there which I no longer have. This was in 1959. Entrance in Harrison.

Albert Segal: Wrote Johannesburg Friday, a novel published by, I think, Geoffrey Bil-J, I haven’t read it. There were many solid paragraphs and few conversations. He was of medium height, slightly built, with dark hair and glasses, elderly and looking rather unhappy.

On Sunday afternoons in central JHB I sometimes passed him in the street. Once or twice he was in female company, but mostly he was alone. This was probably in the 1960s after Arcadian had ceased to exist.

At one time about 1970 they had in their window a lovely Hugo Naude Namaqualand painting about 30x20 cm in a large frame, price R500. Should I have bought it? It was a lot of money. Manhattans had to leave and felt bitter about it. The SA permanent BUD.SOC. moved in and bricked up the coroner. Clevisons, Manhattans, and Lightbody’s were the best in town.