The Pillar
One of the heaviest new features in Powell's recent expansion is The Pillar of Books. Anchoring the store's new northwest entrance, The Pillar is comprised of eight of the world's great books, carved from Tenino sandstone, stacked one on top of another to form a nine foot column. Each title was carved in the script in which it was originally printed (Sanskrit, Arabic, English, Russian, Chinese, Hebrew, and Ancient Greek) by artisans dressed in costume according to the book's time and culture – or so the cartoon version goes.
The Pillar includes:
 Mahabharata
Epic poem of India that includes the Bhagavad-Gita. Compiled from the
5th-1st century BC.
1000 Nights and a Night
Classic collection of Arabic tales. Compiled from the 13th-16th century
AD.
Hamlet
Shakespeare's timeless drama of betrayal and retribution. First presented
in 1602.
War & Peace
Tolstoy's novel of Russia during the Napoleonic Wars. First published
in 1865.
 Tao
te Ching
Ancient work of Chinese philosophy attributed to Lao Tzu. The basis of
Taoism. Compiled in the 4th century BC.
Psalms
Hebrew religious poetry compiled from 1400-1500 BC.
The Odyssey
Homer's epic of the Greek world after the Trojan War. Written in the
6th century BC.
The Whale
Original title of Moby Dick, first published in 1851. The Whale
was chosen for reasons in addition to its literary significance. Early in
his career, Michael Powell found and purchased a pallet of books at an auction
house in Chicago. Included, he later learned, was a rare set of leather-bound
Melville titles. One of those volumes was The Whale, a very early edition
of the American classic which would later bear the name Moby Dick.
For readers and collectors of all kinds, the joy of Michael's experience,
unexpectedly finding a personal treasure, remains at the heart of dealing
in used and rare books.
COEME LIBRUM: Buy the Book
LEGE LIBRUM: Read the Book
CARPE LIBRUM: Enjoy the Book
VENDE LIBRUM: Sell the Book
Powell's Books
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