Carl and Jack Cole, born Carl Kolofsky and Isadore Kolofsky, were American brothers who created the successful bookstore chain Coles as well as the world-famous publication

Coles Notes Coles Notes are student guides to literature, published in Canada. The Coles bookstore first published Coles Notes in 1948. The first title published was on the French novella ''Colomba'' by Prosper Mérimée.Harbord Collegiate Institute Harbord Collegiate Institute (HCI or Harbord) is a public secondary school located in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The school is located in the Palmerston-Little Italy-Annex neighbourhood, situated on the north side of Harbord Street, betw ...

, but dropped out of high school after completing grade 10 in order to help provide for his family. Carl attended

Oakwood Collegiate Institute Oakwood Collegiate Institute (commonly known as OCI or Oakwood) is a public high school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located near the neighbourhoods of Regal Heights, Oakwood-Vaughan and Bracondale Hill. History and Alumni Oakwood was foun ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

. In 1935, at age 15, Jack and his brother Carl opened The Book Exchange, their first bookstore. It was located at Bloor and Spadina and specialized in second-hand books for the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

World War II

Jack joined the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...

upon Canada's entry into

War War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

. Due to his limited formal education, Jack started as a private, but within six months was promoted to a captain and stationed in England. At the same time, brother Carl ran the bookstore, which was thriving in Canada.

''Coles Notes''

Jack and Carl first published

Coles Notes Coles Notes are student guides to literature, published in Canada. The Coles bookstore first published Coles Notes in 1948. The first title published was on the French novella ''Colomba'' by Prosper Mérimée.Prosper Mérimée Prosper Mérimée (; 28 September 1803 – 23 September 1870) was a French writer in the movement of Romanticism, and one of the pioneers of the novella, a short novel or long short story. He was also a noted archaeologist and historian, and a ...

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ProQuest ProQuest LLC is an Ann Arbor, Michigan-based global information-content and technology company, founded in 1938 as University Microfilms by Eugene B. Power. ProQuest is known for its applications and information services for libraries, provid ...

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. There have been over 80,000,000 copies of ''Coles Notes'' sold in over 70 countries. They are currently owned by Indigo Books in Canada.

1950s and 1960s

In 1958, Jack and Carl sold the American rights to ''Coles Notes'' to Cliff Hillegass, who published the books under the '' Cliff's Notes'' moniker. By 1960, ''Coles Notes'' sales peaked when baby boomers were beginning to attend high school. At their peak, there were over 120 titles, mostly dealing with English novels, but they also had numerous other subjects, including languages, mathematics, and physics.

1970s

On June 7, 1972, the brothers took Coles Bookstore public, with Jack and Carl still retaining control over the business. At the time, Coles Bookstore had over 200 stores operating across Canada. Beginning in 1973, Jack and Carl opened over 50 stores in the United States,Link
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. but this venture was not very successful. In 1987

Southam Inc. Postmedia News is a national news agency with correspondents in Canada, Europe, and the United States and is part of the Canadian newspaper chain owned by Postmedia Network Inc. History The newspaper service "Southam Inc" was created in 1904 b ...

sold the remaining 52 stores to

Waldenbooks Waldenbooks, operated by the Walden Book Company, Inc., was an American shopping mall-based bookstore chain, from 1995 as a subsidiary of Borders Group. The chain also ran a video game and software chain under the name Waldensoftware, as well as a ...

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. In 1978, Jack and Carl sold their interest in Coles Bookstore to Southam Press for a reported C$34 million. Jack remained as president of the company until the early 1980s.

World's Biggest Bookstore

In 1980, Jack opened the

World's Biggest Bookstore The World's Biggest Bookstore was a bookstore in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, at 20 Edward St, just north of the Toronto Eaton Centre and the Atrium on Bay. Operating from 1980 until 2014, the three-storey store covered 64,000 square feet and was no ...

at the site of a former bowling alley. At the time, it was the largest bookstore in the world at . It was located in downtown

on Edward Street. Although the business is owned by

Indigo Books and Music Indigo Books & Music Inc., known as "Indigo" and stylized "!ndigo", is Canada's only major English-language bookstore chain. It is Canada's largest book, gift, and specialty toy retailer, operating stores in all ten provinces and one terr ...

, the building is owned by the Cole family. On June 20, 2012, Stuart Smith of CBRE Commercial Real Estate Services announced the lease on the store's building, which was set to expire at the end of 2013, would not be renewed by Indigo Books and Music. In March 2014 the World's Biggest Bookstore officially closed.

References

External links

I know that name

Coles Notes

The Great Canadian Trivia Book
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cole, Carl and Jack Canadian company founders Indigo Books and Music people Sibling duos Date of birth missing