Maxilla & Mandible

I can’t believe they’re closed! I used to love coming here after a visit to AMNH, it was a museum in itself except you could buy plenty from it. It seems like the rent is too damn high for everyone these days. I just wish they could have moved to an outerboro or something :(

I can’t believe they’re closed! I’d been frequenting this little store since I was just a kid, back when it was a lot bigger and felt kind of like a small museum of its own. :(I will miss them very much.

This was one of the world’s best shops, but it gradually downsized and downsized and now is CLOSED. Unfortunately, the reviews that mention this factoid are buried beneath some other much lengthier praise (as, likely, will mine as well). So I will say it very clearly:
Maxilla & Mandible is CLOSED!
Maxilla & Mandible is CLOSED!
Maxilla & Mandible is CLOSED!
Their website doesn’t say anything about this change, but 451 Columbus is now a realtor. Do not go there. It’s very sad.
You may consider shops like Obscura or Evolution instead, if you’re in the NYC area.

Sad to say it has closed down :(

Maxilla & Mandible’s is a quirky store that is definitely worth a visit. This tiny store — part natural history museum — is full of dead bugs, shells, fossils, animal bones & skulls… including a red squirrel penis bone… and many other strange biological wonders. If you’re in the area, definitely check it out… you don’t find many stores like this.

I’m going to review this place even though I havent shopped there yet… but I’m definitely planning on it! I read Le Joost’s post and didn’t agree with any of it, but maybe it was just a bad day when he went. So I wanted to tell you about my good day at the store!
I stopped by after running in central park (wednesday around 5pm) and didnt even have my wallet on me. I was all sweaty and gross looking, and the guy let me in without me even buzzing and was totally nice and helpful. Nothing I wanted was overly expensive. They had some really gorgeous jewelry and I’m probably buying christmas gifts for at least three people there another day when i DO have my wallet on me. He let me wander and look at everything as much as i wanted and wasn’t snooty at all. He knew I was looking for bones on the cheaper side so pointed out lots of skulls and other things that were good prices and in good condition. Anyway, all in all a very pleasant trip and I will return to spend lots of money. Mmm…
edit: I have now shopped there! They were getting ready for christmas when I went in, so lots of stuff was moved around and they were working, but they were still totally nice. The same man was there and another younger guy. Like I said, totally nice and helpful. Bought a few christmas gifts. There was even a mother and her child inside the store when i walked in, and they were very kind and friendly to them and weren’t staring down the child at all, even though they were acting like it was a museum (they did buy stuff too though). I like!

Uhhh… WHAAAAAAAAAAT???
First of all, I WANT that giant triceratops skull. I NEED that skull.
There are more sweet things here than I probably even saw. Awesome colored butterflies? Random skulls and bones from animals? Coral and snakes and stuffed foxes and penis bones and spiders and giant beetles!!!
This place is crammed full of awesome random things you probably would never really want but it’s like walking into a serial killer’s home and staring at his collection of eyeballs. It’s incredibly intriguing and reduced my age by about 10 years causing me to point at everything and shout OMG look at that!
They also can decide if they want to let you in or not because you have to ring a bell and they HAVE to press a button to let the door open. I don’t know why they wouldn’t let you in, but it’s pretty awesome, and reminiscent of head shops.
If you’re feeling old and crotchety and want to be a kid again, come here and point at everything. Because you definitely will feel like a kid with the owners staring you down every time your finger gets a little too close to something on the shelf marked «DO NOT TOUCH!»

Very cool funky little store a few blocks away from the Museum of Natural History and Central Park. Literally quite small, but it’s jam-​packed with nature related specimens and weirdness, preserved and mounted heads and skins, shells, bones, insects, and the like. If you are of a horror/​preserved specimens/​nature curious bent as I am, you will spend quite a while browsing here. There usually can be found special sale items as well, like when I went last time, the six dollar pig jawbones. Go, look around, and discover.

Love the name! As it suggests, a store where you can find bones of various sorts…