Small Business Spotlight: Philip Williams Posters

By: Heather Ducharme

Small businesses are an integral part of the Lower Manhattan community. In anticipation of Small Business Saturday (Nov 24), we’re introducing you to a local Lower Manhattan business on our new Instagram TV series “Small Business Spotlight” and on our blog every week.  

Inside this Chambers Street storefront is a time machine. No, you won’t find a DeLorean waiting for you. What you will find is a treasure trove of artifacts that will take you to places and events from bygone eras.

The name of this transporting small business is Philip Williams Posters and it can be found 122 Chambers Street.

The shop’s walls are lined with vintage posters that date as far back as the 1920s. His collection includes movie posters, reproductions of classic New Yorker and Time Magazine covers, and other artistic gems.

Owner Philip Williams, who is also the shop’s collector, got his start in the art world as a painting dealer. He eventually realized that there was an untapped market among collectors and the general public for posters. Williams explained, “I was interested in posters, and I saw that they were very inexpensive. There was tremendous value in that you could buy a big beautiful poster for a small amount of money.”

Since he opened his doors downtown in 2002, Williams shop has been a one-of-a-kind destination where someone could spend hours browsing the store’s immense poster collection.

Philip Williams Poster is more than a just a shop for posters. The shop frames posters and in the basement is where Williams’ team restores worn-down posters to their original glory.

The store’s entire collection can be viewed on their website where posters can be sorted by artist, category, prize and size.

Interested in seeing more downtown small businesses? Last week, the spotlight took a walk on the runway with Japanese fashion from ambassador: nyc. Tune in this upcoming Saturday to join us as we shop small in Lower Manhattan.

And now that you’ve discovered some Lower Manhattan gems, you can shop at them! The Downtown Alliance has launched the Shop Small in Lower Manhattan Sweepstakes. Nominate your favorite Lower Manhattan small business and be entered to win up to 5 gift cards valued at $500.