The William Reese Company: Their offices are in Manhattan

William Reese Company

Americana – Rare Books – Literature

American Art – Photography

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William Reese Company Relocates to New York, Consolidating Its Leadership Position in Americana

Legendary rare book dealer moves from New Haven to an expansive new gallery and office space in the heart of Manhattan’s thriving rare book community

New York, September 2025 — After close to five decades as a cornerstone of the rare book world in New Haven, the William Reese Company, one of the preeminent authorities in Americana, has announced its relocation to New York City. The firm’s new home is an expansive 8th-floor gallery and office space at 14 East 60th Street in the former Hotel Fourteen –immediately adjacent to what used to be the storied Copacabana Club.

The move marks a defining chapter in the company’s history, positioning Reese at the heart of New York’s thriving rare book community. The characterful interior of the new space retains echoes of its former life as an elegant hotel and is illuminated by a triptych of vertical window bays, hallmarks of the building’s early 20th-century Beaux-Arts design. Stylish bump-out bookcases further define the space, creating an inviting and accessible setting for collectors, scholars, and institutions to engage with the firm’s unrivalled inventory of Americana.

For the first time, William Reese Company will transition from by-appointment-only operations to regular retail hours from 10am – 6pm Monday to Friday, welcoming a broader public, alongside its core customer base of academically rigorous book buyers.

The juxtaposition of Reese’s scholarly focus with the legendary nightlife history of what used to be the Copacabana next door underscores the firm’s distinctive blend of gravitas and cultural vitality. Steps away from the Grolier Club and in close proximity to the New York headquarters of co-owners Peter Harrington and James Cummins Bookseller, the new location cements Reese’s presence in the global rare book capital.

“Relocating to New York brings us closer to our clients and peers while reaffirming our longstanding commitment to the preservation of printed American history and original manuscript material” said James Cummins, co-owner. “This move situates Reese at the heart of the New York rare book community at precisely the right moment in its evolution.”

“It’s been three years now since William Reese Company came under the joint Harrington-Cummins ownership, and we have used that time to streamline and upgrade the operational side of things – build a new website, a new database and consolidate and update inventory. The move to New York is part of a bigger picture that honors the company’s past while ensuring it is well placed for a strong future in the rare book world,” adds Pom Harrington, co-owner.

The New York team was joined by Senior Specialist Ella Hall earlier this year after a distinguished twelve-year tenure at Sotheby’s. With expertise spanning women’s history, cultural and social history, photography, archives, and literature, Hall brings both scholarship and vision to Reese’s already renowned Americana department. She is joined by rare book colleagues Chris Finis and Thomas Gillan from the New Haven team and hopes to grow the team locally in New York.

“It’s been a privilege to join William Reese Company at such a transformative time for the firm. My colleagues and I are looking forward to welcoming clients to the New York gallery, and to cultivating an engaging space for Americanists of all kinds,” says Hall.

Founded by the late William Reese, the firm has long been regarded as the foremost dealer in Americana, handling landmark works that shaped the cultural and political life of the United States. Its new Manhattan location will house thousands of rare books, manuscripts, and archives, ensuring Reese continues to be an essential resource for collectors, libraries, and scholars worldwide.

The gallery at 14 East 60th Street will officially open to the public on September 25th.

About William Reese Company

Founded in 1975 by the late legendary bookseller William S. Reese, the New Haven-based William Reese Company is among the leading specialists in the fields of Americana and world travel, with a large and eclectic inventory of more than 40,000 first editions and antiquarian books. For close to half a century, the company has served a large international clientele of individual collectors as well as private and public institutions in the acquisition of rare books and manuscripts, and in developing their own collections. The company also occasionally publishes works related to American bibliography and holds some recommended Americana references in its inventory.

James Cummins Bookseller

Founded in 1978, James Cummins Bookseller is one of the leading antiquarian book dealers in New York City, specializing in American and English literature, Americana, sporting, and fine books. Led by its founder Jim Cummins, the business has expanded over the last decade by his son James Cummins III, and includes both a shop on Madison Avenue as well as multiple warehouses holding over 600,000 volumes.

Peter Harrington

From its beginnings in London in 1969, Peter Harrington has built an international reputation for sourcing and selling the finest first editions, signed and inscribed books, rare manuscripts, fine bindings, and library sets. Over more than fifty years, Peter Harrington has handled thousands of significant works, from incunabula, early illuminated manuscripts, and Shakespeare folios to landmark works of science, literature, political thought, travel, philosophy, and the arts. With a team of subject specialists and bibliographers, the firm brings exceptional depth of knowledge to every item it handles, and works closely with collectors, libraries, and institutions to build collections of lasting cultural and scholarly value. Its galleries in Chelsea and Mayfair in London, as well as New York’s Upper East Side, offer a welcoming, elegant setting to explore rare books and works on paper.