The
Gentle Madness of Book Collecting
October 24, 2003
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To register, please call 801.378.2568
or
Register online at Registration (No longer Available)
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L. Tom Perry Special Collections will be hosting a special conference entitled "The Gentle Madness of Book Collecting" in room 1130 of the Harold B. Lee Library on October 24, 2003. Speakers will include administration and curators of the department. Featured activities will include small group seminars with hands-on opportunities; interaction with book collectors, curators, and conservators; as well as behind the scenes tours of the special collection vaults. We take the title of our conference
from Nicholas Basbanes' wonderful, 1995 book on bibliophiles
and bibliomania. As he posits, one irony of the modern internet
age is that the passion to possess books is as pervasive today
as ever in recorded history. It is still a Gentle Madness.
There are those of us who work in the L. Tom Perry Special
Collections of the Harold B. Lee library at BYU that have been
smitten by this marvelous disease for some time. We, however,
collect our books with the intention of sharing them with all
who wish to come. Hence, the purpose of our series of seminars
is to invite you to take an afternoon and evening to join with
us as you indulge your own gentle madness for books. Don Quixote
de la Mancha, you recall, addicted himself to the reading of
books of chivalry. If you suffer from a book addiction, we
promise we will not cure you when we see you on October 24. The
cost of registration is $45.00, which includes an evening
meal and entertainment. To
register, please call 801.378.2568 1:00 p.m. Conference Welcome
1:15-1:45 "The
Madness Within Me: My Passion for Building Book Collections"
Elizabeth Eisenstein has stated that no political, ecclesiastical, economic, scientific, philosophical, or literary movement can be completely understood without taking into account the influence of the printing press. In this seminar we will examine the books that have underscored the rise of western civilization since Gutenberg first printed with moveable type.
2:45-3:30 (Concurrent Seminars)
Books have the
ability to survive. Nonetheless, they need care and attention.
In this seminar
we will outline
some basic steps by which collectors can ensure the long term “survival” and “fitness” of
their collections.
The democratization
of reading during the 19th century led to far reaching changes
in English
and American cultures.
Printed material (newspapers, leaflets, broadsides, gift goods
and a sea of colorful print ephemera) became increasingly aimed
at a mass audience. In this seminar we will examine the world
of “street literature” and other printed works generated
for a growing consumer society. This material is often affordable
and in some ways is the most interesting to collect. 3:30-4:15 (Concurrent Seminars)
5:15-6:00 Tour 7:00 p.m. Dinner and Entertainment |
1:05-1:15 “Collecting
in the 21st Century"
No.
4 “It’s My Press and I’ll
Print What I Want to: Collecting Modern Fine Printing”