Founded in 1892, The Bibliographical Society is the senior

learned society A learned society (; also learned academy, scholarly society, or academic association) is an organization that exists to promote an academic discipline, profession, or a group of related disciplines such as the arts and science. Membership ...

dealing with the study of the

book A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images, typically composed of many pages (made of papyrus, parchment, vellum, or paper) bound together and protected by a cover. The technical term for this physical ...

and its

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

in the United Kingdom. Largely owing to the efforts of

Walter Arthur Copinger Walter Arthur Copinger (14 April 1847 – 13 March 1910) was an English professor of law, antiquary and bibliographer. Early life and education Copinger was born on 14 April 1847 at Clapham, the second son of Charles Louis George Emanuel Copin ...

, who was supported by Richard Copley Christie, the Bibliographical Society was founded in London in 1892; Copinger was the Society's first president, and held the post for four years. His own work in the field, however, lacked accuracy. The Society holds a monthly lecture between October and May, usually on the third Tuesday of the month at the

Society of Antiquaries of London A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Soci ...

. The first fifty years of the Bibliographical Society were documented in the book ''The Bibliographical Society, 1892–1942: Studies in Retrospect''. ''The Book Encompassed'', a volume of essays marking the Society's centenary was published in 1992.

Objectives

The objectives of the Society are: * to promote and encourage study and research in the fields of: ** historical, analytical, descriptive and textual

bibliography Bibliography (from and ), as a discipline, is traditionally the academic study of books as physical, cultural objects; in this sense, it is also known as bibliology (from ). English author and bibliographer John Carter describes ''bibliography ...

** the

history of printing The history of printing starts as early as 3000 BCE, when the proto-Elamite and Sumerian civilizations used cylinder seals to certify documents written in clay tablets . Other early forms include block seals, hammered coinage, pottery imprints, a ...

publishing Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

bookselling 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 librar ...

bookbinding Bookbinding is the process of physically assembling a book of codex format from an ordered stack of ''signatures'', sheets of paper folded together into sections that are bound, along one edge, with a thick needle and strong thread. Cheaper, b ...

and

collecting The hobby of collecting includes seeking, locating, acquiring, organizing, cataloging, displaying, storing, and maintaining items that are of interest to an individual ''collector''. Collections differ in a wide variety of respects, most obvi ...

* to hold

meetings A meeting is when two or more people come together to discuss one or more topics, often in a formal or business setting, but meetings also occur in a variety of other environments. Meetings can be used as form of group decision making. Defin ...

at which papers are read and discussed * to print and publish a

journal A journal, from the Old French ''journal'' (meaning "daily"), may refer to: *Bullet journal, a method of personal organization *Diary, a record of what happened over the course of a day or other period *Daybook, also known as a general journal, a ...

(''The Library'') and books concerned with bibliography * to maintain a bibliographical

library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vi ...

* from time to time to award a

medal A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be int ...

for services to bibliography * to support bibliographical research by awarding grants and bursaries

Library and archives

The Society's library was housed at Stationers' Hall in the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

but moved to Senate House in January 2007. In 2017 it moved again to the Albert Sloman Library at the

University of Essex The University of Essex is a public research university in Essex, England. Established by royal charter in 1965, Essex is one of the original plate glass universities. Essex's shield consists of the ancient arms attributed to the Kingdom of Es ...

. The Society's

archive An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials – in any medium – or the physical facility in which they are located. Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual ...

is housed at the

Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the sec ...

and may be used by scholars and members of the Society.

Publications

The Society has published a journal since 1893, originally entitled ''Transactions of the Bibliographical Society''. In 1920 it took over publication of ''The Library'' (issued since 1889) and adopted that as the main title of the ''Transactions''. (''The Library'' was founded in 1889 by

John Young Walker MacAlister Sir John Young Walker MacAlister (10 May 1856 – 1 December 1925) was a Scottish journalist, editor, librarian, and promoter of medical postgraduate education. He was the Secretary of the Royal Society of Medicine from 1901 to 1925 and one of th ...

.) The different series of the ''Transactions'' and ''The Library'' are: *''Transactions of the Bibliographical Society'', vol. 1–15 (1893–1919) *''The Library'', vol. 1–10 (1889–1898) *''The Library'', Second/New series, vol. 1–10 (1900–1910) *''The Library'', Third series, vol. 1–10 (1910–1919) *''The Library'', Fourth series, vol. 1–26 (1920–1946) *''The Library'', Fifth series, vol. 1–33 (1946–1978) *''The Library'', Sixth series, vol. 1–21 (1979–1999) *''The Library'', Seventh series, vol. 1– (2000– ) ''The Library'' (; ) is a quarterly journal and is issued free to members who also receive a copy of all books published by the Society. In 1937, Harry Carter, Ellic Howe, Alfred F. Johnson,

Stanley Morison Stanley Arthur Morison (6 May 1889 – 11 October 1967) was a British typographer, printing executive and historian of printing. Largely self-educated, he promoted higher standards in printing and an awareness of the best printing and typefaces o ...

and

Graham Pollard Henry Graham Pollard (known as Graham Pollard) (7 March 1903 – 15 November 1976) was a British bookseller and bibliographer. Early life Pollard was the son of the historian Albert Pollard and was born in Putney, London on 7 March 1903. ...

started to produce a list of all known pre-1800 type specimens. The list was published in ''The Library'' in 1942. However, because of the war, many libraries at the European continent were not accessible anymore.

Gold medal

The Society occasionally awards a

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...

medal for "distinguished services to bibliography to individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to the development of the subject and the furtherance of the Society's aims."

References

External links