The Old Meets the New at Cape Cod Bookstore

Titcomb's Book Shop in East Sandwich, Massachusetts, got its curious start in 1967 when Ralph and Nancy Titcomb bought a house in Connecticut and found caches of valuable books and documents throughout their home and barn. An impromptu business began when they sold their finds and then launched a mail-order business and had their eight children collating and compiling a catalog. Having stumbled upon the profession of bookselling, the Titcombs have stuck with it for more than 35 years. Titcomb's Book Shop still trades in antiquarian books, but it is now also a general new book bookstore.

Initially, the Titcombs started their business so they could keep their eight children living something of an idyllic country life. They found old railroad schedules and sold them to buy a Saint Bernard. The discovery of a stack of small bills helped pay for a pony. By the time they unearthed a document signed by Samuel Huntington, whose signature can also be found on the Declaration of Independence, selling books and documents had escalated into a way of life.

The Titcomb's eldest daughter, Vicky Uminowicz, became interested in bookselling while collating the family catalog, and after working as an associate director at Rockwood Museum in Delaware, she came back to bookselling for good. Uminowicz said she "liked the idea of teaching through museums," but has found that bookselling gives her another outlet for her love of teaching and history.

In 1969, Titcomb's moved to its current location in East Sandwich, located Mid-Cape just off historic Route 6A. The bookstore, attached to the family's 1790 Cape Cod-style house, is a fitting location to sell antiquarian books, but the store also stocks new general fiction and nonfiction, along with a strong children's literature section.

Uminowicz counts the Book Sense Picks lists as a great resource for finding new titles, which she keeps in a display at the front of the 2,400-square-foot store.

The store also specializes in books about Cape Cod. In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex by Nat Philbrick (Penguin) is a top seller and the current community-wide read. (Sandwich has dubbed their community read project "One Book, One Sandwich.") Another bookstore favorite is Kate Whouley's Cottage for Sale -- Must Be Moved, (Commonwealth Editions). "We did the opening book party for Kate," said Uminowicz. "It was really fun and exciting. Mr. Hayden, who's in the book, he's the one who moved the house, was there and has been back a number of times, buying books."

Front of Titcomb's Book Shop

Using new(ish) technology to promote, in some cases, centuries-old inventory, Titcomb's draws on the Internet to sell many of their antiquarian titles all over the world. After the recent snowstorm on the Cape, which dumped three feet of snow on an area unaccustomed to such heavy snows, Titcomb's stayed busy with Internet orders, including the sale of a second edition of The New History of Jamaica, by Charles Leslie, published in 1740, that went to the Cayman Islands.

East Sandwich residents have, throughout Titcomb's three and a half decades, remained intensely loyal to their local bookstore. "I really appreciate how supportive our customers are," said Uminowicz. "Some tell me that they'll see books they want in Hyannis, and they'll come back and order it from me. I think 'Oh my gosh, I need to do a really good job to deserve this.'" She added that although some of her customers are seasonal, that doesn't diminish their allegiance to the store, and after being in business for so long, that allegiance has carried over to the next generation. "It's really heartwarming. Customers come in with their kids and tell me, 'My parents always brought me here when I was a kid. Now I want to bring my kids here.'" --Karen Schechner