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Uncovered: Books, haircuts and history

                                                                                                                                      Photo by Tequila Minsky

The alteration of a narrow two-story building at 17 E. 13th St. between Fifth Ave. and University Place last week revealed two signs from long ago. Carol Greitzer, a former city councilmember and an ever-alert Village preservation advocate, told the newspaper about a sign saying Childrens Hair Cut on the first floor and the Erskine Press sign on the second floor of the former restaurant. The building dates from 1911 when the Erskine Press moved there from 22 E. 17th St. The founder, Archibald Erskine, was a carpenter born in Scotland in 1830. He went into the printing business sometime before 1897. George C. Erskine conducted the business after him. Erskine Press was last listed in the Manhattan telephone book in the 1933-34 edition. An Erskine Press is currently located in England, specializing in the “Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration.” The history of the barbershop was not immediately known.