Writing about San Francisco in the 1930s
Author and historian Robert Cherny is the author of seven monographs, co-author of two monographs and of college-level textbooks in US history and California history, co-editor of two anthologies, and author of some forty articles in journals or anthologies. Nearly all of his published work deals in some way with the post-Civil War history of […]
Picture • Book • Talk
As a photographer in the fifty-ninth year of his serious effort, David Wing will describe how his camera found its subjects, what his working mind is like today, and how his accumulated work has “aged” in his intellect and in his heart. Accompanied by numerous projected examples, Wing will talk in detail about how his […]
2025 Oscar Lewis Awards
The Oscar Lewis Awards were established by the Book Club of California in 1994 in honor of Oscar Lewis (1893-1992), author, historian, and club secretary. Join us as we recognize this year’s honorees for their contributions to the Book Arts and to Western History. This is an in-person and virtual event.
From Page to Stage and Back: The Theatrical Adventures of Writer and Illustrator Edward Gorey
Edward Gorey’s creations as a book artist are distinctive: sparse, oblique story lines paired with intricate, oblique drawings. Yet even his most ardent fans may not know that the author-illustrator of The Beastly Baby, The Doubtful Guest, and The Curious Sofa also directed these and dozens of unpublished texts on stages from Cape Cod to […]
The Gilded Edge: Two Audacious Women and the Cyanide Love Triangle that Shook America
Nora May French and Carrie Sterling arrive at Carmel-by-the-Sea at the turn of the twentieth century with dramatically different ambitions. Nora, a stunning, brilliant, impulsive writer in her early twenties, seeks artistic recognition and Bohemian refuge among the most celebrated counterculturalists of the era. Carrie, long-suffering wife of real estate developer George Sterling, wants the […]
Information-Graphic Masterpieces: Designing Data Stories
Information graphics transform data into compelling visual narratives, illuminating insights that might otherwise remain hidden. From the earliest printed charts and maps to today’s innovative designs, these visuals bridge art and science, helping us engage with complex phenomena. Often featured within books—whether rare historical volumes or contemporary publications—information graphics elevate how we understand the world […]
Background Artist: The Life and Work of Tyrus Wong
You might not know the name Tyrus Wong, but you probably know some of the images he created, including scenes from the beloved Disney classic Bambi. Yet when he came to this country as a child, Tyrus was an illegal immigrant locked up in an offshore detention center. How did he go on to a […]
When Mountain Lions Are Neighbors
Wildness beats in the heart of California’s urban areas. In Los Angeles, residents are rallying to build one of the largest wildlife crossings in the world because of the plight of one lonely mountain lion named P-22. Porpoises cavort in San Francisco Bay again because of a grassroots effort to clean up a waterway that […]
Los Angeles Before the Freeways: Images of an Era 1850-1950
Join historian Nathan Marsak as he shares the story of a lost Los Angeles from an era before the freeways; a time when downtown Los Angeles was unmarred by wide-scale redevelopment and retained much of its original character. Marsak will share newly unearthed information on these lost architectural treasures along with stunning black-and-white photography—some never-before-seen— […]
Print Your Own Broadside Affair
Letterpress print your own broadside on the Book Club’s Columbian hand press with Li Jiang, Lemoncheese Press. A limited number of broadsides will be printed. Registration required.