The bookstore in Chicago is having a sale after the owner’s death, except he didn’t die

News quickly spread that the owner of a nearly century-old bookstore had died.

Social media posts were created. Wrote a news article. Emails sent.

When Rebecca George, co-owner of a bookstore in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood, learned that the owner of the Gallery Bookstore in Lakeview had died and left behind a store full of books, she mobilized Chicago’s book-loving community.

After all, George estimated that 20,000 to 30,000 books were crammed into the store, which has only had two owners and been overseen by Bill Fiedler since 1989.

Last weekend, the store hosted an “End of an Era” sale to honor Fiedler’s legacy and distribute his books and memorabilia to as many people as possible at discounted prices.