Profile

Rare-book stores can be comprehensive without resembling an annex to Hogwarts—something Ursus Books keeps in mind. The front room at the Madison Avenue branch is airy and light-filled to attract casual browsers, but it’s the collection that seduces hard-core bibliophiles. Ursus always has key original art books on hand, such as Matisse’s Poèmes de Charles d’Orléans, as well as treasures like a first-edition On the Origin of Species.