Our Story

Edward R. Hamilton was an entrepreneur from an early age. His first two businesses were a newspaper delivery company (Rural News Delivery Inc., co-founded with his mother, Ellen) and a garden supply company. Similar to many entrepreneurs, these early efforts were not very successful. Due to the latter business closing, the family was well equipped with garden supplies for quite some time.

In 1969, Ed began a bargain book business in his home in Danbury, CT. Bookshelves soon took over the garage, and vehicles had to be parked outside. Ed worked tirelessly, packing book orders on his bed, his logic being that sleep was not an option until all the work was done. Ed worked 12-16 hour days, seven days a week.

From 1969-1979, Ed was the only employee, with an average annual income of $3,000. He learned the ins and outs of the industry, and became one of the largest retailers of remainder books in the country at the time, behind only Publishers Central Bureau and Barnes & Noble.

Having outgrown his home, Ed moved the business several times, trying other Danbury locations, a warehouse in Sherman, Connecticut, and even a brief foray into Vermont. In 1983, Ed discovered a lawnmower repair shop for sale in Falls Village, CT. It has been home to the business ever since.

The Falls Village building was expanded as warranted. The picking aisles expanded from 10 to 69 aisles in approximately 1991. In 1998, Ed bought a second warehouse, also located in Falls Village. In 2000, a new warehouse and four-bay loading dock/office facility building was added to the main building. And while he no longer lives at the warehouse, for much of the preceding four decades, Ed lived in an attached apartment whose door directly opened into Aisle 1 of the warehouse picking floor. Just as when he started the business, Ed could often be found picking late into the night, allowing himself sleep only when the job was done.

The book industry has changed a lot since 1969, as has our catalog. However, from the early days of the black and white newsprint edition, which was likely to leave ink stains on your hand, to the glossy full color catalogs we send now, the design strategy has largely been the same: deliver great deals to the customer in an easy-to-read, unpretentious format. In 1999 we launched our website, Hamiltonbook.com, which is a great place to get your order in a little quicker. However, to this day, the foundation of the business remains our mail order catalog and our incredibly dedicated customers.

Falls Village, and the surrounding Litchfield Hills, have been a wonderful home to Edward R. Hamilton Bookseller Company, and in turn we do our best to support the town. Many local families have had multiple generations work here, and in fact, many members of the Hamilton family have found themselves working at the bookstore, some for a summer, some for their entire career. We are also proud that many of our current managers and supervisors started as book pickers and worked their way up the ladder. We are a decidedly old-fashioned family business, and we are proud of it.

But regardless of last name, where we come from, or how long we have been here, we all try to embody the ethos that Ed exemplified from the beginning—we will rest when the work is done.