The Caxton Club is a private social club and

bibliophilic 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 ...

society founded in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

in 1895 to promote the

book arts Book arts may refer to: * Artist's books, works of art in the form of a book * Book illustration, illustration in a book * Book design, the art of designing a book * Bookbinding Bookbinding is the process of physically assembling a book of ...

and the

history of the book The history of books became an acknowledged academic discipline in the 1980s. Contributors to the discipline include specialists from the fields of textual scholarship, codicology, bibliography, philology, palaeography, art history, social hi ...

. To further its goals, the club holds monthly (September through June) dinner meetings and luncheons, sponsors bibliophile events (often in collaboration with the

Newberry Library The Newberry Library is an independent research library, specializing in the humanities and located on Washington Square in Chicago, Illinois. It has been free and open to the public since 1887. Its collections encompass a variety of topics rela ...

and with other regional institutions) and exhibitions, and publishes books, exhibition catalogs, and a monthly journal, ''The Caxtonian''. The Caxton Club is a member club of the Fellowship of American Bibliophilic Societies.

History

The Caxton Club was founded in 1895 by a group of fifteen bibliophiles to support the publication of fine books in the style of the then-new Arts and Crafts Movement. The club's name honors the fifteenth-century

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

printer Printer may refer to: Technology * Printer (publishing), a person or a company * Printer (computing), a hardware device * Optical printer for motion picture films People * Nariman Printer (fl. c. 1940), Indian journalist and activist * James ...

William Caxton William Caxton ( – ) was an English merchant, diplomat and writer. He is thought to be the first person to introduce a printing press into England, in 1476, and as a printer (publisher), printer to be the first English retailer of printed boo ...

. The Caxton Club flourished until

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, after which its membership declined. The club was revived, however, and began to hold regular monthly meetings. The club was exclusively for men until 1976 when the first women were elected to membership. The Club published a number of fine editions in partnership with the Lakeside Press of Chicago. The Club gives out scholarships and grants to students and researchers in the

Notable members

Gwendolyn Brooks Gwendolyn Elizabeth Brooks (June 7, 1917 – December 3, 2000) was an American poet, author, and teacher. Her work often dealt with the personal celebrations and struggles of ordinary people in her community. She won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetr ...

– author, poet * Francis Fisher Browne – editor *

Lee Pierce Butler Lee Pierce Butler (December 19, 1884 – March 28, 1953) was a professor at the University of Chicago Graduate Library School. He was one of the first to use the term "library science" (along with S. R. Ranganathan), by which he meant the scient ...

– bibliographer, librarian, professor *

Alexander Wilson Drake Alexander Wilson Drake (1843–1916) was an American artist, collector and critic. Biography Drake was born near Westfield, New Jersey, Westfield, New Jersey., the son of Isaac Payne Drake (1818–1900) and Charlotte Osborne Drake (1817–190 ...

– artist, collector, critic * James Ellsworth – banker, industrialist *

Charles Lang Freer Charles Lang Freer (February 25, 1854 – September 25, 1919) was an American industrialist, art collector, and patron. He is known for his large collection of East Asian, American, and Middle Eastern Art. In 1906, Freer donated his extensive col ...

– art collector, industrialist, philanthropist * Michael Gorman – librarian *

Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden Gustav, Gustaf or Gustave may refer to: * Gustav (name), a male given name of Old Swedish origin Art, entertainment, and media * ''Primeval'' (film), a 2007 American horror film * ''Gustav'' (film series), a Hungarian series of animated short car ...

– book collector and scholar *

Henry Eduard Legler Henry Eduard Legler (June 22, 1861 – September 13, 1917) was an Italian American journalist, politician, and librarian. Born in Palermo, Sicily, Italy, His birth name was given as Enrico, Legler emigrated with his parents to the United Sta ...

– activist, librarian *

Frank Orren Lowden Frank Orren Lowden (January 26, 1861 – March 20, 1943) was an American Republican Party politician who served as the 25th Governor of Illinois and as a United States Representative from Illinois. He was also a candidate for the Republican pre ...

– 25th

governor of Illinois The governor of Illinois is the head of government of Illinois, and the various agencies and departments over which the officer has jurisdiction, as prescribed in the state constitution. It is a directly elected position, votes being cast by p ...

United States representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from Illinois, and candidate for the

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

presidential nominations in

1920 Events January * January 1 ** Polish–Soviet War in 1920: The Russian Red Army increases its troops along the Polish border from 4 divisions to 20. ** Kauniainen, completely surrounded by the city of Espoo, secedes from Espoo as its own ma ...

and

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhanov, J ...

* William Mulliken – Olympic swimmer * Audrey Niffenegger – author and artist *

Carl B. Roden Carl Bismarck Roden (June 7, 1871 – October 25, 1956) was an American librarian and served as chief librarian of the Chicago Public Library from 1918 to 1950. A lifelong resident of Norwood Park, Illinois he began work as a library page in 1 ...

– librarian *

Ralph Fletcher Seymour Ralph Fletcher Seymour (March 18, 1876 – January 1, 1966) was an American artist, author, and publisher of the late nineteenth and the twentieth centuries. Though long based in Chicago, he was also noted for his work in the American Southwest ...

– artist, author, publisher *

Vincent Starrett Charles Vincent Emerson Starrett (; October 26, 1886 – January 5, 1974), known as Vincent Starrett, was a Canadian-born American writer, newspaperman, and bibliophile. Biography Charles Vincent Emerson Starrett was born above his grandfathe ...

– author and newspaperman * Robert Wedgeworth – librarian and executive *

Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key role in the architectural movements o ...

– architect

References

External links

Official website
* ttps://archives.newberry.org/repositories/2/resources/1267 Caxton Club recordsat The Newberry Bibliophiles Clubs and societies in the United States Culture of Chicago Organizations based in Chicago Organizations established in 1895 Gentlemen's clubs in the United States 1895 establishments in Illinois {{Chicago-stub

History

Notable members

See also

References

Further reading

External links