Esther Schlansky

1917 - 2011

• Born	21 Oct 1917	New Yok, New York
  Gender	Female
  Died	2 Apr 2011	Westport, Connecticut
  Person ID	I13765	Johnson Hindin Tree
  Last Modified	5 Jan 2018

  
  

  Family	Sidney Batty Kramer,   b. 21 Jan 1915, New York, New York ,   d. 10 Dec 2014, Westport, Fairfield Co., Connecticut
  Married	23 Nov 1939	New York, New York
  Children	1. Wendy Beth Kramer,   b. 7 Jun 1942   2. Mark William Kramer,   b. 14 Apr 1944, New York, New York
  Family ID	F5736	Group Sheet

  
  

• Notes

  The following obituary appeared in the Westport (Connecticut) News on April 8, 2011: Esther Kramer Esther Kramer, 93, of Westport, died April 2 at her home in Westport. Born Oct. 21, 1917, in New York City, she was the daughter of the late Dinah and William Schlansky. She was the owner of the Remarkable Book Shop, formerly on Main Street, which she ran from 1962 to 1994. The store, which occupied a pink colonial house at the end of the street, was a social center for the town's many writers and avid readers, and was frequented by many of the town's well-known personalities, such as the actors Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward. The shop, which was adorned with rubber chickens, wooden monkeys and Left Bank bookstalls, was stocked with a full range of literature, sailing and employed a dozen women in the dawning of the age of feminism. In 1978, Kramer made national news when she refused to sell Richard Nixon's autobiography. In a New York Times article, she said, "Not one copy will be ordered or sold in our store unless he's willing to sign a statement in advance giving all the proceeds to charity." She is survived by her husband, Sidney Kramer of Westport; a son, Mark Kramer of Boston; a daughter, Wendy Posner of Chicago, and four grandchildren. A program commemorating Kramer will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 7, in theWestport Public Library, 20 Jesup Road The following article appeared in the online Westport Patch on May 9, 2011: The Remarkable Esther Kramer Remembered A celebration for The Remarkable Book Shop founder draws hundreds. By Nancy Burton (Patch Poster) - May 9, 2011 12:35 pm The bon vivant who smoked her filtered cigarettes through a cigarette holder, always had a martini before dinner and taught her dog to play the zither. The gifted storyteller who could turn a feeble frat joke into an immigrant’s epic. The bookseller who read everything voraciously and cultivated readers and writers of all ages. The grandmother who refused to knit ugly clothes for her grandchildren, cheated at Hearts and swore a lot. Still, she she bestowed the presents most coveted by young children: noisemakers. The lifelong friend who remembered their birthdays, their children's birthdays and their grandchildren's birthdays. "Esther was an astonishingly giving soul, vivacous and enthusiastic companion, an inventive, virtuosic storyteller with fierce, left-liberal politics," wrote Esther Kramer's family in a tribute to her life, which ended on April 2 at the age of 93. "She was a spectacular cook, sculptress, singer, homemaker, wife, parent and friend." Several hundred of those family members and friends filled the Unitarian Church on Saturday in a celebration of the life of the transplanted Westporter that, by all accounts, was simply remarkable. The play on the work "remarkable" was a theme of many vignettes shared to illuminate the life of the founder and caretaker of The Remarkable Book Shop, the much-beloved Main Street emporium of books, gifts and good talk from 1962 until 1994. "Remark" is "Kramer" spelled backwards. Quirky, fun, silly and decked in hot pink paint, the tiny rooms of "The Remarkable" were devoted to art, poetry, literature, cooking and sailing, many of them obscure titles, representing just some of the many loves of the ebullient, life-affirming Brooklyn-born Kramer. Graphic artist Miggs Burroughs spoke on behalf of his mother, Esta, who assisted Kramer during The Remarkable's entire 32-year tenure. He especially recalled her wit, generosity and youthful outlook. "The secret to eternal youth is arrested development," he said. Kramer displayed her generosity, he noted,  by providing pads of scribble paper in the cookbook section so customers could jot down specific recipes without having to buy the book. As he spoke, Burroughs displayed the poster he was inspired to create the night he learned of Kramer's death. The poster depicts the statue of the smiling character who used to greet visitors to the shop and came to symbolize it,over a vintage photograph of the formerly pink establishment. In bold lettering are the words "Esther Kramer Was Remarkable." (The five-foot cutout of  poet John Ciardi's "Man Who Sang the Sillies" now graces the Westport Historical Society's Remarkable Gift Shop.) Burroughs said, "risking lawsuits," he and a partner-in-stealth installed the poster at the shop, now occupied  by Talbot's women's clothing chain, in the wee hours. He was happy to report that Talbot's kept the sign up for many days without incident. As he spoke, Kramer's husband of seven decades, Sidney Kramer, sat nearby on the stage. Co-founder of Bantam Books, Sidney wore a baseball cap and the signature Remarkable button on his lapel. During the celebration, he was seated at a little round table covered in a bright pink tabletop, frequently interjecting wry comments as others spoke, to  warm laughter from the audience. Kramer met his wife when both were working at a summer camp, he as waterfront counselor and she as kitchen help, he recalled in his own tribute full of funny vignettes. Their love match poured over into their love for the written word and a passion for everything English. "She was Westport's go-to person for the latest London restaurant and [reviews] of West End shows," remembered daughter Wendy Posner. "Theirs was a life of cutting-edge excitement." The Remarkable became the "center of her identity, the anchor of her life, a glove-perfect fit," she noted. "She translated silly to profitable with her unlimited legendary inventory." The Remarkable's inventory included rubber ducks and unusual gifts collected by Kramer with the assistance of Rita Englebardt, her co-manager. "If you had the intellect, a sense of style and point of view, you could do  no wrong with Esther," she said. "She had a huge capacity for love and people never forgot her. She carried us all along with her." Helen O'Kelly was another of the elegant, stylish and well-read women Kramer employed at The Remarkable who rose to share their memories at the church. "It was very heavenly," she recalled. "And we knew if she ever heard us parroting 'Have a nice day' to our customers, we'd be fired!" "She was a great hugger," O'Kelly added. "None of us will ever forget her." Writer Leslie Chess Feller recalled the atmosphere of The Remarkable within the 1775 building that in centuries passed had its own wharf on the river to accommodate trading vessels. "Inside, Heathcliff, the cat, could be found snoozing among the uneven stacks of books and stuffed animals while Esther and her staff of people who loved the printed word made magic happen for generations of readers of all ages," Feller said. Kramer invited controversy when she refused to sell Richard Nixon's autobiography unless he turned over profits to charity, and her act of impishness-cum-political-ferocity made it into The New York Times. "I've always loved her - she was everything a Jewish woman should be," said Rochelle Busch, who brought with her a signature Remarkable shoulder bag, a gift from Kramer. Grandsons Will and Eli took turns reading from a prepared tribute. They summed up the lessons they learned from the grandmother they loved: "Be yourself, love each other, enjoy life - and swear when necessary!" Son Mark, a writer and director of the Niemann program on narrative journalism at Harvard, said his mother's erudition, warmth, sociability and curiosity were her trademark attributes. "She was a character with grace and charm with one secret ingredient," added Sidney Kramer. "She cared."