Of Libraries & Ladders

I loved when the City section used to be part of the New York Times each Sunday. The Sunday paper hasn’t been as enjoyable since the section was killed in 2009. I have browser bookmarks and actual clippings of some of my fave articles from the old section. One was this 2008 article on the Putnam Rolling Ladder Company, a firm that began in 1905, and is still located in New York City, manufacturing wooden ladders and stools for home libraries and businesses. I was stunned when I first read the article, because I quickly realized that my family and I had owned one of their ladders for years.

My wife and I bought it at an antique store bought in the 90s, and it was old then. We still use it regularly. I happened to check before putting up this post and note that Putnam is still in business today, on Howard Street in lower Manhattan, in a building they own. So if you have a home library you treasure and you need a ladder, consider asking this family-owned indie business to make one for you. Their ladders really last.