2008: May - Our year-ender offered a field trip, exercise, plus food and drink in a bucolic location: Stan and Delores Thompson, Ginniff Books, invited us to their farm just south of Cosgrove for potluck and program. Nearly everyone strolled around the pond at least once (with Dan Daly capturing polywogs and bugs for his own small pond). Feasting under the trees and a very brief discussion of potential programs for next year preceded coffee in the book shop and a browse around the Thompsons' stock of 12,000 books. It was a splendid evening weather-wise, and we are grateful to the Thompon's for their hospitality! April - Our own John Mullen, historian, bookseller, and appraiser of books and manuscripts, hit some hot-buttons among a crowd by projecting the decline of reading and hence civilization. There was skepticism in the crowd -- but the discussion was lively and the arguments occasionally intense! March - Lisa Martincik and Daniel Crawford (collectors) and Adam Mix (proprietor of Daydreams in downtown Iowa City), explored with a group of 15 the collecting and vending the many varieties of comic books and graphic novels. We were joined as well by Corey Creekmur (English, Comp Lit, and Film Studies) who brought along newspaper comic pages, comic books, pulp fiction, and other early examples of the "comics" genres that he uses in his courses and which appear in a forthcoming book on comics. For a genre characterized by images rather than words, there sure was a lot of talk, and the program lasted late into the evening! February - Historian Kathleen Kamerick repeated a talk she gave in last fall’s series associated with the “From Monks to Masters” exhibition at the Museum of Art. It was the only talk not videotaped on delivery and made available through UITV, and we were able to tape it this time. Look for it on the UITV schedules. “Changing the hours: Praying in manuscript and print” discussed the roles of Books of Hours in medevial life, their production as highly individualized manuscripts prior to the 1400s, and their transition to a more standardized print text after 1450. The small crowd assembled on a chilly night took warmth from close examination of the Libraries' several examples. 2007: November - A group of 15 rapt Bibliophiles listened to Walt Whitman scholar Ed Folsom talk about the influence of Whitman's years as printer and editor on the 1855 first edition, and many later editions, of Leaves of Grass. A census of the almost 200 surviving copies (of 790 printed), is showing that no two copies are entirely alike -- as Folsom amply demonstrated by comparing the copy that has long been in the Libraries' collection with the second copy newly acquired in the collection gifted by Glen Schaeffer (who earlier made the naming gift for the Writers' Workshop building that now adjoins Dey House). The Schaeffer collection includes a long run of editions of Leaves of Grass and many copies complement holdings with varient printings, bindings, and other features. Whitman was as close to his books physically as their contents were close to him intellectually, a bond Folsom is currently exploring. October - Nialle [pronounced "Neal"] Sylvan, owner of the the Haunted Bookshop, 520 E. Washington Street in Iowa City (www.thehauntedbookshopcom on the web), mused on "Practical Haunting: Breathing the Spirit of Wonder Back into Retail Bookselling." Focusing on the bookstore as a community and service centre for book lovers and collectors, and on the duty of booksellers to inspire future generations of bibliophiles, Ms. Sylvan related compelling stories about the help she has received from her resident ghost Claire. September - Defrocked and Remastered: Behind the Scenes of an Exhibition. Greg Prickman and David Schoonover from Special Collections described the process of curating the exhibition From Monks to Masters: The Medieval Manuscript and the Early Printed Book, installed at the University of Iowa Museum of Art. Some of the splendid books that didn't make the cut to be included in the exhibit were examined. Attendance was modest (about ten) but combative: the discussion went on to 8:30! May - Edwin Holtum lead us through an examination of books from the John Martin Collection in the Hardin Library for the Health Sciences. The John Martin Rare Book Room constitutes one of the finest collections of historical medical works in the Midwest. The collection includes approximately 5000 volumes ranging in date from the 15th through the 20th centuries; and we saw the treasures. April - Despite dire forecasts of wintery mix, Bibliophile Blaine Houmes, long-time Lincoln collector, discussed his interest in the "story behind the artifact" and shared with our group of 20 an amazing -- stunning! -- array of books, manuscripts, and "realia" (like a set of skeleton keys to a Lincoln bookcase!). Blaine is also stimulating interest in state-wide recognition and celebration of the two hundredth anniversary of Lincoln's birth in 2009. Lincoln had surprisingly numerous and deep Iowa connections, owing land in several areas of Iowa and having among his important law cases several rooted in Iowa-related events. March - Over 20 Bibliophiles made our field trip to the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library & Museum: "A President & His Books." Herbert and Lou Henry Hoover bought books, read books, even translated books, throughout their lives, and during his presidency, Hoover used the Library of Congress as a personal lending library. Director (and Bibliophile) Tim Walch outlined the role of presidential libraries, and Craig Wright and Lynn Smith were on hand to show rare books owned by Hoover and a part of the Laura Ingalls Wilder Papers. February - Holly Carver presented notes on the authors she has collected over 22 years as Director of the University of Iowa Press, talking about a number of series she has developed in that time and how they came about and describing how any press, but particularly an academic press, develops its "collection."
2006: November - Rachel Sailor, Ph.D. candidate in Art History and the Robert A. Olson Fellow in Special Collections, presented some of her recent work with the Judge James Wills Bollinger Collection of Lincolniana. Bollinger was an assiduous collector of Lincoln material in the 1920s through the 1940s and bequeathed his collection the University of Iowa Libraries in 1951. Working with books, pamphlets, manuscripts, and a great assortment of ephemera (prints and illustrations) and realia (from coins and medallions to plaster life mask and hands), Sailor found that Bollinger's collection is not only important in its own right but that it illuminates the assumptions and priorities of serious book collectors in the first half of the 20th century. October - Kathryn Hodson cheered us with "How I Stopped Frowning and Learned to Love Artist's Books." Kathy's encounter with a box of sand purporting to be a book left her, umm, skeptical; but living for several years with other strange denizens of the world of artist's books (24 of which she shared -- including the box of sand) has (partially) thawed her heart to them. September - Greg Prickman, newly minted Special Collections Librarian, came to Iowa after sojourns in Minnesota (through Macalester College), Indiana (rare books MLS program and work at the Lilly Library), Illinois (Chicago Public Library and the Harold Washington papers), Missouri (SSM Health Care archivist in St. Louis), and Wisconsin (Ebling History of Medicine Collection at Madison). Greg offered "Some Scenic Views on the Road to Iowa," stories about the collections with which he has worked, exploring byways into his personal bookish interests (illustrated with a selection of new friends he has made in the Iowa collection). April - Judith Pascoe, Bibliophile and Associate Professor of English, shared some of her research on early 19th-century collectors for her just published book: The Humming bird Cabinet: A Rare and Curious History of Romantic Collectors (Cornell University Press, 2006). March - The Bibliophiles were invited to an illustrated lecture by Gaylord Schanilec, "British Influences on One Bookish American," a 2005 presentation he gave in London to England's Designer Bookbinders and the (London) Double Crown Club. Schanilec has been printing and publishing books since he established Midnight Paper Sales Press in 1981. He has been honored as "the foremost contemporary artist in colored wood engraving" by the Grolier Club of New York. He has a long list of credits as speaker, teacher, and artist in residence, including a six-month residency at the Gregynog Press in Wales in 1991, where he produced engravings for the Gregynog publication of Wrenching Times by Walt Whitman. Today he operates Midnight Paper Sales from his home and studio in the coulee country outside Stockholm, Wisconsin. February - Again deviating from their usual second Wednesday, the Bibliophiles were invited to a special event at the UI Museum of Art on Saturday, February 3. Dr. Kendall Reed, Dean of the College of Medicine at Des Moines University and one of the world's preeminent Walt Whitman collectors, talked about his life of collecting books. Materials from Dr. Reed's Whitman collection form the heart of the exhibition Whitman Making Books / Books Making Whitman which remained on display (for a second look by those who attended the November program). Following Dr. Reed's talk, Bill Koch, a professional Whitman performer from Cedar Falls, appeared as Whitman to talk about his life and poetry. 2005 November - Deviating from our usual 2nd Wednesday, on November 10 we attended a talk by Ezra Greenspan (Southern Methodist University), "Walt Whitman and U.S. Print Culture: The Medium and the Man," The Brownell Lecture for the Center for the Book and keynote address for the Whitman Making Books/Books Making Whitman exhibition and symposium at The University of Iowa Museum of Art. Following Greenspan's remarks, we toured an accompaning exhibitions of Whtiman's books with Ed Folsom and David Schoonover. October - David Herwaldt communicated his considerable enthusiasm for photography books, particularly those in the documentary tradition. "Photograph Books: How and Why to Collect Them" was a lively discussion, illuminated with 50 or more volumes from his collection that included a first edition of Jacob Riis' How the Other Half Lives, Walker Evans' American Photographs, Evans' and James Agee's Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, Paul Strand's Time in New England, Robert Frank's The Americans and Lines of My Hand, Henri Cartier-Bresson's The Decisive Moment, Roy DeCarava's The Sweet Flypaper of Life, Eddy van der Elsken's Love on the Left Bank, Wright Morris' The Inhabitants, Josef Koudelka's Gypsies, etc. Herwaldt has collected in this area since high school; has worked as a photographer and a mat cutter, among other things; and knows a vast range of photographers. He is currently completing an MFA in the School of Art & Art History with specialization in graphic design -- as applied in and to books of photography. September - We saw an eager crowd of 16 in the Main Library Conference Room where Jane Murphy, co-owner of Murphy-Brookfield Books, 219 North Gilbert, Iowa City, spoke about her 25 years as a bookseller who specializes in scholarly out of print material (the Mealy Bugs of Northern California sort of book, she explained). The internet has dramatically changed the way books are sold and bought, a fact that led to vigorous discussion. May - The Bibliophiles ended the academic year on May 12, 2005 with a walk under the guidance of Larry Yerkes through of the UIMA exhibtion of design and conservation bookbindings created by William Anthony. April - Bibliophile Al Dawson explored "People and Paper: Selective Excursions into the History of a relationship" (or "A Dozen Things I've Learned Since Paper Got Into My Blood!"). An active genealogist for some time (he invites attention to his website at http://www.familytreemaker.com/users/d/a/w/Al--Dawson/), his research took unexpected turns when he discovered last August that early 19th century English relatives had been papermakers. March - About a dozen Bibliophiles found their way to the Mossman Business Services Building on South Riverside drive (despite inaccurate directions promulgated by coordinator Sid Huttner!) and linotyped and printed a number of keepsakes on the Historical Printing Studio's working hand presses and fully functional Model 31 Linotype line setting and casting machine. Our hosts were Larry ("Mr. Linotype") Raid and Gary Frost. February - Featured Julia Leonard, bookbinder and maker of protective (and often decorative!) enclosures for books, who talked about artists' books created by her students in the Center for the Book and by others and about her own work as a bookbinder. 2004 November - About 15 Bibliophiles took a field trip to the Center for the Book Papermaking Facility on the University's Oakdale campus. Tim Barrett, a leading expert on Japanese papermaking, showed us through the facility, made sheets in both the western and Japanese styles, and let us handle a variety of the papers handmade in the facility. October - 15 Bibliophiles and guests gathered in the Special Collections Reading Room where Jonathan Wilcox, Early English scholar, and Denise Filios, Spanish medievalist, talked about medieval manuscript facsimiles and how they use them in their work and with their students. Examples included a richly illuminated 13th century Beatus (Book of Revelations), The St. Louis Bible, and Cantigas from the Royal Library of Monasterio de El Escorial, a collection of songs to Mary. September - A talk by new Bibliophile Terry Pitts. Terry collects artists' books and first editions of several contemporary authors, including W.G. Sebald. Sebald presents interesting collecting issues since he was a German who emigrated to England and spent his adult life teaching in an English university and writing in German. Almost all of Sebald's true first editions were issued in Germany, but there are also first English and first American editions to deal with, as well as more obscure things, such as programs for the German literature prizes that Sebald won and a German-language CD of the author reading part of one of his novels. Terry is director of the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art. May - The Bibliophiles met at the home of Sid Huttner to view the 800 copies of Lucile currently assembled in his living room. First published in 1860, Lucile was one of the great best-sellers of the 19th century -- now almost entirely forgotten. April - Robert Wachal, professor emeritus of Linguistics and mystery fiction collector extraordinare, discussed his passionate interest in the sub-genre of culinary mysteries. Bob has been collecting and writing about them for some time and compiled a bibliography for the period 1930-1999 which was published in Issue #68 of Mystery Scene -- a listing that runs six long columns of small type. March - We featured Iowa Bibliophile (and UI alumnus) John G. Henry, printer and publisher from Mason City, Iowa. John acquired his first press at the age of 8, and his Cedar Creek Press, considerably enlarged with equipment, is lodged in the chapel of a former convent and does job printing as well as pamphlets and books. Two of his recent projects have been miniature books -- books less than 3" tall. Prairie Vision: A View from the Heartland from the Journals of A.W.G. Morse draws on diaries in his family and Evron S. Collins' Grand Dame (Cincinnati: Miniature Book Society, 2003), an essay on the prominent miniatures collector Ruth Adomeit, was commissioned by the MBS. So far as we know, John is just the third Iowan to tackle miniature book production, the first being Charlotte M. Smith of Newton, Iowa, whose collection of some 4,000 miniature books now resides in Special Collections. 2003 November - The Bibliophiles met in the Conservation Laboratory of Main Library, explored the bookbinding models collection with Conservator Gary Frost, viewed the current work of assistant Melissa Bradshaw, and examined a polyester sealing machine being set up by bookbinder William Minter. Bibliophile, bookbinder and conservator Larry Yerkes (with Gary and Bill) then reacted to books members and guests had brought, including at 16th centry book in a paper binding, a book printed in Philadelphia in 1749 by Benjamin Franklin, and a large, much deteriorated, 19th century family Bible. October - The Bibliophiles took their first field trip to visit the home, bookshop (Ginniff Books), and sheep farm of Bibliophiles Stan and Delores Thompson. Following a pot-luck picnic, Stan gave a talk (illustrated by books from his collection) on "Pathways in Collecting Children's Picture Books". September - Bibliophile Doug Russell talked about his extensive -- and growing -- collection of books by and about Winston Churchill, and the complex --and still growing! -- bibliography of Churchill's books, speeches, correspondence, and other writing. May - Cedar Rapids member Bo Brock talked about his interest in the modern study of information design (ID), a field pretty much created by Edward Tufte, whose work traces the development of design on the printed page over the last 500 years. Brock brought two solid armsfuls of books he has collected which illustrate both good and bad presentation of data in graphs, charts, maps, and other designs. April - Ann Ziegert shared her collection of the work of printer and wood engraver Gaylord Schanilec -- started by a chance purchase of an early book and continued into a lasting friendship. From a base on the Wisconsin-Minnesota border, Schanilec works with printers and publishers internationally. He is widely recognized as one of the finest wood engravers working today. His work is showcased on his web site, http://www.midnightpapersales.com. March - Shari DeGraw, Director of the University of Iowa Center for the Book Fine Press, talked about and displayed examples of fine press printing that she collects. "Fine press printing" refers these days to the old-fashioned work of setting lead type by hand and printing it on hand-operated presses one sheet at a time. These processes give the printer control at every step of the way -- precisely how the finished work will look, from design through inking. But they are time-consuming and require both crafts that can be mastered only with long practice and an artist's eye for design. February - David Schoonover, Curator of Rare Books at the University of Iowa Libraries began with biographical appetizers about "Chef Louis" Szathmary, then served up other courses from the Szathmary Collection of Culinary Arts including cookery books from seven centuries, ephemeral pamphlets, carving guides, cannibalism, culinary fiction and mysteries, food and drink art, and concluded with Death by Chocolate (one slice of which contains 1,354 calories). 2002 November - Arthur Bonfield, John Murray Distinguished Professor and Associate Dean for Research at the University of Iowa Law School, addressed the Bibliophiles on "Confessions of a Bibliomaniac," talking about his life-long collecting of books of many kinds and his current infatuation with 17th century English folios. |
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