Jump to content

Roxburghe Club: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous edit
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
No edit summary
 
(71 intermediate revisions by 36 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
[[File:Great book of Thomas Trevilian.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|''The Great Book of Thomas Trevilian'', a facsimile of a manuscript of 1616, published for the Roxburghe Club in 2000]]
The '''Roxburghe Club''' was formed on 17 June 1812 by leading [[bibliophile]]s, at the time the [[library]] of the [[John Ker, 3rd Duke of Roxburghe|Duke of Roxburghe]] was auctioned. It took 45 days to sell the entire collection. The first edition of [[Giovanni Boccaccio|Boccaccio]]'s ''[[The Decameron|Decameron]]'', printed by Chrisopher Valdarfer of Venice in 1471, was sold to the [[George Spencer-Churchill, 5th Duke of Marlborough|Marquis of Blandford]] for £2,260, the highest price ever given for a book at that time. The Marquis already had another copy, but lacking 5 of the pages.
The '''Roxburghe Club''' is a [[Bibliophilia|bibliophilic]] and [[Text publication society|publishing society]] based in the [[United Kingdom]].


==Origins==
Starting with some eighteen in number, the first dinner party took place at the St Albans Tavern, St Albans Street (later renamed Waterloo Place). The Roxburghe Club is often claimed as the first [[book club]] {{Citation needed|date=October 2007}}, and was a model for many book societies that appeared later in [[United Kingdom|Britain]] and [[Europe]]. The circle is an exclusive one, however: the number of members is limited to forty<ref>[http://www.roxburgheclub.org.uk/ Roxburghe Club website.]</ref>, with one [[black ball]] excluding applicants. Each member undertakes to sponsor the publication of a rare or curious volume. The scholarship continues to be high and the quality of binding lavish, with no more than 100 copies ever printed. The first president was the [[Frederick Spencer, 4th Earl Spencer|Earl Spencer]].
The spur to the Club's foundation was the sale of the enormous [[library]] of the [[John Ker, 3rd Duke of Roxburghe|Duke of Roxburghe]] (who had died in 1804), which took place over 46 days in May–July 1812. The auction was eagerly followed by [[Bibliophilia|bibliophiles]], the high point being the sale on 17 June 1812 of the first dated edition of [[Giovanni Boccaccio|Boccaccio]]'s ''[[The Decameron|Decameron]]'', printed by [[Christophorus Valdarfer]] at Venice in 1471,<ref>{{cite book|url=https://data.cerl.org/istc/ib00725300|title=Boccaccio, Giovanni: Decamerone. ISTC No. ib00725300|year=1471 |publisher=Christophorus Valdarfer }}</ref> and sold to the [[George Spencer-Churchill, 5th Duke of Marlborough|Marquis of Blandford]] for £2,260, the highest price ever given for a book at that time. (The Marquis already possessed a copy, but one that lacked 5 pages.) That evening, a group of eighteen collectors met at the St Albans Tavern, St Albans Street (later renamed Waterloo Place) for a dinner presided over by the [[George Spencer, 2nd Earl Spencer|2nd Earl Spencer]], and this is regarded as the origin of the Roxburghe Club.


A toast drunk on that occasion has been repeated at every annual anniversary dinner since to the "immortal memory of John Duke of Roxburghe, of Christopher Valdarfer, printer of the ''Boccaccio'' of 1471, of [[Johannes Gutenberg|Gutenberg]], [[Johann Fust|Fust]] and [[Peter Schöffer|Schoeffer]], the inventors of the art of printing, of [[William Caxton]], Father of the British press [and others; and] the prosperity of the Roxburghe Club and the Cause of [[Bibliomania]] all over the world". It was decided to make the dinner an annual event: further members were admitted the following year. The club was formed by [[Thomas Frognall Dibdin]], author of the book ''[[Bibliomania (book)|Bibliomania; or Book-Madness]]'' (1809), who served as its first secretary; and the club was formalised under Earl Spencer's presidency.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Connell |first=Philip |year=2000 |title=Bibliomania: book collecting, cultural politics, and the rise of literary heritage in Romantic Britain |journal=Representations |volume=71 |issue=71 |pages=24–47 |doi=10.2307/2902924 |jstor=2902924 }}</ref>
A photograph exists of the membership in 1892, including the Prime Minister [[Arthur Balfour]] and anthropologist [[Andrew Lang]], as well as [[United States|American]] poet [[James Russell Lowell]],<ref>[http://www.roxburgheclub.org.uk/membership/index.php?MemberID=127 Roxburghe Club website].</ref> [[Alfred Henry Huth]], and [[Simon Watson Taylor (surrealist)|Simon Watson Taylor]]. [[James Gascoyne-Cecil, 4th Marquess of Salisbury|James Gascoyne-Cecil, Viscount Cranborne]], was then President.


==Notable members==
==Membership==
The Club has had a total of 350 members from its foundation to 2017.<ref name=membership/> The circle has always been an exclusive one, with just one "[[Blackballing|black ball]]" (negative vote) being enough to exclude an applicant. Since 1839 the number of members at any one time has been limited to forty.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.roxburgheclub.org.uk/ |title=Welcome to the Roxburghe Club: Aims |publisher=Roxburghe Club |access-date=26 June 2019 }}</ref>
*[[Sir Walter Scott]]

*[[Thomas Frognall Dibdin]]
A photograph exists of the membership in 1892, including the Prime Minister [[Arthur Balfour]] and anthropologist [[Andrew Lang]], as well as [[United States|American]] poet [[James Russell Lowell]], [[Alfred Henry Huth]], and [[Simon Watson Taylor (surrealist)|Simon Watson Taylor]].{{citation needed|date=June 2019}} [[James Gascoyne-Cecil, 4th Marquess of Salisbury|James Gascoyne-Cecil, Viscount Cranborne]], was then President.
*[[Archdeacon Francis Wrangham]]

*[[Frederick James Furnivall]]
The first female member was [[Mary Eccles, Viscountess Eccles|Mary, Viscountess Eccles]], elected in 1985. In 2011, the Australian comedian [[Barry Humphries]] was elected a member.<ref name=membership>{{cite web |url=https://www.roxburgheclub.org.uk/membership/ |title=Members |publisher=Roxburghe Club |access-date=26 June 2019 }}</ref> The President since 1998 has been [[Max Egremont]].
*[[Andrew Lang]]

*[[Joseph Haslewood]]
==Publications==
*[[John Duke Coleridge]]
The Club rapidly became more than a mere social institution. Each member was (and remains) expected to sponsor the publication of a rare or curious volume. Other volumes are published by the Club collectively. Initially the volumes were editions of early [[blackletter]] printed texts (the first, in 1814, was the [[Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey|Earl of Surrey]]'s translation of parts of [[Virgil]]'s ''[[Aeneid]]'', originally printed in 1557); but from as early as 1819 they began to include texts taken from [[manuscript]] originals. The standards of scholarship are high, and the quality of printing, [[facsimile]] reproduction, and binding is lavish. Copies of each volume (in a fine binding) are presented to all members, and a limited number of extra copies (generally in a less lavish binding) may be made available for sale to non-members. From 1839, the total number of copies for each publication, including members' copies, was limited to 100. Recently,{{when|date=August 2020}} the limit was raised to 342 copies: 42 for the club, 300 for the public. The Roxburghe Club is generally recognised as the first "book club" (that is, [[text publication society]]), and was a model for many book societies that appeared later in [[United Kingdom|Britain]] and [[Europe]].
*[[Evelyn Philip Shirley]]

*[[James Russell Lowell]]
In 2000 the publisher [[Susan Shaw (publisher)|Susan Shaw]] completed the work that she had been given by the ''Roxburghe Club'' to create a facsimile copy of "The Great Book of Thomas Trevilian" in two volumes. The book was given to the club's members. A copy of Shaw's facsimile book in 2020 was on sale for £2,200.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Great Book Of Thomas Trevilian. A Facsimile From The Manuscript In The Wormsley Library. With A Study By Nicolas Barker. For Presentation To The Members Of The Roxburghe Club, 2000. 2 Volumes. - TREVILIAN (THOMAS)|url=https://www.maggs.com/departments/roxburghe_club/all_categories/229957/|access-date=2020-12-05|website=www.maggs.com}}</ref>
*[[Henry Huth]] (d.1878)

*[[Alfred Henry Huth]] (d.1910, son of Henry)
==Some notable members==
*[[Simon Watson Taylor (surrealist)|Simon Watson Taylor]]
A full list of the "Membership since 1812" can be found on the club website.<ref name=membership/>
*[[William Osler]]

*[[Frederick B. Adams, Jr.]]
*[[Thomas Frognall Dibdin]] (founder member, 1812)
*[[Harry Lawrence Bradfer-Lawrence]]
*[[Joseph Haslewood]] (founder member, 1812)
*[[Charles Travis Clay]]
*[[Edward Vernon Utterson]] (founder member, 1812)
*[[Christopher Selby Dobson]]
*[[Richard Heber]] (founder member, 1812)
*[[David Eccles, 1st Viscount Eccles]]
*[[George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 2nd Duke of Sutherland]] (founder member, 1812)
*[[Anthony Wagner|Sir Anthony R Wagner]] — [[Garter Principal King of Arms]]
*[[Henry Drury (educator)|Henry Drury]] (elected 1813)
*[[Nicolas Barker]] — Editor of The Book Collector
*[[George Hibbert]] (1757–1837) (elected 1816)
*[[Paul Getty|Sir John Paul Getty]]
*[[Archdeacon Francis Wrangham]] (elected 1822)
*[[Walter Fraser Oakeshott|Sir Walter Oakeshott]]
*[[Sir Walter Scott]] (elected 1822)
*[[Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 7th Marquess of Salisbury]]
*[[Edward Herbert, 2nd Earl of Powis]] (elected 1828)
*[[Barry Humphries]]
*[[Evelyn Philip Shirley]] (elected 1839)
*[[William Edward Buckley]] (vice-president, 1884)
*[[Simon Watson Taylor (surrealist)|Simon Watson Taylor]] (elected 1858)
*[[Henry Huth (bibliophile)|Henry Huth]] (d.1878) (elected 1866)
*[[Henry Bradshaw (scholar)|Henry Bradshaw]] (elected 1866)
*[[John Duke Coleridge]] (elected 1875)
*[[Alfred Henry Huth]] (d.1910, son of Henry) (elected 1883)
*[[James Russell Lowell]] (elected 1884)
*[[Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury]] (elected 1884)
*[[Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery]] (elected 1884)
*[[Andrew Lang]] (elected 1891)
*[[M. R. James]] (elected 1909)
*[[William Osler]] (elected 1914)
*[[Thomas James Wise]], forger and suspected thief (elected 1927)
*[[Owen Morshead|Sir Owen Morshead]] (elected 1931)
*Sir [[Charles Travis Clay]] (elected 1941)
*[[Walter Fraser Oakeshott|Sir Walter Oakeshott]] (elected 1949)
*[[Harry Lawrence Bradfer-Lawrence]] (elected 1954)
*[[Alan Noel Latimer Munby]] (elected 1957).
*[[Christopher Selby Dobson]] (elected 1964)
*[[Robin Mackworth-Young|Sir Robin Mackworth-Young]] (elected 1965)
*[[Frederick B. Adams Jr.]] (elected 1966)
*[[David Eccles, 1st Viscount Eccles]] (elected 1966)
*[[Nicolas Barker]] — Editor of ''The Book Collector'' (elected 1970)
*[[Anthony Wagner|Sir Anthony R Wagner]] — [[Garter Principal King of Arms]] (elected 1972)
*[[Simon Nowell-Smith|Simon Harcourt Nowell-Smith]] (elected 1979)
*[[Mary Eccles, Viscountess Eccles|Mary, Viscountess Eccles]] (elected 1985)
*Sir [[John Paul Getty Jr.]] (elected 1988)
*[[Anthony Quinton, Baron Quinton|Anthony Quinton]] (elected 1990)
*[[Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 7th Marquess of Salisbury]] (elected 1993)
*[[Christopher de Hamel]] (elected 2001)
*[[Jane, Lady Roberts]] (elected 2003)
*[[Barry Humphries]] (elected 2011)
*[[Richard Ovenden]] (elected 2017)
*[[Hannah Rothschild (film maker)|Hannah Rothschild]] (elected 2017)
*[[Alberto Manguel]] (elected 2021)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book |title=The Publications of the Roxburghe Club, 1814–1962 |first=Nicolas |last=Barker |author-link=Nicolas Barker |place=Cambridge |publisher=Roxburghe Club |year=1964 }}
*{{cite book |title=The Roxburghe Club: a bicentenary history |first=Nicolas |last=Barker |author-link=Nicolas Barker |place=Cambridge |publisher=Roxburghe Club |year=2012 |isbn=9781901902112 }}
*Pinault, Pierre-Louis. (2024). “Bernard Quaritch Ltd., Bibliophilic Clubs, and The Trade in Medieval Manuscripts ca. 1878–1939.” In ''The Pre-Modern Manuscript Trade and Its Consequences, ca. 1890–1945'', edited by Laura Cleaver, Danielle Magnusson, Hannah Morcos, And Angéline Rais, 17–30. Arc Humanities Press.


==External links==
==External links==
* [http://www.roxburgheclub.org.uk/ The Roxburghe Club website]
*{{Official website|https://www.roxburgheclub.org.uk/}}


{{Books}}
== References ==
{{Authority control}}
{{reflist}}


[[Category:Clubs and societies in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Organizations established in 1812]]
[[Category:Organisations based in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:British literature]]
[[Category:Bibliophiles]]
[[Category:1812 establishments in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:1812 establishments in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:British bibliophiles]]

[[Category:British literature]]
[[de:Roxburghe Club]]
[[Category:Clubs and societies in West Sussex]]
[[fr:Roxburghe Club]]
[[Category:Organizations established in 1812]]
[[Category:Small press publishing companies]]
[[Category:Text publication societies]]

Latest revision as of 16:25, 17 August 2024

The Great Book of Thomas Trevilian, a facsimile of a manuscript of 1616, published for the Roxburghe Club in 2000

The Roxburghe Club is a bibliophilic and publishing society based in the United Kingdom.

Origins

[edit]

The spur to the Club's foundation was the sale of the enormous library of the Duke of Roxburghe (who had died in 1804), which took place over 46 days in May–July 1812. The auction was eagerly followed by bibliophiles, the high point being the sale on 17 June 1812 of the first dated edition of Boccaccio's Decameron, printed by Christophorus Valdarfer at Venice in 1471,[1] and sold to the Marquis of Blandford for £2,260, the highest price ever given for a book at that time. (The Marquis already possessed a copy, but one that lacked 5 pages.) That evening, a group of eighteen collectors met at the St Albans Tavern, St Albans Street (later renamed Waterloo Place) for a dinner presided over by the 2nd Earl Spencer, and this is regarded as the origin of the Roxburghe Club.

A toast drunk on that occasion has been repeated at every annual anniversary dinner since to the "immortal memory of John Duke of Roxburghe, of Christopher Valdarfer, printer of the Boccaccio of 1471, of Gutenberg, Fust and Schoeffer, the inventors of the art of printing, of William Caxton, Father of the British press [and others; and] the prosperity of the Roxburghe Club and the Cause of Bibliomania all over the world". It was decided to make the dinner an annual event: further members were admitted the following year. The club was formed by Thomas Frognall Dibdin, author of the book Bibliomania; or Book-Madness (1809), who served as its first secretary; and the club was formalised under Earl Spencer's presidency.[2]

Membership

[edit]

The Club has had a total of 350 members from its foundation to 2017.[3] The circle has always been an exclusive one, with just one "black ball" (negative vote) being enough to exclude an applicant. Since 1839 the number of members at any one time has been limited to forty.[4]

A photograph exists of the membership in 1892, including the Prime Minister Arthur Balfour and anthropologist Andrew Lang, as well as American poet James Russell Lowell, Alfred Henry Huth, and Simon Watson Taylor.[citation needed] James Gascoyne-Cecil, Viscount Cranborne, was then President.

The first female member was Mary, Viscountess Eccles, elected in 1985. In 2011, the Australian comedian Barry Humphries was elected a member.[3] The President since 1998 has been Max Egremont.

Publications

[edit]

The Club rapidly became more than a mere social institution. Each member was (and remains) expected to sponsor the publication of a rare or curious volume. Other volumes are published by the Club collectively. Initially the volumes were editions of early blackletter printed texts (the first, in 1814, was the Earl of Surrey's translation of parts of Virgil's Aeneid, originally printed in 1557); but from as early as 1819 they began to include texts taken from manuscript originals. The standards of scholarship are high, and the quality of printing, facsimile reproduction, and binding is lavish. Copies of each volume (in a fine binding) are presented to all members, and a limited number of extra copies (generally in a less lavish binding) may be made available for sale to non-members. From 1839, the total number of copies for each publication, including members' copies, was limited to 100. Recently,[when?] the limit was raised to 342 copies: 42 for the club, 300 for the public. The Roxburghe Club is generally recognised as the first "book club" (that is, text publication society), and was a model for many book societies that appeared later in Britain and Europe.

In 2000 the publisher Susan Shaw completed the work that she had been given by the Roxburghe Club to create a facsimile copy of "The Great Book of Thomas Trevilian" in two volumes. The book was given to the club's members. A copy of Shaw's facsimile book in 2020 was on sale for £2,200.[5]

Some notable members

[edit]

A full list of the "Membership since 1812" can be found on the club website.[3]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Boccaccio, Giovanni: Decamerone. ISTC No. ib00725300. Christophorus Valdarfer. 1471.
  2. ^ Connell, Philip (2000). "Bibliomania: book collecting, cultural politics, and the rise of literary heritage in Romantic Britain". Representations. 71 (71): 24–47. doi:10.2307/2902924. JSTOR 2902924.
  3. ^ a b c "Members". Roxburghe Club. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  4. ^ "Welcome to the Roxburghe Club: Aims". Roxburghe Club. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  5. ^ "The Great Book Of Thomas Trevilian. A Facsimile From The Manuscript In The Wormsley Library. With A Study By Nicolas Barker. For Presentation To The Members Of The Roxburghe Club, 2000. 2 Volumes. - TREVILIAN (THOMAS)". www.maggs.com. Retrieved 2020-12-05.

Further reading

[edit]
  • Barker, Nicolas (1964). The Publications of the Roxburghe Club, 1814–1962. Cambridge: Roxburghe Club.
  • Barker, Nicolas (2012). The Roxburghe Club: a bicentenary history. Cambridge: Roxburghe Club. ISBN 9781901902112.
  • Pinault, Pierre-Louis. (2024). “Bernard Quaritch Ltd., Bibliophilic Clubs, and The Trade in Medieval Manuscripts ca. 1878–1939.” In The Pre-Modern Manuscript Trade and Its Consequences, ca. 1890–1945, edited by Laura Cleaver, Danielle Magnusson, Hannah Morcos, And Angéline Rais, 17–30. Arc Humanities Press.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Roxburghe_Club&oldid=1240817294"