Evelyn de Mille (August 1, 1919 – October 31, 2013) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

known for being the first woman in

Calgary, Alberta Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

to own her own stand-alone

bookstore Bookselling is the commercial trading of books which is the retail and distribution end of the publishing process. People who engage in bookselling are called booksellers, bookdealers, bookpeople, bookmen, or bookwomen. The founding of librar ...

.Evelyn de Mille
, '' Library and Archives Canada''; URL accessed May 19, 2006. She opened her first bookstore in 1956.Brennan, Brian, "Evelyn de Mille: Book seller extraordinaire: After 43 years in the trade, retailer is ready to turn the page on an illustrious career Series: International Year of Older Persons",, Calgary Herald. Calgary Herald. Calgary, Alta.: Jun 27, 1999. pg. E.1.FRO In 1974 she became the first woman in Canada to found a bookstore chain. In 1972, she was the first female president of the Canadian Booksellers Association. In this role, she helped found the ''Bookseller of the Year Awards''. In 1974 she sold her business to

W H Smith WHSmith (also written WH Smith, and known colloquially as Smith's and formerly as W. H. Smith & Son) is a British retailer, headquartered in Swindon, England, which operates a chain of high street, railway station, airport, port, hospital and ...

, with whom she was involved in a legal dispute. Evelyn de Mille bought the Owl's Nest bookstore in 1979 and operated it until she sold it 1996. In 1999, she announced she was retiring permanently from the trade and would sell her last remaining book store, DeMille Technical Books. It was later sold to

McNally Robinson McNally Robinson Booksellers is a family-operated chain of Canadian independent bookstores founded in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1981. It is managed by new owners Chris Hall and Lori Baker, formerly managed by Holly and Paul McNally. As of 2019 it h ...

bookstore chain.Parker, David, "Paperwork completed on bookstore", ''Calgary Herald'', January 2, 2002, p. E.3 In 1998, she was awarded an honorary degree as a Doctor of Laws by the

University of Calgary The University of Calgary (U of C or UCalgary) is a public research university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The University of Calgary started in 1944 as the Calgary branch of the University of Alberta, founded in 1908, prior to being ins ...

. DeMille Technical Books operated as part of McNally Robinson's Calgary store from 2002 until McNally Robinson closed the store in 2008. Under the advice and mentorship of Evelyn DeMille, the assets of DeMille Technical Books were bought by Charlie Perry and the bookstore was re-established under the name DeMille Technical and Business Books Ltd. The bookstore store continues to serve professionals, trades people and students from its location in downtown Calgary at (Second Level) Standard Life Tower, 639 5th Avenue S.W. Until a few months before her death Evelyn DeMille was an advocate of independent business and was an advisor to DeMille Books. Evelyn purchased a page of the Gutenberg bible, and donated it to the University of Calgary, where it now resides in their library. This entry will be updated with news on her further willed donations and long term support to the University of Calgary.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:De Mille, Evelyn Businesspeople from Calgary Canadian booksellers 1919 births 2013 deaths Canadian company founders Canadian women company founders

Further reading

References