Allsopp and Chapple Bookstore

Allsopp and Chapple Bookstore (also known as "The Book Exchange," "Allsopp and Chapple Book and Stationery," and "Allsopp and Chapple Books and Office Supplies") once occupied a storefront at 307-309 Main Street in downtown Little Rock, Arkansas.

Allsopp and Chapple was established by James Chapple and Fred W. Allsopp, two Englishmen who arrived in the city at the end of the American Civil War. The bookstore was purchased by the Wirtz family in 1919. From the 1930s to the 1950s the store supplied all textbooks for the Little Rock School District and the Pulaski County School District. In 1958 the store, still operating under the Allsopp and Chapple name, was sold to Stanley L. Crawford of Roach Paper Company.

Sometime in the early 1960s the store was purchased by Sieg Siebert of the Siebert News Agency. Siebert hoped to make it the largest book and office supply store in Arkansas. In 1966 the store was purchased by Capital Typewriting Company, later renamed Capital Business Machines.

References

• Leroy Donald, "Owner Finds New Home for Store Behind Facade," Arkansas Gazette, October 23, 1983.
• Leroy Donald, "Restoration Planned; to 'Anchor' Mall," Arkansas Gazette, October 23, 1983.