Satyr Book Shop was opened in 1926 by William “Milton” Goodhand and Hazel Baker.[1] Originally located on Hudson Street, the business moved to its prime location next to the Hollywood Brown Derby at 1622 Vine Street, Hollywood, California soon after opening.[2]
In the late 1920s, Stanley Rose became a partner, although the partnership dissolved when Rose took the rap for his partners and pled guilty to violating a copyright by publishing a pirated edition of Charles "Chic" Sale's The Specialist. After a short jail sentence, Rose opened his own bookstore elsewhere in Hollywood.[2]
Milton and Hazel eventually sold their Hollywood bookshop to Edward Gilbert,[1] who renamed it Gilbert Books and relocated it to 6264 Hollywood Boulevard.[3]
After Edward Gilbert purchased the bookshop, he moved it to a Chateauesque commercial structure at 6264 Hollywood Boulevard, one that "exemplified one of the more colorful architectural styles popular in the 1930s." This building, built by H.J. Knauer in 1932, featured a steep pitched roof and asymmetrical massing with a wide bay on the west and a pyramidal tower on the east, the sides of which were decorated with quoins. The building also featured narrow pedimented dormers that rose to a broken swan's neck pediment with an urn.[3]