Caxton Club
Encyclopedia
The Caxton Club is a private social club
and bibliophilic
society founded in Chicago
in 1895 to promote the book arts and the history of the book
. 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
) 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.
. The club's name honors the fifteenth-century English
printer William Caxton
.
The Caxton Club flourished until World War I
, 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.
Gentlemen's club
A gentlemen's club is a members-only private club of a type originally set up by and for British upper class men in the eighteenth century, and popularised by English upper-middle class men and women in the late nineteenth century. Today, some are more open about the gender and social status of...
and bibliophilic
Bibliophilia
Bibliophilia or bibliophilism is the love of books. Accordingly a bibliophile is an individual who loves books. A bookworm is someone who loves books for their content, or who otherwise loves reading. The -ia-suffixed form "bibliophilia" is sometimes considered to be an incorrect usage; the older...
society founded in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
in 1895 to promote the book arts and the history of the book
History of the book
The history of books follows a suite of technological innovations for books. These improved the quality of text conservation, the access to information, portability, and the cost of production...
. 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
Newberry Library
The Newberry Library is a privately endowed, independent research library for the humanities and social sciences in Chicago, Illinois. Although it is private, non-circulating library, the Newberry Library is free and open to the public...
) 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 MovementArts and Crafts movement
Arts and Crafts was an international design philosophy that originated in England and flourished between 1860 and 1910 , continuing its influence until the 1930s...
. The club's name honors the fifteenth-century English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
printer William Caxton
William Caxton
William Caxton was an English merchant, diplomat, writer and printer. As far as is known, he was the first English person to work as a printer and the first to introduce a printing press into England...
.
The Caxton Club flourished until World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, 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.
Notable members
- Gwendolyn BrooksGwendolyn BrooksGwendolyn Elizabeth Brooks was an American poet. She was appointed Poet Laureate of Illinois in 1968 and Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress in 1985.-Biography:...
– author, poet - Francis Fisher BrowneFrancis Fisher Browne-Biography:Browne was born in South Halifax, Vermont. After his high school education, Browne enlisted in the Forty-sixth Massachusetts Volunteers ....
– editor - Lee Pierce ButlerLee Pierce ButlerLee Pierce Butler was a professor at the Graduate Library School of the University of Chicago. He was one of the first to use the term "library science" Lee Pierce Butler (1884 – 1953) was a professor at the Graduate Library School of the University of Chicago. He was one of the first to use the...
– bibliographer, librarian, professor - Alexander Wilson DrakeAlexander Wilson DrakeAlexander Wilson Drake was an American artist, collector and critic, born near Westfield, NJ. He studied wood engraving under John W. Orr of New York city, as well as oil and water-color painting. He was in the wood engraving business on his own account in New York city from 1865 to 1870...
– artist, collector, critic - James EllsworthJames EllsworthJames Ellsworth was an American coal mine owner and banker.-Early life:...
– banker, industrialist - Charles Lang FreerCharles Lang FreerCharles Lang Freer was an American railroad-car manufacturer from Detroit, Michigan who gave to the United States his art collections and funds for a building to house them. The Freer Gallery of Art founded by him is part of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C..-Early life:Freer was...
– art collector, industrialist, philanthropist - Ralph Fletcher SeymourRalph Fletcher SeymourRalph Fletcher Seymour was an American artist, author, and publisher of the late nineteenth and the twentieth centuries...
– artist, author, publisher - Frank Lloyd WrightFrank Lloyd WrightFrank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, interior designer, writer and educator, who designed more than 1,000 structures and completed 500 works. Wright believed in designing structures which were in harmony with humanity and its environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture...
– architect
Further reading
- Piehl, Frank J. The Caxton Club, 1895–1995: Celebrating a Century of the Book in Chicago. Chicago: Caxton Club, 1995. ISBN 0-940550-09-1.