At Jabberwocky, Christmas and Lafayette Converge
By Martin Davis
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Window shopping in downtown Fredericksburg takes on special meaning this time of year, as shop owners decorate their street-facing glass with holiday delights.
One shop owner, however, is using this holiday tradition to blend three distinctive events and personal passions in her store-front window — Christmas, children’s books, and the 200th anniversary of Lafayette’s tour of America.
Albertine and her staff put together a display that features George Washington and Lafayette after a bit of digging into costumes and some of the Christmas traditions during the time.
Though she admits to taking some license with what Christmas would have looked like in the period, many other details are spot on. For example, there is a tree, but as was customary for the period, the tree is placed in a pot.
There are other details as well to admire. Such as Lafayette’s and Washington’s uniforms, and the cookies on the table, which were actually made of felt by one of the store’s employees.
The easiest part of the display for Albertine, of course, were the books.
Revolutionary Friends: General George Washington and the Marquis de Lafayette is one that Albertine was already carrying. And it sits prominently on the table between the two leaders. She also has books about each of the two Revolutionary War heroes.
On the floor of the display are timeless Christmas classics and new takes on Christmas time.
The Long Haul
Jabberwocky has been in downtown Fredericksburg since 1985, and at its current location at 810 Caroline Street since about 1990. For many years prior the building served as a department store. Albertine turned the building into its current configuration after purchasing it so as to bring other businesses in.
Jabberwocky is one of several stores — along with Sammy T’s and Ross’ Flower shop — that anchored downtown and began to turn it around after the exodus of other stores for the suburbs and the mall.
Albertine has seen a lot of change over the nearly 40 years she’s been in business.
The biggest difference? “Amazon,” Albertine says.
There’s also been a change in how she gets books. When Albertine started, there were lots of publisher sales reps who would bring galleys (i.e., page proofs) and ARCs (i.e., Advance Reader Copies) of the newest books coming out in the months ahead.
Now, publishing houses have consolidated and most of the previewing of new titles has moved online.
“I still have my main publishers like Harpers, Penguin, and Candlewick that I deal with,” Albertine said. But she misses the days when she could hold the books about to be released and review them cover to cover.
The Personal Connection Still Matters
If the industry itself is consolidating, going virtual, and becoming less personal, the desire of people for the personal touch that local book stores bring to a community is growing. Especially since the pandemic.
Albertine sees the passion people have for books every day. “Now I’m having parents who remember Jabberwocky when they were kids,” she tells the Advance, “and they want to bring their kids.”
And the kids, too, love being around the books that seem to cover every nook and cranny of the store. “It’s really exciting when kids come in with their birthday money and are excited about books,” Albertine said.
“Being around books,” Albertine said, “is the best part of running the store.”
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