The Oxford University Society of Bibliophiles is a

book collecting Book collecting is the collecting of books, including seeking, locating, acquiring, organizing, cataloging, displaying, storing, and maintaining whatever books are of interest to a given collector. The love of books is ''bibliophilia'', and someo ...

and

bibliophile Bibliophilia or bibliophilism is the love of books. A bibliophile or bookworm is an individual who loves and frequently reads and/or collects books. Profile The classic bibliophile is one who loves to read, admire and collect books, often ama ...

club run by students at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

. It was originally founded in 1950 by a group of young bibliophiles, with the first meetings being held in

Hilary term Hilary term is the second academic term of the University of Oxfordbibliographers, librarians, book collectors,

booksellers Bookselling is the commercial trading of books which is the retail and distribution end of the publishing process. People who engage in bookselling are called booksellers, bookdealers, bookpeople, bookmen, or bookwomen. The founding of librari ...

and other literary figures of the period spoke to the Society or hosted visits. Many of the Society's junior members went on to become prominent figures in the world of books, and some later served as senior members of the Society. One of the most influential members was John Sparrow, Warden of All Souls, who encouraged a love of books and manuscripts in a generation of students, and hosted a termly "Warden's Meeting"at which members were encouraged to bring items from their own libraries to pass round and say a few words about; the tradition of the "Warden's Meeting" continued after 1986, when the Warden himself was too ill to host the meetings and, indeed, after his death in 1992. Another of the Society's traditions was the quality of the termly programme cards, often produced by the leading printers and

private presses Private press publishing, with respect to books, is an endeavor performed by craft-based expert or aspiring artisans, either amateur or professional, who, among other things, print and build books, typically by hand, with emphasis on design, grap ...

of the age, including the

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

and

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

University Presses, the

Rampant Lions Press The Rampant Lions Press was a fine letterpress printing firm in Britain, operating from 1924 to 2008. The firm was founded by Will Carter (24 September 1912 – 17 March 2001), publishing its first book in 1936, and was continued by his son, Seba ...

, the Samson Press, the

Fantasy Press Fantasy Press was an American publishing house specialising in fantasy and science fiction titles. Established in 1946 by Lloyd Arthur Eshbach in Reading, Pennsylvania, it was most notable for publishing the works of authors such as Robert A. Hei ...

, the Kit-Cat Press, Big Wheel Press, the

Perpetua Press Vivian Hughes Ridler, CBE (2 October 1913–11 January 2009), was a printer, typographer and scholar in Britain. He was Printer to the University of Oxford at Oxford University Press from 1958 until his retirement in 1978; and also establishe ...

, the Incline Press, the

Whittington Press Whittington Court is an Elizabethan manor house, five miles east of Cheltenham in Gloucestershire, England. Adjacent to the house is the Whittington parish church which dates from the 12th century and now dedicated to St Bartholomew. The ori ...

, the Libanus Press, the Rocket Press, the

Stanbrook Abbey Stanbrook Abbey is a Catholic contemplative Benedictine women's monastery with the status of an abbey, located at Wass, North Yorkshire, England. The community was founded in 1625 at Cambrai in Flanders (then part of the Spanish Netherlands, ...

Press and the Stamperia Valdonega. After a period of difficulties and disrupted activities in the last decade of the twentieth century, the Society closed in 2000, when interest among the students had declined so far that a junior committee could no longer be formed. However, due to the efforts of a new generation of Oxford students led by Geri Della Rocca de Candal, Enrico Emanuele Prodi and Matthew Cheung Salisbury, aided by Cristina Dondi,

Richard Ovenden Richard Ovenden (; born 25 March 1964) is a British librarian and author. He currently serves as Bodley's Librarian in the University of Oxford, having been appointed in 2014. Ovenden also serves as the Director of the Bodleian Library's Centre ...

and a few surviving members of the former Society (notably Colin Franklin and Paul W. Nash), the Oxford University Society of Bibliophiles was refounded in Trinity term 2008 and became fully active in

Michaelmas term Michaelmas term is the first academic term of the academic year in a number of English-speaking universities and schools in the northern hemisphere, especially in the United Kingdom. Michaelmas term derives its name from the Feast of St Micha ...

in the same year. The first termcard for the new Society was printed by the Rampant Lions Press (and was among the last jobs printed by Sebastian Carter). The Society's device was designed by Michael Harvey.

References

Sources

* * {{Authority control Book collecting English bibliophiles Hobbyist organizations Student organizations established in 1950 1950 establishments in England Clubs and societies of the University of Oxford Oxford University Society of Bibliophiles