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{{Short description|Bibliophilic club in Manhattan, New York}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2019}}
{{Use American English|date=July 2024}}
[[File:Grolier Club.jpg|thumb|The Grolier Club's home at 47 East 60th Street]]
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
The '''Grolier Club''' is a [[gentlemen's club|private club]] and [[bibliophilia|society of bibliophiles]] in [[New York City]]. Founded in January 1884, it is the oldest existing bibliophilic club in North America. The club is named after [[Jean Grolier de Servières|Jean Grolier de Servières, Viscount d'Aguisy]], Treasurer General of France, whose library was famous; his motto, "Io. Grolierii et amicorum" [of or belonging to Jean Grolier and his friends], suggested his generosity in sharing books.<ref>[http://grolierclub.org/jean_grolier_biography.htm Jean Grolier Biography] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070221063503/http://grolierclub.org/jean_grolier_biography.htm |date=February 21, 2007 }}</ref> The Club's stated objective is "the literary study of the arts pertaining to the production of books, including the occasional publication of books designed to illustrate, promote and encourage these arts; and the acquisition, furnishing and maintenance of a suitable club building for the safekeeping of its property, wherein meetings, lectures and exhibitions shall take place from time to time&nbsp;..."<ref>''The Grolier Club,'' Constitution, Article I, section 2. 2005 edition.</ref>
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| leader_name = Nancy K. Boehm
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The '''Grolier Club''' is a [[private club]] and [[bibliophilia|society of bibliophiles]] in [[New York City]]. Founded in January 1884, it is the oldest existing bibliophilic club in North America. The club is named after [[Jean Grolier de Servières|Jean Grolier de Servières, Viscount d'Aguisy]], Treasurer General of France, whose library was famous; his motto, "''Io. Grolierii et amicorum''" [of or belonging to Jean Grolier and his friends], suggested his generosity in sharing books.<ref>[http://grolierclub.org/jean_grolier_biography.htm Jean Grolier Biography] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070221063503/http://grolierclub.org/jean_grolier_biography.htm |date=February 21, 2007 }}</ref>

The Club's stated objective is "the literary study of the arts pertaining to the production of books, including the occasional publication of books designed to illustrate, promote and encourage these arts; and the acquisition, furnishing and maintenance of a suitable club building for the safekeeping of its property, wherein meetings, lectures and exhibitions shall take place from time to time&nbsp;..."<ref>''The Grolier Club,'' Constitution, Article I, section 2. 2005 edition.</ref>


==Collections and programs==
==Collections and programs==
The Grolier Club maintains a research library specializing in books, bibliography and bibliophily, printing (especially the history of printing and examples of fine printing), binding, illustration and bookselling. The Grolier Club has one of the more extensive collections of book auction and bookseller catalogs in North America.<ref>[http://grolierclub.org/CollectionsOverview.htm Grolier Club Library Overview] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070205223306/http://grolierclub.org/CollectionsOverview.htm |date=February 5, 2007 }}</ref><ref>''Lasting Impressions: The Grolier Club Library'' (New York: Grolier Club, 2004) pp. 8–12.</ref><ref name=autogenerated1>[http://grolierclub.org/About.htm About The Grolier Club] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070415100901/http://grolierclub.org/About.htm |date=April 15, 2007 }}</ref> The Library has the archives of a number of prominent bibliophiles such as [[Sir Thomas Phillipps]],<ref>[http://grolierclub.org/Phillipps.htm Phillipps] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070418100823/http://grolierclub.org/Phillipps.htm |date=April 18, 2007 }}</ref> and of bibliophile and print collecting groups, such as the [[Hroswitha Club]] of women book collectors (1944–c. 1999)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.grolierclub.org/default.aspx?p=v35ListDocument&ID=755370972&listid=11461&|title=Hroswitha Club: Records and Publications, 1944–1999|last=|first=|date=|website=|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|accessdate=}}</ref>{{efn|1=Named for [[Hrotsvitha of Gandersheim]]}} and the Society of Iconophiles.<ref>{{cite web
The Grolier Club maintains a research library specializing in books, bibliography and bibliophily, printing (especially the history of printing and examples of fine printing), binding, illustration and bookselling. The Grolier Club has one of the more extensive collections of book auction and bookseller catalogs in North America.<ref>[http://grolierclub.org/CollectionsOverview.htm Grolier Club Library Overview] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070205223306/http://grolierclub.org/CollectionsOverview.htm |date=February 5, 2007 }}</ref><ref>''Lasting Impressions: The Grolier Club Library'' (New York: Grolier Club, 2004) pp. 8–12.</ref><ref name="About The Grolier Club Archived April 15">[http://grolierclub.org/About.htm About The Grolier Club] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070415100901/http://grolierclub.org/About.htm |date=April 15, 2007 }}</ref> The Library has the archives of a number of prominent bibliophiles such as [[Sir Thomas Phillipps]],<ref>[http://grolierclub.org/Phillipps.htm Phillipps] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070418100823/http://grolierclub.org/Phillipps.htm |date=April 18, 2007 }}</ref> and of bibliophile and print collecting groups, such as the [[Hroswitha Club]] of women book collectors (1944–c. 1999)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.grolierclub.org/default.aspx?p=v35ListDocument&ID=755370972&listid=11461&|title=Hroswitha Club: Records and Publications, 1944–1999}}</ref>{{efn|1=Named for [[Hrotsvitha of Gandersheim]]}} and the Society of Iconophiles.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.grolierclub.org/default.aspx?p=v35ListDocument&ID=755371131&listid=11461&listitemid=122687&ssid=167199&dpageid=&listname=Archives,%20Letters%20&%20Manuscripts |title=Society of Iconophiles (New York, N.Y.): Records, 1895–1930
|url=http://www.grolierclub.org/default.aspx?p=v35ListDocument&ID=755371131&listid=11461&listitemid=122687&ssid=167199&dpageid=&listname=Archives,%20Letters%20&%20Manuscripts |title=Society of Iconophiles (New York, N.Y.): Records, 1895–1930
|accessdate=}}</ref>
}}</ref>


The Grolier Club also has a program of public exhibitions which "treat books and prints as objects worthy of display, on a par with painting and sculpture."<ref>[http://grolierclub.org/Exhibitions.htm Exhibitions] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080705112312/http://grolierclub.org/Exhibitions.htm |date=July 5, 2008 }}</ref> The exhibitions draw on various sources including holdings of the Club, its members, and of institutional libraries. In 2013, it hosted an exhibition on [[women in science]].<ref>{{Cite news
The Grolier Club also has a program of public exhibitions which "treat books and prints as objects worthy of display, on a par with painting and sculpture."<ref>[http://grolierclub.org/Exhibitions.htm Exhibitions] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080705112312/http://grolierclub.org/Exhibitions.htm |date=July 5, 2008 }}</ref> The exhibitions draw on various sources including holdings of the Club, its members, and of institutional libraries. In 2013, it hosted an exhibition on [[women in science]].<ref>{{Cite news
| title = Landmark exhibition recognizes the achievements of women in science and medicine at The Grolier Club
| title = Landmark exhibition recognizes the achievements of women in science and medicine at The Grolier Club
| work = artdaily.org
| work = artdaily.org
| accessdate = December 22, 2013
| access-date = December 22, 2013
| date = December 22, 2013
| date = December 22, 2013
| url = http://artdaily.com/index.asp?int_sec=11&int_new=65321
| url = http://artdaily.com/index.asp?int_sec=11&int_new=65321
}}</ref>
}}</ref>


In 2022 the [[Rare Book School]] was featured in the exhibit, "Building the Book from the Ancient World to the Present Day: Five Decades of Rare Book School & the Book Arts Press."<ref>[https://www.finebooksmagazine.com/fine-books-news/rare-book-school-subject-fall-exhibition-nyc Rare Book School the Subject of a Fall Exhibition in NYC] ''Fine Books & Collections'' July 2022.</ref> The exhibit covered two millennia of the changing form of the book.
The Grolier Club is a member of the [[Fellowship of American Bibliophilic Societies]].<ref>[http://www.fabsbooks.org/members.html FABS - Member Clubs] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070405062506/http://www.fabsbooks.org/members.html |date=April 5, 2007 }}</ref>


The Grolier Club is a member of the [[Fellowship of American Bibliophilic Societies]].<ref>[http://www.fabsbooks.org/members.html FABS – Member Clubs] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070405062506/http://www.fabsbooks.org/members.html |date=April 5, 2007 }}</ref>
==History==
The founders of the club were William L. Andrews, [[Theodore Low De Vinne|Theodore L. DeVinne]], [[Alexander Wilson Drake|A. W. Drake]], [[Albert Gallup]], [[Robert Hoe III]], Brayton Ives, Samuel W. Martin, E. S. Mead, and Arthur B. Turnure.<ref name=nie>{{Cite NIE|wstitle=Grolier Club|year=1905}}</ref> Perfection in the art of [[Bookbinding|bookmaking]] is encouraged. [[Edwin Davis French|E. D. French]] engraved the club's own [[bookplate]] as well as bookplates for many of its members.


==History==
Honorary members have included I.N. Phelps Stokes (elected 1927), [[Bruce Rogers (typographer)|Bruce Rogers]] (1928), [[Henry Watson Kent]] (1930), [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] (1934), [[Rudolph Ruzicka]] (1946), [[Lawrence C. Wroth]] (1950), Carl Purington Rollins (1951), [[Elmer Adler]] (1952), [[Joseph Blumenthal (printer)|Joseph Blumenthal]] (1967), and Mary C. Hyde Eccles (1989); while Honorary Foreign Corresponding members have included [[Emery Walker]] (elected 1920), [[Alfred W. Pollard]] (1921), Sir [[Geoffrey Keynes]] (1922), [[Michael Sadleir]] (1925), [[Stanley Morison]] (1951), [[Giovanni Mardersteig]] (1964), [[Howard Nixon|Howard M. Nixon]] (1971), [[Nicolas Barker]] (1972), [[John Carter (author)|John Carter]] (1973), and [[Hermann Zapf]] (2003).<ref>Members of the Grolier Club, 1884–2009 (New York: Grolier Club, 2009), pp. 9–12.</ref>
[[File:Grolier Club tour (16626).jpg|thumb|Interior]]
[[File:Grolier Dutch Kitchen 3.jpg|thumb|Dutch kitchen]]The Grolier Club was formed on January 23, 1884,<ref name="nyt-1990-09-16">{{Cite news |last=Gray |first=Christopher |date=September 16, 1990 |title=Streetscapes: The Old Grolier Club; Recycling an 1890's Survivor |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/09/16/realestate/streetscapes-the-old-grolier-club-recycling-an-1890-s-survivor.html |access-date=March 7, 2024 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> with 50 members and was formally incorporated in 1888.<ref name="The New York Times 1888">{{Cite news |date=August 2, 1888 |title=Grolier Club Advancing.; Incorporated and Fitting Up a New Clubhouse. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1888/08/02/archives/grolier-club-advancing-incorporated-and-fitting-up-a-new-clubhouse.html |access-date=March 7, 2024 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The founders of the club were [[William Loring Andrews]], [[Theodore Low De Vinne|Theodore L. DeVinne]], [[Alexander Wilson Drake|A. W. Drake]], [[Albert Gallup]], [[Robert Hoe III]], Brayton Ives, Samuel W. Marvin, E. S. Mead, and Arthur B. Turnure.<ref name=nie>{{Cite NIE |wstitle=Grolier Club |year=1905}}</ref> Perfection in the art of [[Bookbinding|bookmaking]] is encouraged. [[Edwin Davis French|E. D. French]] engraved the club's own [[bookplate]] as well as bookplates for many of its members.


Honorary members have included I.N. Phelps Stokes (elected 1927), [[Bruce Rogers (typographer)|Bruce Rogers]] (1928), [[Henry Watson Kent]] (1930), [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] (1934), [[Rudolph Ruzicka]] (1946), [[Lawrence C. Wroth]] (1950), Carl Purington Rollins (1951), [[Elmer Adler]] (1952), [[Joseph Blumenthal (printer)|Joseph Blumenthal]] (1967), [[Margaret Bingham Stillwell]] (1977) and Mary C. Hyde Eccles (1989). Honorary Foreign Corresponding members have included [[Emery Walker]] (elected 1920), [[Alfred W. Pollard]] (1921), Sir [[Geoffrey Keynes]] (1922), [[Michael Sadleir]] (1925), [[Stanley Morison]] (1951), [[Giovanni Mardersteig]] (1964), [[Howard Nixon|Howard M. Nixon]] (1971), [[Nicolas Barker]] (1972), [[John Carter (author)|John Carter]] (1973), and [[Hermann Zapf]] (2003).<ref>Members of the Grolier Club, 1884–2009 (New York: Grolier Club, 2009), pp. 9–12.</ref> [[Harry Elkins Widener]], the wealthy young bibliophile whose early death in [[sinking of the RMS Titanic|the sinking of the RMS ''Titanic'']] inspired his mother to construct Harvard's [[Harry Elkins Widener Memorial Library]], had been a member.<ref name="Jordan1911">{{cite book |author=John Woolf Jordan |title=Colonial Families of Philadelphia |url=https://archive.org/details/colonialfamilies02jord |year=1911 |publisher=Lewis Publishing Company |pages=[https://archive.org/details/colonialfamilies02jord/page/1500 1500]–}}</ref><ref name="Club1921">{{cite book |author=Grolier Club |title=Transactions of the Grolier Club |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=etY9AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA179 |year=1921 |publisher=Grolier Club. |pages=179–}}</ref>
[[Harry Elkins Widener]], the wealthy young bibliophile whose early death in [[sinking of the RMS Titanic|sinking of the RMS ''Titanic'']] inspired his mother to construct Harvard's [[Harry Elkins Widener Memorial Library]], had been a member.<ref name="Jordan1911">{{cite book
|author=John Woolf Jordan
|title=Colonial Families of Philadelphia
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3kc2AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA1500
|year=1911
|publisher=Lewis Publishing Company
|pages=1500–}}</ref><ref name="Club1921">{{cite book
|author=Grolier Club
|title=Transactions of the Grolier Club
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=etY9AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA179
|year=1921
|publisher=Grolier Club.
|pages=179–}}</ref>


From April 20 to June 5, 1971, a newly-discovered pre-Columbian [[Maya codices|Maya codex]] was displayed in the club, giving the codex the name the [[Grolier Codex]]. In 1973 the club published a facsimile of the codex in a book by [[Michael D. Coe]].
From April 20 to June 5, 1971, a newly-discovered pre-Columbian [[Maya codices|Maya codex]] was displayed in the club, giving the codex the name the [[Grolier Codex]]. In 1973 the club published a facsimile of the codex in a book by [[Michael D. Coe]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://grolierclub.wordpress.com/2019/10/23/the-relationship-between-the-grolier-codex-and-the-grolier-club-of-new-york/ |title=The Relationship between the 'Grolier Codex' and The Grolier Club of New York* |last=Club |first=~ Grolier |date=October 23, 2019 |website=The Grolier Club |language=en |access-date=November 1, 2019}}</ref>


===Buildings===
The Grolier Club has had three locations since its founding in 1884. Its first home was rented. It moved in 1890 to a [[Romanesque Revival architecture|Romanesque Revival]] building at [[29 East 32nd Street]] (now a designated landmark), and in 1917 to its current home (designed by [[Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue]])<ref name="autogenerated1" /> at 47 East 60th Street in New York's [[Upper East Side|Silk Stocking District]].
The Grolier Club has had three locations since its founding. Its first home was rented space at 64 Madison Avenue,<ref name="nyt-1990-09-16" /> but the club had outgrown this space by 1888.<ref name="The New York Times 1888" /> It moved in 1890 to a [[Romanesque Revival architecture|Romanesque Revival]] building at [[29 East 32nd Street]] (now a designated city landmark).<ref name="nyt-1990-09-16" />


In 2013, plans were announced for a 51-story apartment tower to be built beside the Grolier Club, using [[air rights]] purchased from the club and from the adjoining Christ Church.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/26/nyregion/zeckendorfs-pay-40-million-for-park-avenue-churchs-air-rights.html?partner=rss&emc=rss|work=The New York Times|date=February 26, 2013|title=Zeckendorfs Pay $40 million for Park Avenue Church's Air Rights}}</ref>
The third and current clubhouse at 47 East 60th Street, on the [[Upper East Side]], was designed by [[Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue]].<ref name="About The Grolier Club Archived April 15" /> The cornerstone was laid in December 1916,<ref name="p575664498">{{cite news |date=December 15, 1916 |title=Cornerstone of Grolier Club's New Home Laid: Commodious Quarters in East Sixtieth Street Soon to Be Ready |work=New-York Tribune |page=13 |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|575664498}}}}</ref> and the clubhouse opened almost exactly a year later.<ref name="nyt-1917-12-07">{{Cite news |date=December 7, 1917 |title=Grolier Club in New Home; Books and Miniatures from Persia and the Levant on View. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1917/12/07/archives/grolier-club-in-new-home-books-and-miniatures-from-persia-and-the.html |access-date=March 7, 2024 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> In 2013, plans were announced for a 51-story apartment tower beside the Grolier Club, using [[air rights]] purchased from the club and the adjoining [[Christ Church United Methodist|Christ Church]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bagli |first=Charles V. |date=February 26, 2013 |title=$40 Million in Air Rights Will Let East Side Tower Soar |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/26/nyregion/zeckendorfs-pay-40-million-for-park-avenue-churchs-air-rights.html |access-date=March 7, 2024 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>


==List of presidents==
==List of presidents==
Line 47: Line 144:
{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
* Robert Hoe III (1884–1888)
* Robert Hoe III (1884–1888)
* William Loring Andrews (1888–1892)
* [[William Loring Andrews]] (1888–1892)
* Beverly Chew (1892–1896)
* Beverly Chew (1892–1896)
* [[Samuel Putnam Avery]] (1896–1900) Porträt: Medaille 1897 by Anton Scharff (1845–1903)
* [[Samuel Putnam Avery]] (1896–1900) Porträt: Medaille 1897 by Anton Scharff (1845–1903)
* [[Howard Mansfield]] (1900–1904)
* Howard Mansfield (1900–1904)
* Theodore Low De Vinne (1904–1906)
* Theodore Low De Vinne (1904–1906)
* Edwin B. Holden (1906)
* Edwin B. Holden (1906)
Line 60: Line 157:
* William B. Osgood Field (1924–1928)
* William B. Osgood Field (1924–1928)
* Lucius Wilmerding (1928–1932)
* Lucius Wilmerding (1928–1932)
* William B. Ivins, Jr. (1932–1935)
* William B. Ivins Jr. (1932–1935)
* Frederick Coykendall (1935–1939)
* Frederick Coykendall (1935–1939)
* Harry T. Peters (1939–1943)
* Harry T. Peters (1939–1943)
* Edwin De T. Bechtel (1943–1947)
* Edwin De T. Bechtel (1943–1947)
* [[Frederick B. Adams, Jr.]] (1947–1951)
* [[Frederick B. Adams Jr.]] (1947–1951)
* [[Irving S. Olds]] (1951–1955)
* [[Irving S. Olds]] (1951–1955)
* Arthur A. Houghton (1955–1957)
* Arthur A. Houghton (1955–1957)
* C. Waller Barrett (1957–1961)
* C. Waller Barrett (1957–1961)
* [[Donald F. Hyde]] (1961–1965)
* [[Donald F. Hyde]] (1961–1965)
* Gordon N. Ray (1965–1969)
* [[Gordon N. Ray]] (1965–1969)
* Alfred H. Howell (1969–1973)
* Alfred H. Howell (1969–1973)
* Robert H. Taylor (1973–1975)
* Robert H. Taylor (1973–1975)
Line 83: Line 180:
* Eugene S. Flamm (2010–2014)
* Eugene S. Flamm (2010–2014)
* G. Scott Clemons (2014–2018)
* G. Scott Clemons (2014–2018)
* Bruce J. Crawford (2018- )
* Bruce J. Crawford (2018–2022)
* Nancy K. Boehm (2022–)
{{div col end}}
{{div col end}}


==Publications==
==Publications==
The Club has issued editions of the following works:<ref name=nie/>
The Club has issued editions of the following works:<ref name=nie/>
* Richard du Bury, ''Philobiblion''
* [[Richard de Bury]], ''[[The Philobiblon|Philobiblon]]''
* [[George William Curtis]], ''Washington Irving''
* [[George William Curtis]], ''Washington Irving''
* Robert Hoe, ''Catalogues of Early and Original Editions from Langland to Wither; Bookbinding as a Fine Art''
* Robert Hoe, ''Catalogues of Early and Original Editions from Langland to Wither; Bookbinding as a Fine Art''
Line 94: Line 192:
* Theodore Low De Vinne, ''Historic Printing Types''
* Theodore Low De Vinne, ''Historic Printing Types''
* William Matthews, ''Modern Book Binding''
* William Matthews, ''Modern Book Binding''
*Ames, Alexander Lawrence, and Mark Samuels Lasner. ''Grolier Club Bookplates: Past & Present.'' New York: The Grolier Club, 2023.
*Fletcher, H. George. ''Judging a Book by Its Cover: Bookbindings from the Collections of the Grolier Club, 1470s-2020.'' New York: The Grolier Club, 2023.<ref>Foot, Mirjam. (review). ''The Book Collector'' 75 (no4) Winter, 2024:755-758.</ref>


==See also==
==See also==
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==Notes==
==Notes==
{{notelist}}
{{Notelist}}


==References==
==References==
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==External links==
==External links==
{{commons category|29 East 32nd Street}}
{{Commons category|Grolier Club}}
* {{Official website|http://www.grolierclub.org/}}
* {{Official website|https://www.grolierclub.org/}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070429100559/http://www.gslis.utexas.edu/~landc/bookplates/20_2_Grolier.htm Journal of Library History, vol. 20 #2, Spring 1985, pp. 196–9, by Robert Nikirk] [On the Grolier Club's bookplates]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070429100559/http://www.gslis.utexas.edu/~landc/bookplates/20_2_Grolier.htm Journal of Library History, vol. 20 #2, Spring 1985, pp. 196–9, by Robert Nikirk] [On the Grolier Club's bookplates]
* {{Gutenberg author | id=41906| name=Grolier Club}}
* [http://www.fabsbooks.org/ Fellowship of American Bibliophilic Societies]
* {{Gutenberg author | id=Club,+Grolier | name=Grolier Club}}
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Grolier Club}}
* [http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Search/Home?type%5B%5D=author&lookfor%5B%5D=%22Grolier%20Club.%22&page=1&ft=ft Works issued by the Grolier Club] at [[Hathi Trust]]


{{Museums in Manhattan|state=collapsed}}
{{Museums in Manhattan|state=collapsed}}
{{Libraries in New York City}}
{{Books}}
{{Books}}
{{Authority control}}
{{coord|40.74646|-73.98329|type:landmark_region:US-NY|display=title}}


[[Category:1884 establishments in New York (state)]]
[[Category:American bibliophiles]]
[[Category:Bertram Goodhue buildings]]
[[Category:Bertram Goodhue buildings]]
[[Category:Bibliophiles]]
[[Category:Bookbinding]]
[[Category:Bookbinding]]
[[Category:Clubs and societies in New York City]]
[[Category:Clubs and societies in New York City]]
[[Category:Cultural history of New York City]]
[[Category:Libraries in Manhattan]]
[[Category:Libraries in Manhattan]]
[[Category:Museums in Manhattan]]
[[Category:Museums in Manhattan]]
[[Category:Cultural history of New York City]]
[[Category:Organizations established in 1884]]
[[Category:Organizations established in 1884]]
[[Category:Gentlemen's clubs in the United States]]
[[Category:Upper East Side]]
[[Category:Upper East Side]]
[[Category:1884 establishments in New York (state)]]

Latest revision as of 15:52, 29 December 2024

Grolier Club
Formation1884; 141 years ago (1884)
Coordinates40°45′50″N 73°58′12″W / 40.76391°N 73.96987°W / 40.76391; -73.96987
President
Nancy K. Boehm
Websitewww.grolierclub.org

The Grolier Club is a private club and society of bibliophiles in New York City. Founded in January 1884, it is the oldest existing bibliophilic club in North America. The club is named after Jean Grolier de Servières, Viscount d'Aguisy, Treasurer General of France, whose library was famous; his motto, "Io. Grolierii et amicorum" [of or belonging to Jean Grolier and his friends], suggested his generosity in sharing books.[1]

The Club's stated objective is "the literary study of the arts pertaining to the production of books, including the occasional publication of books designed to illustrate, promote and encourage these arts; and the acquisition, furnishing and maintenance of a suitable club building for the safekeeping of its property, wherein meetings, lectures and exhibitions shall take place from time to time ..."[2]

Collections and programs

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The Grolier Club maintains a research library specializing in books, bibliography and bibliophily, printing (especially the history of printing and examples of fine printing), binding, illustration and bookselling. The Grolier Club has one of the more extensive collections of book auction and bookseller catalogs in North America.[3][4][5] The Library has the archives of a number of prominent bibliophiles such as Sir Thomas Phillipps,[6] and of bibliophile and print collecting groups, such as the Hroswitha Club of women book collectors (1944–c. 1999)[7][a] and the Society of Iconophiles.[8]

The Grolier Club also has a program of public exhibitions which "treat books and prints as objects worthy of display, on a par with painting and sculpture."[9] The exhibitions draw on various sources including holdings of the Club, its members, and of institutional libraries. In 2013, it hosted an exhibition on women in science.[10]

In 2022 the Rare Book School was featured in the exhibit, "Building the Book from the Ancient World to the Present Day: Five Decades of Rare Book School & the Book Arts Press."[11] The exhibit covered two millennia of the changing form of the book.

The Grolier Club is a member of the Fellowship of American Bibliophilic Societies.[12]

History

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Interior
Dutch kitchen

The Grolier Club was formed on January 23, 1884,[13] with 50 members and was formally incorporated in 1888.[14] The founders of the club were William Loring Andrews, Theodore L. DeVinne, A. W. Drake, Albert Gallup, Robert Hoe III, Brayton Ives, Samuel W. Marvin, E. S. Mead, and Arthur B. Turnure.[15] Perfection in the art of bookmaking is encouraged. E. D. French engraved the club's own bookplate as well as bookplates for many of its members.

Honorary members have included I.N. Phelps Stokes (elected 1927), Bruce Rogers (1928), Henry Watson Kent (1930), Franklin D. Roosevelt (1934), Rudolph Ruzicka (1946), Lawrence C. Wroth (1950), Carl Purington Rollins (1951), Elmer Adler (1952), Joseph Blumenthal (1967), Margaret Bingham Stillwell (1977) and Mary C. Hyde Eccles (1989). Honorary Foreign Corresponding members have included Emery Walker (elected 1920), Alfred W. Pollard (1921), Sir Geoffrey Keynes (1922), Michael Sadleir (1925), Stanley Morison (1951), Giovanni Mardersteig (1964), Howard M. Nixon (1971), Nicolas Barker (1972), John Carter (1973), and Hermann Zapf (2003).[16] Harry Elkins Widener, the wealthy young bibliophile whose early death in the sinking of the RMS Titanic inspired his mother to construct Harvard's Harry Elkins Widener Memorial Library, had been a member.[17][18]

From April 20 to June 5, 1971, a newly-discovered pre-Columbian Maya codex was displayed in the club, giving the codex the name the Grolier Codex. In 1973 the club published a facsimile of the codex in a book by Michael D. Coe.[19]

Buildings

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The Grolier Club has had three locations since its founding. Its first home was rented space at 64 Madison Avenue,[13] but the club had outgrown this space by 1888.[14] It moved in 1890 to a Romanesque Revival building at 29 East 32nd Street (now a designated city landmark).[13]

The third and current clubhouse at 47 East 60th Street, on the Upper East Side, was designed by Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue.[5] The cornerstone was laid in December 1916,[20] and the clubhouse opened almost exactly a year later.[21] In 2013, plans were announced for a 51-story apartment tower beside the Grolier Club, using air rights purchased from the club and the adjoining Christ Church.[22]

List of presidents

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The following people have served as presidents of the club:[23]

  • Robert Hoe III (1884–1888)
  • William Loring Andrews (1888–1892)
  • Beverly Chew (1892–1896)
  • Samuel Putnam Avery (1896–1900) Porträt: Medaille 1897 by Anton Scharff (1845–1903)
  • Howard Mansfield (1900–1904)
  • Theodore Low De Vinne (1904–1906)
  • Edwin B. Holden (1906)
  • Richard Hoe Lawrence (1906–1908)
  • William F. Havemeyer (1908–1912)
  • Edward G. Kennedy (1912–1916)
  • Arthur H. Scribner (1916–1920)
  • Henry Watson Kent (1920–1924)
  • William B. Osgood Field (1924–1928)
  • Lucius Wilmerding (1928–1932)
  • William B. Ivins Jr. (1932–1935)
  • Frederick Coykendall (1935–1939)
  • Harry T. Peters (1939–1943)
  • Edwin De T. Bechtel (1943–1947)
  • Frederick B. Adams Jr. (1947–1951)
  • Irving S. Olds (1951–1955)
  • Arthur A. Houghton (1955–1957)
  • C. Waller Barrett (1957–1961)
  • Donald F. Hyde (1961–1965)
  • Gordon N. Ray (1965–1969)
  • Alfred H. Howell (1969–1973)
  • Robert H. Taylor (1973–1975)
  • Herman W. Liebert (1975–1978)
  • Robert D. Graff (1978–1982)
  • Frank S. Streeter (1982–1986)
  • G. Thomas Tanselle (1986–1990)
  • Kenneth A. Lohf (1990–1994)
  • William Bradford Warren (1994–1998)
  • William T. Buice III (1998–2002)
  • Carolyn L. Smith (2002–2006)
  • William H. Helfand (2006–2010)
  • Eugene S. Flamm (2010–2014)
  • G. Scott Clemons (2014–2018)
  • Bruce J. Crawford (2018–2022)
  • Nancy K. Boehm (2022–)

Publications

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The Club has issued editions of the following works:[15]

  • Richard de Bury, Philobiblon
  • George William Curtis, Washington Irving
  • Robert Hoe, Catalogues of Early and Original Editions from Langland to Wither; Bookbinding as a Fine Art
  • Geoffrey Keynes, A Bibliography of William Blake (1921)
  • Theodore Low De Vinne, Historic Printing Types
  • William Matthews, Modern Book Binding
  • Ames, Alexander Lawrence, and Mark Samuels Lasner. Grolier Club Bookplates: Past & Present. New York: The Grolier Club, 2023.
  • Fletcher, H. George. Judging a Book by Its Cover: Bookbindings from the Collections of the Grolier Club, 1470s-2020. New York: The Grolier Club, 2023.[24]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Named for Hrotsvitha of Gandersheim

References

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  1. ^ Jean Grolier Biography Archived February 21, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ The Grolier Club, Constitution, Article I, section 2. 2005 edition.
  3. ^ Grolier Club Library Overview Archived February 5, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ Lasting Impressions: The Grolier Club Library (New York: Grolier Club, 2004) pp. 8–12.
  5. ^ a b About The Grolier Club Archived April 15, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ Phillipps Archived April 18, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ "Hroswitha Club: Records and Publications, 1944–1999".
  8. ^ "Society of Iconophiles (New York, N.Y.): Records, 1895–1930".
  9. ^ Exhibitions Archived July 5, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ "Landmark exhibition recognizes the achievements of women in science and medicine at The Grolier Club". artdaily.org. December 22, 2013. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
  11. ^ Rare Book School the Subject of a Fall Exhibition in NYC Fine Books & Collections July 2022.
  12. ^ FABS – Member Clubs Archived April 5, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  13. ^ a b c Gray, Christopher (September 16, 1990). "Streetscapes: The Old Grolier Club; Recycling an 1890's Survivor". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
  14. ^ a b "Grolier Club Advancing.; Incorporated and Fitting Up a New Clubhouse". The New York Times. August 2, 1888. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
  15. ^ a b Gilman, D. C.; Peck, H. T.; Colby, F. M., eds. (1905). "Grolier Club" . New International Encyclopedia (1st ed.). New York: Dodd, Mead.
  16. ^ Members of the Grolier Club, 1884–2009 (New York: Grolier Club, 2009), pp. 9–12.
  17. ^ John Woolf Jordan (1911). Colonial Families of Philadelphia. Lewis Publishing Company. pp. 1500–.
  18. ^ Grolier Club (1921). Transactions of the Grolier Club. Grolier Club. pp. 179–.
  19. ^ Club, ~ Grolier (October 23, 2019). "The Relationship between the 'Grolier Codex' and The Grolier Club of New York*". The Grolier Club. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
  20. ^ "Cornerstone of Grolier Club's New Home Laid: Commodious Quarters in East Sixtieth Street Soon to Be Ready". New-York Tribune. December 15, 1916. p. 13. ISSN 1941-0646. ProQuest 575664498.
  21. ^ "Grolier Club in New Home; Books and Miniatures from Persia and the Levant on View". The New York Times. December 7, 1917. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
  22. ^ Bagli, Charles V. (February 26, 2013). "$40 Million in Air Rights Will Let East Side Tower Soar". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
  23. ^ A list of club presidents, complete to 2009, appeared in Members of the Grolier Club, 1884–2009 (New York: Grolier Club, 2009), pp. 158–159. A previous list, complete to 1982, appeared in Members of the Grolier Club, 1884–1984 (New York: Grolier Club, 1986), pp. 149–150.
  24. ^ Foot, Mirjam. (review). The Book Collector 75 (no4) Winter, 2024:755-758.
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