John Cole's Book Shop (originally John Cole's Book and Craft Shop) was a
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 ...
in
La Jolla
La Jolla ( , ) is a hilly, seaside neighborhood within the city of San Diego, California, United States, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The population reported in the 2010 census was 46,781.
La Jolla is surrounded on ...
,
San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...
,
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
. It was founded in 1946 by John (d. 1959) and Barbara Cole (d. 2004) on Ivanhoe Avenue, and moved in 1966 to the Wisteria Cottage at 780 Prospect Street. The cottage had housed
Ellen Browning Scripps
Ellen Browning Scripps (October 18, 1836 – August 3, 1932) was an American journalist and philanthropist who was the founding donor of several major institutions in Southern California. She and her half-brother E. W. Scripps created the E. W. ...
' half-sister Virginia, and
La Jolla Country Day School
La Jolla Country Day School (known informally as "Country Day" or "LJCDS") is an independent school in University City, a community of San Diego, California. The school contains a lower school (consisting of nursery through fourth grade), a m ...
, prior to becoming the location of John Cole's Book Shop. Susan and Charles Cole, the daughter and son of John and Barbara Cole worked in the book shop as did Susan's daughter Trilce and Charles' son Zachary. Zachary sold harmonicas in the book store. Parties were held for numerous authors over the years. The La Jolla Museum of Contemporary Art lent sculptures to John Cole's Book Shop which were displayed on the grounds.
John Cole's Book Shop specialized in books about Mexico, and specifically the Baja Peninsula as well as
Mexican art
Various types of visual arts developed in the geographical area now known as Mexico. The development of these arts roughly follows the history of Mexico, divided into the prehispanic Mesoamerican era, the colonial period, with the period after ...
museum
A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make thes ...
by the
La Jolla Historical Society
The La Jolla Historical Society is a private 501(c)(3), 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in the La Jolla community within San Diego, San Diego, California that is committed to the discovery, collection and preservation of La Jolla’s heritage thro ...