Retail icon in Harvard Square is up for sale

Bob Slate, Stationer, a Cambridge merchant that has been doing business in Harvard Square for 75 years, is up for sale, its owners said.

The owners are Justin and Mallory Slate, sons of founder Bob Slate, and according to a press release issued by the Slate brothers, the term "stationery store" doesn't quite do justice to a shop that in their words, is "a country store for the artistic, academic, and intellectual community."

At any rate, Justin Slate started working at his father's store in 1963 and was joined by Mallory Slate 10 years later and now, the brothers say, it is time to "move on to new chapters in their lives and seek a new owner" for Bob Slate, which operates three stores now, all in Cambridge.

But not just any new owner.

"This is probably not a situation for a national chain with their homogenized approach to retailing," Mallory Slate said in a statement.

The brothers said they have hired a firm called Ridge Hill Partners to find a new owner and they added that there is "no urgency or deadline" for a sale.

In a statement, Justin Slate said, "It's all about finding the right buyer."

To read a story about Bob Slate in the Harvard Crimson, Harvard University's newspaper, please click here. (Globe Staff)