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The Book Club of TexasFebruary 17, 2011 – June 11, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Amanda Stevenson, Curator (713) 522-4652, ext. 207 or [email protected] Hours: Tuesday through Saturday, 10:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. Admission: FreeLocation: 1324 West Clay Street, Houston, TX 77019 Tel: (713) 522-4652 Fax: (713) 522-5694Web Address: www.printingmuseum.org
The Museum of Printing History is pleased to present The Book Club of Texas. The Book Club of Texas was founded in 1929 by Stanley Marcus “to typify the best standard of bookmaking, in regard to subject matter, printing, binding, and typographical design.” In addition to highlighting the very best printers, binders, and designers in Texas, the Book Club has published distinguished authors such as John Graves, Larry McMurtry, William Faulkner, and J. Frank Dobie, among others. On view, one will see rare publications such as Dobie’s Tales of the Mustang and Faulkner’s Miss Zilphia Gant, as well as all published titles and various broadsides, keepsakes, and ephemera produced by the Book Club of Texas. Also on view is the most recent publication The Defeat of Grandfather Devil, a previously unpublished play by Josefina Niggli and illustrated with woodcuts by Artemio Rodriguez.
After returning to Texas from Harvard in 1926, Stanley Marcus (of Dallas-based Neiman Marcus fame) wished to “foster the arts pertaining to the production of fine books.” Modeled after the Book Club of California, which capitalized on the fine printing of noted printers such as the Grabhorn Brothers and John Henry Nash, Marcus believed he could inspire the same in Texas. Representative of the Club’s southwestern focus, the iconic printers mark or device is a circle of Texas ranch brands surrounding a BCT branding iron. Books were produced in limited editions and available for sale to members only, who paid $10 annual dues.
From 1929 to 1938, the Club produced 7 titles, now very collectable. The Club ceased operations in 1938 due to uncertainties caused by the Great Depression and the impending war. The Book Club was re-established in 1989 by 17 Texas bibliophiles with Stanley Marcus as Honorary President. The chief goals are similar to the original club: to promote excellence in bookmaking; to encourage fellowship among Texas bibliophiles; and to educate a wider audience about books and bookmaking.
The DeGolyer Library at SMU is the current home of the Book Club of Texas. The Book Club is open to anyone with an interest in book collecting, the book arts, and Texas history and literature. Activities include a publication program and occasional meetings and lectures. Dues are $35 per year. Members receive first offers on new titles and reduced prices on the Book Club’s publications. For information about the Club and its activities, please contact Pamalla Anderson at 214-768-0829 or [email protected]
Materials on view are loaned courtesy of the Book Club of Texas, DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University. The DeGolyer Library is the principal repository at SMU for special collections in the humanities, the history of business, and the history of science and technology. Its rare books, manuscripts, photographs, maps, and other materials are available to all SMU students, faculty, visiting scholars, and other researchers. DeGolyer Library’s holdings of primary sources are supported by exhibitions, lectures, publications, and seminars. Dedicated to enhancing scholarship and teaching at SMU, the DeGolyer Library is charged with maintaining and building its various collections “for study, research, and pleasure.”
The Museum of Printing History is funded in part by grants from the City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance.
Images from The Book Club of Texas on view at the Museum of Printing History February 17, 2011 – June 11, 2011
Original 1939 imprint showing the iconic “printers mark” or “device” of a circle of Texas ranch brands surrounding a BCT branding iron, representative of the Club’s southwestern focus.
Image from The Story of Champ d’Asile as Told by Two of the Colonists, translated from the French by Donald Joseph and edited with an introduction by Fannie E. Ratchford; Santa Fe, NM: Rydal Press, 1937
Cover of The Defeat of Grandfather Devil: From the Twelfth-Century Spanish Shepherds’ Play As Performed Yearly at Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico by Josefina Niggli; Austin: Digital Letterpress, 2010; Linocuts by Artemio Rodriguez and bound by Jace Graf at Cloverleaf Studio, Austin
