The Grolier Club is a

private club A club is an association of people united by a common interest or goal. A service club, for example, exists for voluntary or charitable activities. There are clubs devoted to hobbies and sports, social activities clubs, political and religious c ...

and society of bibliophiles in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. 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''" f or belonging to Jean Grolier and his friends suggested his generosity in sharing books. 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 ..."

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.About The Grolier Club
The Library has the archives of a number of prominent bibliophiles such as

Sir Thomas Phillipps Sir Thomas Phillipps, 1st Baronet (2 July 1792 – 6 February 1872), was an English antiquary and book collector who amassed the largest collection of manuscript material in the 19th century. He was an illegitimate son of a textile manufacturer ...

, and of bibliophile and print collecting groups, such as the Hroswitha Club of women book collectors (1944–c. 1999) and the Society of Iconophiles. 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." 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 The presence of women in science spans the earliest times of the history of science wherein they have made significant contributions. Historians with an interest in gender and science have researched the scientific endeavors and accomplishments ...

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

History

The founders of the club were William Loring Andrews, Theodore L. DeVinne, A. W. Drake, Albert Gallup,

Robert Hoe III Robert Hoe III (10 March 1839, in New York City – 22 September 1909, in London) was an American businessman and producer of printing press equipment. He succeeded Richard March Hoe as head of R. Hoe & Company, which continued its preeminence ...

, Brayton Ives, Samuel W. Martin, E. S. Mead, and Arthur B. Turnure. Perfection in the art of

bookmaking A bookmaker, bookie, or turf accountant is an organization or a person that accepts and pays off bets on sporting and other events at agreed-upon odds. History The first bookmaker, Ogden, stood at Newmarket in 1795. Range of events Bookm ...

is encouraged. E. D. French engraved the club's own

bookplate An ''Ex Libris'' (from ''ex-librīs'', ), also known as a bookplate (or book-plate, as it was commonly styled until the early 20th century), is a printed or decorative label pasted into a book, often on the front endpaper, to indicate ownership. ...

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 Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

(1934),

Rudolph Ruzicka Rudolph Ruzicka (29 June 1883 – 20 July 1978) was a Czech American wood engraver, etcher, illustrator, typeface designer, and book designer. Ruzicka designed typefaces and wood engraving illustrations for Daniel Berkeley Updike's Merrymount Pr ...

(1946),

Lawrence C. Wroth Lawrence Counselman Wroth (January 14, 1884 – December 25, 1970) was an American historian and the author of ''The Colonial Printer'', the definitive book on the American printing trade during the period of 1639 through 1800. Though he wrot ...

(1950), Carl Purington Rollins (1951),

Elmer Adler Elmer Adler (July 22, 1884 – January 11, 1962) was a Book design, book designer, collector, and graphic design educator. Biography Elmer Adler was born July 22, 1884 in Rochester, New York, Rochester, New York (state), New York. Adler began co ...

(1952), Joseph Blumenthal (1967), and Mary C. Hyde Eccles (1989); while Honorary Foreign Corresponding members have included

Emery Walker Sir Emery Walker FSA (2 April 1851 – 22 July 1933) was an English engraver, photographer and printer. Walker took an active role in many organisations that were at the heart of the Arts and Crafts movement, including the Art Workers G ...

(elected 1920), Alfred W. Pollard (1921), Sir

Geoffrey Keynes Sir Geoffrey Langdon Keynes ( ; 25 March 1887, Cambridge – 5 July 1982, Cambridge) was a British surgeon and author. He began his career as a physician in World War I, before becoming a doctor at St Bartholomew's Hospital in London, where h ...

(1922),

Michael Sadleir Michael Sadleir (25 December 1888 – 13 December 1957), born Michael Thomas Harvey Sadler, was a British publisher, novelist, book collector, and bibliographer. Biography Michael Sadleir was born in Oxford, England, the son of Sir Michael ...

(1925),

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 ...

(1951),

Giovanni Mardersteig Giovanni may refer to: * Giovanni (name), an Italian male given name and surname * Giovanni (meteorology), a Web interface for users to analyze NASA's gridded data * ''Don Giovanni'', a 1787 opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, based on the legend of ...

(1964), Howard M. Nixon (1971), Nicolas Barker (1972), John Carter (1973), and

Hermann Zapf Hermann Zapf (; 8 November 1918 – 4 June 2015) was a German type designer and calligrapher who lived in Darmstadt, Germany. He was married to the calligrapher and typeface designer Gudrun Zapf-von Hesse. Typefaces he designed include ...

(2003).

Harry Elkins Widener Harry Elkins Widener (January 3, 1885 – April 15, 1912) was an American businessman and bibliophile, and a member of the Widener family. His mother built Harvard University's Widener Memorial Library in his memory, after his death on the found ...

, the wealthy young bibliophile whose early death in sinking of the RMS ''Titanic'' inspired his mother to construct Harvard's

Harry Elkins Widener Memorial Library The Harry Elkins Widener Memorial Library, housing some 3.5million books in its "vast and cavernous" stacks, is the centerpiece of the Harvard College Libraries (the libraries of Harvard's Faculty of Arts and Sciences) and, more broadly, of the ...

, had been a member. From April 20 to June 5, 1971, a newly-discovered pre-Columbian

Maya codex Maya codices (singular ''codex'') are folding books written by the pre-Columbian Maya civilization in Maya hieroglyphic script on Mesoamerican bark paper. The folding books are the products of professional scribes working under the patronage ...

was displayed in the club, giving the codex the name the

Grolier Codex The ''Maya Codex of Mexico'' (MCM) is a Maya screenfold codex manuscript of a pre-Columbian type. Long known as the ''Grolier Codex'' or ''Sáenz Codex'', in 2018 it was officially renamed the ''Códice Maya de México'' (CMM) by the National ...

. In 1973 the club published a facsimile of the codex in a book by

Michael D. Coe Michael Douglas Coe (May 14, 1929 – September 25, 2019) was an American archaeologist, anthropologist, epigrapher, and author. He is known for his research on pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, particularly the Maya, and was among the foremost Mayan ...

. 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 Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended to ...

building at

29 East 32nd Street 29 East 32nd Street (also known as the Old Grolier Club or Gilbert Kiamie House) in New York City was originally the Grolier Club building when it was built in 1889. Its architecture by Charles W. Romeyn"AIA Guide to New York City", 4th Edition, p ...

(now a designated landmark), and in 1917 to its current home (designed by

Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue (April 28, 1869 – April 23, 1924) was an American architect celebrated for his work in Gothic Revival and Spanish Colonial Revival design. He also designed notable typefaces, including Cheltenham and Merrymount for ...

) at 47 East 60th Street in New York's Silk Stocking District. In 2013, plans were announced for a 51-story apartment tower to be built beside the Grolier Club, using

air rights Air rights are the property interest in the "space" above the earth's surface. Generally speaking, owning, or renting, land or a building includes the right to use and build in the space above the land without interference by others. This lega ...

purchased from the club and from the adjoining Christ Church.

List of presidents

The following people have served as presidents of the club: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. * Robert Hoe III (1884–1888) * William Loring Andrews (1888–1892) * Beverly Chew (1892–1896) *

Samuel Putnam Avery Samuel Putnam Avery (1822–1904) was an American connoisseur and dealer in art. Biography Samuel Putnam Avery was born in New York City on March 17, 1822. where he studied wood and copper engraving and was extensively employed by leading publis ...

(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. Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Nobility Anhalt-Harzgerode *Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) Austria * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria from 1195 to 1198 * Frederic ...

(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

The Club has issued editions of the following works: *

Richard de Bury Richard de Bury (24 January 1287 – 14 April 1345), also known as Richard Aungerville or Aungervyle, was an English priest, teacher, bishop, writer, and bibliophile. He was a patron of learning and one of the first English collectors of books. ...

, ''

Philobiblon ''Philobiblon'' is a biannual peer-reviewed academic journal published by the Central University Library of Cluj-Napoca, Romania, in collaboration with Cluj University Press (Presa Universitară Clujeană). It was established in 1996 as a continu ...

'' *

George William Curtis George William Curtis (February 24, 1824 – August 31, 1892) was an American writer and public speaker born in Providence, Rhode Island. An early Republican, he spoke in favor of African-American equality and civil rights both before and after ...

, ''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 William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the Romantic poetry, poetry and visual art of t ...

'' (1921) * Theodore Low De Vinne, ''Historic Printing Types'' * William Matthews, ''Modern Book Binding''

Notes

References

External links

*
Journal of Library History, vol. 20 #2, Spring 1985, pp. 196–9, by Robert Nikirk
n the Grolier Club's bookplates
Fellowship of American Bibliophilic Societies
* *
Works issued by the Grolier Club
at

Hathi Trust HathiTrust Digital Library is a large-scale collaborative repository of digital content from research libraries including content digitized via Google Books and the Internet Archive digitization initiatives, as well as content digitized locally ...

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