Old Wives Tales (bookstore)

Old Wives Tales

Company type	Worker cooperative (from 1978), Nonprofit organization (from 1983)
Industry	Bookstore
Founded	October 31, 1976 (1976-10-31) in San Francisco, California, United States
Founder	Carol Seajay, Paula Wallace
Defunct	October 1995 (1995-10)
Headquarters	San Francisco , United States
Products	Books

This article is about the feminist bookstore. For other uses, see Old Wives Tales.

Template:Infobox organization Old Wives Tales (alternatively known as Old Wives' Tales) was a feminist bookstore situated in San Francisco’s Mission Dolores district. The bookstore was established on October 31, 1976, by the lesbian couple Carol Seajay and Paula Wallace. It ceased operations permanently in October 1995.

History

Old Wives Tales began its operations on October 31, 1976, at 532 Valencia Street, with initial funding provided by a loan from the San Francisco Feminist Federal Credit Union. The bookstore started as a partnership between its founders. Following the end of Carol Seajay and Paula Wallace’s relationship in 1978, Wallace relocated, and the bookstore was subsequently moved to 1009 Valencia Street. After this transition, Seajay reorganized the store into a worker cooperative.

In 1983, the collective members formalized Old Wives Tales as a Nonprofit organization, incorporating it accordingly. That same year, Seajay stepped down from her role.

By early 1991, financial challenges compelled the bookstore to reduce its physical space by half. Further monetary difficulties were reported in August 1993 when the collective sought loans amounting to $25,000 to maintain operations.