depression

From: ephemera

Most businesses have a life span, of course, but independent bookstores have always been the runts of the litter.
" The Bookshop" in Davenport, Iowa probably lasted through the Depression, but this is only speculation (there is no record of it I can find; and the same goes for "Robert Christian Lorenz").
     There were success stories, however: here's a bookstore that made it through till the present...

From Google Maps: 222 West 3rd St., Davenport, Iowa

"The Strand Bookstore is an independent bookstore located at 828 Broadway, at the corner of East 12th Street in the East Village neighbourhood of Manhattan, New York City, two blocks south of Union Square.
     In addition to the main location, the store's Central Park kiosk is open on fair weather days at the corner of Fifth Avenue and East 60th Street.

     The Strand was opened by Benjamin Bass in 1927 on nearby Fourth Avenue, in what was known as 'Book Row,' which was established as early as 1890, and which had at the time 48 bookstores.[1] Bass's son Fred took over the business in 1956 and soon moved the store to the present location at the corner of East 12th Street and Broadway. [...]

The store occupies three and a half floors, using half a floor for offices and one additional floor as warehouse space. As of December 2011, the store has 2.5 million books."
– wikipedia
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"People get ready, there's a train a comin'" — Curtis Mayfield

From: ThisWorldWeLiveIn.com

William Lyon Mackenzie King (his dog Pat is nowhere to be seen) and an unknown friend boarding a train in Montreal. They are setting out in 1930 convinced that they will reach Elora in time for the 2013 Writer's Festival.
     They have read all of Terry Fallis's books and have taken it upon themselves to seek out Mr. Fallis and solicit his advice on the matter of the Great Depression. In deference to the plight of the common man they have pledged to restrict their movements to second class compartments. Even the Dining Car is off-limits.
     (Note that the Prime Minister's mysterious friend has a Festival brochure in his breast pocket — a detail which is puzzling to say the least, since the brochures has yet to be printed.)