Many of our members have generously donated books of note to the club in recent months. Among our favorites, and prominently displayed in the Hand Bookbinders’ vitrine, is The Ephemera of Adrian Wilson (1994). One of thirteen boxed copies with the bound bibliography and two drawers of choice ephemera, this treasure belonged to printer James Wehlage, and contains original sketches by Wilson, along with inscriptions to Wehlage by author Joyce Lancaster Wilson and publisher James Linden. The bindery model and extra photographs supplement the set.
The Library also is grateful for the generosity of mining engineer Noel Kirschenbaum, who has donated a steady stream of books, magazines, and ephemera. Credit for assembling much of Mr. Kirschenbaum’s personal library goes to his late and beloved wife, Sandra, editor and publisher of the journal, Fine Print (1975-1990). An essential guide to fine printing during those years, the journal helps to define the collection as it fills out the latter decades of the twentieth century.
The late Donald Fleming has been quite generous to the club over the years. At auction in early 2010 we acquired several wonderful additions to the Library: a long run of Mr. Fleming’s Typophile chapbooks and keepsakes dating back to the 1940s, materials on Bruce Rogers, and a batch of type specimen books—including an extremely rare 1892 Palmer & Rey catalog—and a full run of Matrix—several in the special bindings with extra ephemera.
Thanks also go to John Windle, who recently donated two items by Edward Bosqui, nineteenth-century master printer: Grapes and Grapevines of California (Windle’s 1980 facsimile), and a fine original of Illustrations of West American Oaks (1889).
We are deeply grateful to all donors for their thoughtful, generous contributions. Here are some other noteworthy collections.
–John McBride, Associate Librarian
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