Grolier Club, an almost unknown free museum in Manhattan

Despite me never hearing of this place for years, it sure was busy when I went in right at opening time.

If you’re the kind of person who actually likes the smell of old paper and the vibe of a quiet, high-end library, you need to hit the Grolier Club. I headed over there on a Saturday morning, and while the place is relatively small, I ended up losing a solid hour in there just looking at the details.

The history of the place is pretty cool. It’s actually a private club for "bibliophiles" (book nerds) that’s been around since the 1880s. It’s named after Jean Grolier, who was this legendary Renaissance book collector. Even though it’s a private club, they open up their ground-floor galleries to the public for free, which makes it a perfect low-key stop if you’re in Midtown.

The building itself is beautiful and has that "old New York" prestige, but without the annoying velvet-rope attitude. They usually have two different exhibitions running at once, one in the main hall and another in the smaller gallery upstairs. Since it’s a club dedicated to the "art of the book," the exhibits are super specific. You’ll see everything from medieval manuscripts and rare bindings to vintage posters or weirdly specific collections of 19th-century mail.

Because the space is intimate and quiet, you actually end up spending more time there than you’d think. It’s not like a massive museum where you’re rushing to see everything; it’s a place where you actually slow down and read the descriptions.

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