“Why would anyone want to use a newsstand? The
pleasure of service counts for something. Thousands at your bidding do not
speed, but this man behind his counter will, if you give him a dollar.
Newsstands made a show of plenitude. Their wares were on display, from
broadsheet seriousness to tabloid shout. Newsstands made you feel on top of
things, even when you were in motion. Hurrying to an appointment, plunging into
a subway, you could tell at a glance, even if you did not spring for a paper,
what the headlines were. Just as promoters of plays used to cover the board
walls around construction sites with one, two, three, ten, 20 posters, to satisfy
the eye on the move, so a scattering of newsstands along your daily commute
served the same function.” — Richard Brookhiser, on city newsstands, in “Black and White and Read: All Over,” National Review, June 13, 2016
(Photo of Richard Brookhiser discussing his book James Madison at the Miller Center in
Charlottesville, Virginia, December 9, 2011)
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