Schein & Schein

Where does this place get all of this stuff? Great selection for such a small place. I’ve loved maps since I was a kid, I’d put this on a «must shop at» list

The beautiful historical pieces and high quality service here are a supreme combination. I guarantee I will return for more.

Stopped in to this wonderful shop looking for a Christmas gift for a map fanatic and fell in love! What a wonderful North Beach find — got (happily) lost for quite a long time exploring endless boxes and drawers of maps and prints. You’re made to feel completely comfortable — no pressure at all, and amazingly friendly owner and staff at the ready for any questions. I’ll be back here again and again!

Have you ever wanted to travel around the world?
How about explore a city or country as it stood 100 years ago?
Maybe you’d like a print of the country your ancestors hail from?
Or perhaps even a print of the city you or a family member was born in, circa the year they were born?
You can do all of that here.
Want a treasured & priceless photo framed in museum quality materials?
Ditto.
We checked out old maps of SF. Before Coit Tower & after Coit Tower. And pics of the GG Bridge being built. Crazy.
There’s even a «library series» of scented candles.
The selection is pretty astounding. Maps are organized in a drawer filing system by city &/​or country, or in binders.
A great place to explore the world & get lost in it.
5 stars.

I found this great antique Victorian photo frame at Urban Ore in Berkeley (great treasure hunting here!). I wanted to put one of our wedding photos inside, but the backing of the frame was nailed on, and the back material looked fragile. Although the frame was in overall good condition, it’s still 100 years old and I didn’t want to mess with it!
Enter Schein & Schein! A shop I have often passed while living in North Beach, but never had the occasion to patronize.
Jim gave the frame a good inspection and his expertise and knowledge really showed as he described the frame and the work he could do. I appreciate good craftmanship and someone who is passionate about the work they do! The pricing he gave was very fair, and less than a week later it was ready and done beautifully with a new backing.
I also realized after I left with my frame, that he had added a little mat on our photo as a nice bonus.
There shop, which feels like a cozy library, also sell beautiful antique maps and photographs, along with their framing services. I try to shop locally whenever I can, and I hope to find more reasons to come back!

Good place to browse. Unique merchandise. City commerce department should pay these guys for their potential to amuse visitors. This is what makes North Beach special

I came here to get my dad a birthday present. Since he loves antiques and he loves history, I thought an antique map would be perfect. I discovered Schein & Schein while walking around in North Beach, it was closed at the time but I was intrigued. When I stopped by a few days later, I was so impressed by the friendliness of the staff and the owner. They are incredibly friendly, helpful, knowledgeable, and the best part was they are not judgmental about your price range. They spent a lot of time with me, helping me find the perfect piece for my dad, looking through tons of drawers and books to find the perfect map. The owner even wrote a little write up to send along with the map to give context and history of the map itself. My dad loved the gift, and I loved the service and store. I will definitely be back and would highly recommend this place!

awesome. just awesomel where else can you find a store devoted solely to maps? entering schein & schein is like entering another universe where time just stands still, and adventure and treasure are always near. due to my student-​friendly budget, i could only afford items from their sale ($ 5, $ 10, $ 15 bins), but the staff there completely encouraged me to explore. i loved the feeling of seeing maps of italy from hundreds of years ago, and one of the first maps ever made of north america. there is everything from road maps, signs, fliers, and actual maps, and drawers filled with items from almost every continent. there is even a whole section on just areas within california. at one point i began looking for a print for my dad about mendocino county, and the staff went out of their way to help by searching their catalogue and even combing through the stacks themselves, even when they knew i was just curious and not necessarily planning (or able) to afford a bigger-​ticket item.
it is such a unique store on an already unique street, so if you haven’t been here or know of any map aficionados, this is definitely a place you should visit. go, they have big comfy couches :)

You will fall in love with this place.

Finally, an establishment and pair of owners who just GET people like me and Ken Jennings. Cartography is very titillating, didn’t you know? Why would you want to hang abstract art on your walls when you can have MAPS?!
In a part of the city that splits its home décor offerings into three dumb categories: garish, large, and very heavy statues in Chinatown that I’m convinced never actually sell, very beige and angular «mod» art, and super antique, floral and/​or darkwood pieces, these maps are incredible. So much to be learned in one trip.
I have truly found love in a hopeless place (of home décor).

This place is a rare find, such a unique shop in North Beach! I only found it because it was recommended I go here to locate a pre-​1906 SF earthquake map for a gift for a colleague. I was so glad to have been the chosen person to have to have to shop for this gift!
Immediately upon entering the shop, I was greeted by the shop owner, who was knowledgeable beyond belief about every map he showed me. His prices were fair and reasonable and the maps he displayed were in mint condition. The best part about shopping here was that with each map, came an interesting story behind the map; it was amazing how much information the owner had about the maps and what he knew about the maps. Incredible store, worth checking out even if you do not normally have an interest in maps and old books!

You know you’ve come to the right place when you go into a shop in San Francisco ask for an antique map of Indiana and they say ooh were pretty picked clean, looks like we only have 2. Damn i’d be lucky to find that in Indiana. A great selection of old maps as well as many other books. Very helpful and friendly. I even managed to slice my finger on my umbrella and they helped me clean it up and hooked with up with a band-aid…if that’s not service i’m not sure what is.

You know that scene from Beauty and the Beast when Belle walks into the Beast’s library for the first time?
Walking into Schein & Schein was like that for me.
Love at first sight… A real gem of a store.

Great selection — Jim helped me find an antique sailing boat print for my husbands birthday. He’s more passionate about maps, but still had a fantastic selection — and was really knowledgable about dates and printing styles.
Definately be back in there looking at maps again soon!

Whether you’re a shopper like me who likes buying things with historical, aesthetic and intellectual weight or someone who wants an originally printed Audubon this store will please.
Jim was incredibly knowledgeable and supplied us with a bounty of information on local and world history coupled with funny anecdotes about his intellectual friends. He also didn’t seem to mind that I spent close to an hour and a half marveling over his collection. I really could have stayed all day but parking is $.25/​7 minutes.

I went to City Lights in search of antique books with maps, and forgot they have no used books. I asked for a map store and the guy behind the counter lit up and pointed me up Grant St.
Schein & Schein is almost cool enough to make me move to San Francisco. I spent about two hours in there just digging through drawer after drawer. Some items might strike you as expensive until you grasp that these maps are in pristine condition and they are in many cases 100+ years old. The great part about Jim is that he loves what he does and if you are interested in maps and antique photography, he will tell you anything you want to know. I also was a big fan of the cheap maps drawer which is a great place if you are a bit younger and the 1960s seem like they are extremely antique… I thought of some of those purchases as tomorrow’s gems. You can’t take it all in at once, which makes it exciting to think about getting back to SF to check it out again.

On my first visit I was delighted to see that they had postcards for an antique paper show that a friend of mine puts on in SF. I knew instantly that this store was my kind of place! You wouldn’t expect to find a store like this amongst Italian restaurants or blocks away from what my boyfriend’s father calls the «Sexy Area», but that’s the City for you-​randomness at its best!
You could happily get lost in here for hours. Not because it’s a large space, by any measure-​and thank goodness because any bigger and it would lose some of its character. The drawers, binders, and old wooden crates are filled with all kinds of antique papers and maps that are just waiting to be loved and displayed. Browsing through their inventory makes you feel like you’re in someone’s home library. If cigars weren’t bad for old paper, they would fit right into the ambiance! Their two little dogs ramble freely while jazz (which I love!) plays in the background. You can sit at your leisure on a well worn, comfy couch while you flip through binders whose contents the couple knows intimately. Just tell them what you like, and they’ll get you started.
Both the owners are friendly and knowledgeable about the history behind each item. You can tell that they are passionate about what they sell and that they have been fortunate enough to have have turned their hobby into a thriving business. Lucky for us City folk and visitors walking by.
Jimmie is an expert framer and even framed a piece of art for me that, well I have to sheepishly admit, both wasn’t from his store and wasn’t antique. He did an excellent job on all three items that he framed for us. If you went to art school, you will remember how hard it is to get that matboard to be cut perfectly. They also, of course, use all acid-​free, museum quality materials that are made to preserve your artwork. I am sincerely impressed! I know that I will love my purchases for many years to come and that they will look as beautiful as when they were framed.
If you’re a graphic designer, architect, artist, history buff, or just love old illustrations or maps, you will find this store magical. I dare you to walk in here and come out not having bought a piece of history to keep.

Amidst the tourist traps, cheesy bars and crappy want to be Italian food joints is a small respectable shop, a sea of tranquility, a storefront that is at home in the venerable North Beach that sells history.
Jimmy the proprietor is a born and raised San Francisco native that loves this City and knows its history well. If you need a vintage or antique map (has a great selection of San Francisco maps and rare books) this is the place to go.
The City map I picked up here is a focal point in my living room, a great topic of conversation and I plan to pick up a few more items when I go back.
I went in and after a long conversation and reviewing various City maps I finally made my choice then we debated about the frame and Jimmy’s eye helped me sort out the choices.

I am an avowed cartophile.
I mean… the book «Island of the Lost Maps» is so esoteric but was so fun! I took cartography in college for my electives. I can pour over maps for hours. I’ve kept all my maps from traveling abroad… some even so tattered that are now unreadable. So when I run into my brethren I feel like we click from the first moment.
Nestled on the west side of Grant, between Green and Union, you’ll discover a true trove of wonders. The store is a welcome respite from the various crazy loud bars in the neighborhood but also feel the two genres compliment each other perfectly. Yin and Yang at work in North Beach.
The owners are knowledgeable, approachable, and fair. They are truly excited about their wares and it shows. The store is set up like the study you wish you could afford to have. There are books and maps like everywhere but not done in a way that is overwhelming but rather comforting. The maps and what not are easily accessible and user friendly.
Their dog, Spot (I believe), is absolutely adorable and approaching 16 years old. He roams and is quite comfortable on the front sidewalk taking in all that is North Beach.
The prices… well what keeps me from being a true map nerd is the surprising cost of such a hobby/​obsession. Arader Galleries nearby (also top notch!) had nothing less than $ 750 relating to the map subject I was looking for… and at Arader many of their pieces can run up to $ 25K. Arader recommended Schein & Schein… thank you, your 5 star review will be completed forthwith.
S&S has maps that will satisfy any budget! Let me say that again in another way… you can afford to walk out the door with a real map!
Jimmi even let me thumb through an original late nineteenth century San Francisco Zoning/​Plat Map book as long as I wanted… I could have spent all day there!
If you love maps you’ll love this establishment. If you are iffy about the art/​science it is a great place to learn why you could love it. If you don’t like maps and just love to shop around North Beach… it is still worth popping in because chances are you know someone that is as big of a geek as I am.
Last note… they offer framing services on-​site that are priced the same as anywhere else… something to think about.

I have yet to buy anything from Schein & Schein, and that doesn’t seem to bother Jimmie and Marti. My girlfriend and I walked in one Saturday night after dinner and had a great time checking out old maps and prints and playing with the doggie.
A couple of months later I brought Jimmie some old medical slides, which he helped me identify and then sell through an auction house in the city. He’s a great guy to talk about on all sorts of issues; very knowledgeable. I think we could use many many more businesses like this one in San Francisco.