The Mercer hotel library by Dashwood Books is an analogue delight
The Mercer hotel in New York is embracing analogue pleasures, including a library curated by Dashwood Books
![Shelves filled with books at The Mercer hotel library, New York](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/v97iNN7YSP5hVJVRVyfUu4-415-80.jpg)
The old is always the new. And that iconic beacon of culture the Mercer Hotel in SoHo, New York knows this best. In a world where there are too many screens, too many digital moments, and endless impersonal emails, The Mercer is offering us old-world charm, not least in the form of its first-ever library, in collaboration with Dashwood Books.
As a property – in a landmark Romanesque revival building – the hotel is embracing little touches from the old world, and exploring what analogue looks like. The Mercer has opted to return to real room keys that have weight in the hand, and handwritten notes with fresh flowers to delight guests.
Most wondrously, there are no iPads and extra screens in the rooms complicating the simplest tasks. Even their iconic clock with hands, and their new bees on the hotel rooftop feel like a hankering for the wholesome and the more natural.
Room keys at the front desk
The Mercer hotel’s library curated by Dashwood Books
One of the hotel’s most incredible feats is its new private library, with floor-to-ceiling mahogany bookshelves curated by Dashwood Books and tended weekly. The choice of Dashwood Books was easy – a neighbourhood institution just three blocks away, it is known for equipping Gucci’s nearby 63 Wooster Street bookstore with some 2,000 titles, and curating many private collections.
‘I opened my specialty store 17 years ago now, inspired by the Japanese book culture, where they honour and respect books above all,’ says David Strettel, photographer and owner of Dashwood Books.
‘People respond to art books – they have a visceral reaction to the amalgam of good design and well thought-out content. I wanted to offer that to the guests of the hotel; they can peruse a carefully selected reference library in the lobby (or in the suites) and have a feeling of home away from home,’ Strettel adds.
He brings in a variety of books – ranging from vintage design and photography titles to rare books imported from Japan, and others by independent European publishers that just won’t sell elsewhere. You may find yourself enjoying a cup of tea and thumbing through Money by Prill Vieceli Cremers, Red Flower, The Women of Okinawa by Mao Ishikawa, or Annebella Pollen’s The Kindred of the Kibbo Kift.
Wallpaper* Newsletter + Free Download
For a free digital copy of August Wallpaper*, celebrating Creative America, sign up today to receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories
Besides the highly specialised and unique books, the hotel is also buying up independent magazines, so that guests can sit, order a cocktail and page away – just another touch of tactile nostalgia. These crucial and beautiful analogue moments are for putting down the phone, sitting quietly and meditating on all this book beauty.
Daniel Scheffler is a storyteller for The New York Times and others. He has a travel podcast with iHeart Media called Everywhere and a Substack newsletter, Withoutmaps, where he shares all his wild ways. He lives in New York with his husband and their pup.
-
‘Hedonistic and avant-garde’: Rabanne’s Julian Dossena on the legacy of the chainmail 1969 bag
Paco Rabanne’s 1969 chainmail handbag encapsulates the late designer’s futuristic, space-age style. Current creative director Julien Dossena tells Wallpaper* about the bag’s particular pleasures
By Jack Moss Published
-
Postcard from Paris: Olympic fever takes over the streets
On the eve of the opening ceremony of Paris 2024, our correspondent shares her views from the streets of the capital about how the event is impacting the urban landscape.
By Minako Norimatsu Published
-
The Mercury Prize nominees for 2024 have been revealed
Charli XCX, The Last Dinner Party and Beth Gibbons are amongst this year's nominees
By Charlotte Gunn Published
-
Inside Two Fifteen, Ian Schrager and Nur Khan’s New York bar
Two Fifteen at New York’s Public hotel captivates with sultry boudoir interiors and a four-stage cocktail menu
By Tianna Williams Published
-
Famed steakhouse Beefbar opens an art deco-infused outpost in New York City
Beefbar’s first US location finds a home in an impressive 1920s Tribeca building, boasting interiors by Humbert & Poyet
By Dan Howarth Published
-
Inside the lavish, members-only Core Club New York
Core Club opens a new flagship in New York, boasting top-tier hospitality and entertainment, and a terrace with panoramic Manhattan views
By Sofia de la Cruz Published
-
Warren Street Hotel is a colourful marvel in downtown Tribeca
The Warren Street Hotel boasts a distinct blue façade and eclectic interiors by Kit Kemp Design Studio
By Sofia de la Cruz Published
-
San Sabino offers mellow Italian-American dining in New York
San Sabino debuts in New York’s West Village, helmed by Angie Rito and Scott Tacinelli, with interiors by GRT Architects
By Sofia de la Cruz Published
-
Fried chicken fever? Coqodaq knows how to do it
Devoted disciples of Korean fried chicken can worship at Manhattan’s Coqodaq, designed by the Rockwell Group
By Sofia de la Cruz Published
-
New York restaurant The Wesley’s interiors reflect its plant-forward menu
At New York restaurant The Wesley, living walls, wheat stalks and pressed flora adorn a trio of starkly different spaces designed by Elmo Studios
By Dan Howarth Published
-
Bondst Hudson Yards promises intimate Japanese dining in NYC
Bondst inaugurates its second location, facing the Hudson River, following the success of its flagship location in NoHo
By Sofia de la Cruz Published