Friday, July 19, 2013

Book Club of Washington



 

The Book Club of Washington (BCW) is into our fourth decade of operation.  Founded in 1982, we continue to provide programs and publications in support of the bibliophilic community in Washington State.

Spring 2013 saw the awards and celebration of the University of Puget Sound Book Collecting Contest, sponsored by the Book Club of Washington and managed by the Collins Memorial Library.  This regular contest has resulted in fascinating student collections and nominees to the National Collegiate Book Collecting Contest.

A summer highlight for our members was a weekend in Portland, Oregon.  Jointly sponsored with the FABS-member Himes & Duniway Society, we shared dinner with their members; toured the collection of Jack Walsdorf, an Officer of the William Morris Society; and visited the Oregon Historical Society.  On our return from Portland to Seattle we were able to stop and enjoy the early 20th-Century book collection of at the home of a BCW member who lives along the road between Portland and Seattle.  Summer activity also included an enjoyable tour of rare and antiquarian bookshops in the Pioneer Square area of Seattle. 

The Book Club of Washington publishes a twice-yearly Journal of book-related essays.  The contents of the Spring 2013 issue and back issues can be found on the website, .  The Fall 2013 issue will be published in October with articles about Edward Fitzgerald; “faux” books; the Corn Palace; a local suffragist’s inscription in a book; and the mystery behind a fine-printed, never-mailed 1929 invitation to help create a club for Seattle book collectors.

A new publication is in the early planning stages – the first in a Chapbook Series.  Inspired by the University of Washington Chapbook Series from the 1920s and published using fine press and book arts techniques, the first chapbook will be published in 2014.

The major event of the Fall is the Seattle Antiquarian Book Fair on October 12-13, 2013.  This popular and engaging book fair is a time when BCW members gather informally to share stories, recent purchases, and to see book dealer friends.  We will have a booth at the book fair to discuss the BCW and answer questions.  December is the time of our annual Holiday Dinner and Silent Auction.  This joyous celebration of the Book Club of Washington also has an auction with books and other treasures to be bid on by attendees.

Events and activities are published on the Book Club of Washington website, and FABS members are welcome to participate.  If you are in the Seattle area and would like to contact us, our email address is info@bookclubofwashington.org.

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