Booklets, pamphlets, and leaflets were the focus of the May 2024 meeting. The collectors concentrated on format over content, though there were several trends among the content of the booklets shown. The offerings fell into two general categories: original publications and monograph reprints. Among the original publications, several members showed exhibition catalogues from various public and private institutions, from the Grolier Club to the Atlanta Public Library. Several members also presented monograph reprints of short works, most of which are considered significant contributions within their respective fields, from one of Martin Luther's Protestant Reformation tracts to Sigmund Freud's initial work on grief and loss.
Small booklets, pamphlets, and leaflets by nature of their
size and oftentimes the quality of their printing and bindings, easily suffer
significant wear and damage. Depending
on their original purpose, many of these small and inexpensive publications are
not printed with durability and longevity in mind. They often are not intended to last long and,
as a result, become quite scarce. Several
of the booklets shown, though not especially old, are now incredibly rare.
Original Publications
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| A Catalogue of Etchings and Drawings by Charles Méryon |
The Grolier Club. A Catalogue of Etchings and Drawings by Charles Méryon. New York: The Grolier Club, 1898. 54 pages. Stitched format in wraps. An exhibition catalogue from a three-week showing of the artist's works at the New York bibliographic society. Méryon (1821 – 1868) was a French artist working mostly in etching as he was color blind. The booklet contains a six-page biography of Méryon and a bibliography of works including Méryon's art. The frontispiece, one of Méryon's etchings, is the only illustration in the booklet. A handwritten note on the cover of this copy records it as the Grolier Club's 33rd exhibition catalogue, which would indicate an active exhibition schedule for the club founded in 1884.
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| The Glory of Mary (In Honor of the Assumption) |
Howard, William, ed. The Glory of Mary (In Honor of the Assumption). Dublin: Clonmore & Reynolds Ltd., 1952. 68 pages. Sewn gatefold binding. This small booklet devoted to the Marian dogma of the Catholic church commemorating the belief that when Mary, the mother of Jesus, died her physical body was "assumed" into heaven to be reunited with her soul, was compiled and introduced by William Cecil James Philip John Paul Howard, 8th Earl of Wicklow. The tract contains brief essays on the Assumption by Louis Lochet, Michel-Louis Guérard des Lauriers, and Graham Greene woven between classic meditations on Mary by St. Cyril of Alexandria, St. John of Damascus, and St. Aelred of Rievaulx.
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| Georgia: 1800 – 1900 series |
The Atlanta Public Library. Georgia: 1800 – 1900. Atlanta: The Atlanta Public Library, 1954-55. Various paginations, generally 20 to 24 pages each. Stapled wraps. A set of catalogues from a series of exhibitions in 1954 and 1955 at the Atlanta Public Library showcasing the Georgiana library of private collector James Larwood. The thirteen booklets in the series include: (1) Some Notable Books in Georgia History; (2) Georgia Poets & Poetry; (3) Georgia Novels & Novelists; (4) Augustus Baldwin Longstreet: Peter Litterarum; (5) Georgia Humor & Humorists; (6) Georgia Books for Juveniles; (7) Joel Chandler Harris: Folklore in the Deep South; (8) Three Georgia Poets; (9) Three Georgia Novelists; (10) The Cherokee Indians of Georgia; (11) Georgia Illustrated: In a Series of Views; (12) Georgia Maps & Plans; and (13) Georgia Banks & Banking. The set catalogues a total of 294 books and maps from the exhibitions plus numerous listings of colonial currency, bank notes, and treasury notes in the final volume. Twelve of the thirteen booklets are shown here.
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| He Who Destroyes a Good Booke, Kills Reason Itselfe |
Rubenstein, Joseph and Earl Farley, compilers. He Who Destroyes a Good Booke, Kills Reason Itselfe: An Exhibition of Books which have Survived Fire, the Sword and the Censors. Lawrence, KS: University of Kansas Library, 1955. 27 pages. Hardcover. A bibliography of books included in the 1955 exhibition at the Kenneth Spencer Research Library at the University of Kansas. The showing was curated by librarian Robert Vosper and focused on intellectual freedom and the banning of books. The booklet also includes illustrations and facsimile images of some of the books exhibited.
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| The Fire-Fiend and The Raven |
de la Ree, Gerry, Charles D. Gardette, and Edgar Allan Poe. The Fire-Fiend and The Raven: The Story Behind a Literary Hoax. Saddle River, NJ: Gerry de la Ree, 1973. 50 pages. Stapled wraps. Limited edition of 450 copies. Introduction by Gerry de la Ree. The booklet contains the text of Gardette's "The Fire-Fiend" and Poe's "The Raven." It also includes a series of letters discussing the origins of Gardette's poem, purportedly written in the style of "The Raven." The booklet features illustrations by Stephen Fabian, Charles McGill, James B. Wandesford, Virgil Finlay, and Clark Ashton Smith.
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| Back Tomorrow: Federico Garcia Lorca, Poet in New York |
The New York Public Library. Back Tomorrow: Federico Garcia Lorca, Poet in New York. New York: The New York Public Library, 2013. 24 pages. Stapled illustrated wraps. This exhibition catalog is illustrated with photos and drawings alongside text. Garcia Lorca (1898 – 1936) was a Spanish poet, playwright, theatre director, and draughtsman/artist. He achieved international recognition as a Spanish writer who incorporated European movement tenets, such as symbolism, surrealism, and futurism, into his work. He was assassinated by Nationalist forces at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War. Part of the exhibition title, "Poet in New York," refers to Poeta en Nueva York, a collection of poems written by Garcia Lorca while visiting New York in 1929-1930; the collection was published posthumously.
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| Tolkien at Exeter College |
Garth, John. Tolkien at Exeter College: How an Oxford Undergraduate Created Middle-Earth. Oxford: Exeter College, 2014. 64 pages. Softcover. First edition.
Garth, John. Tolkien
at Exeter College: How an Oxford Undergraduate Created Middle-Earth. Oxford: Exeter College, 2022. 64 pages.
Softcover. Second edition.
Garth recounts J. R. R. Tolkien's life as an undergraduate
student at Exeter College from 1911 to 1915.
Garth frames this time as a transition from peacetime into war and shows
Exeter's influence on Tolkien's legendarium.
The monograph focuses on the years 1914 and 1915, when Tolkien first
created his mythological world. The
first edition of Tolkien at Exeter College was published on the centenary of
the year regarded as the beginnings of Tolkien's Middle-Earth.
Monograph Reprints
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| Trauer und Melancholie (Mourning and Melancholia) |
Freud, Sigmund. Trauer und Melancholie (Mourning and Melancholia). Presented by Merck Sharp & Dohme, 1972. 28 pages. Stapled illustrated wraps. This monograph contains Freud's classic work on grief, "Trauer und Melancholie," originally published in German in 1918 in the journal Internationale Zeitschrift fur Arztliche Psychoanalyse (International Journal of Medical Psychoanalysis) along with the 1925 English translation by James Starchey. The photographic facsimile, reproduced from a copy in the Library of the College of Physicians in Philadelphia, including the original's page discoloration, appears on the verso pages; the English translation appears on the rectos. The booklet, printed by the pharmaceutical company Merck Sharp & Dohme, was likely given to medical professionals participating in a psychiatric symposium or conference.
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| Sample pages: facsimile (left) and translation (right) |
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| Cassandra |
Nightingale, Florence. Cassandra. New York: The Feminist Press, 1979. 60 pages. Staple illustrated wraps. With an introduction by Myra Stark and an epilogue by Cynthia Macdonald. The essay, described as an "angry outcry against the forced idleness of Victorian women," protests the over-feminization of women into near helplessness despite their education. "Cassandra" was first published posthumously in 1928 in Ray Strachey's The Cause, a history of the women's movement. Nightingale is best known for her work in professionalizing nursing roles for women, but she was also a prolific writer penning more than 200 essays and articles, many about English feminism. In 1907, Nightingale was first woman to receive the Order of Merit, bestowed by King Edward VII.
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| Afghanistan |
Kline, David. Afghanistan: David Kline's Reports from Behind Rebel Lines on the Resistance to Moscow's Aggression. Chicago: Call Publications, 1980. 32 pages. Stapled illustrated wraps. The booklet contains reprints of six reports from "free-lance journalist" Kline published between 1979 and 1980, covering the Afghan rebels as well as observations about the American and United Nations responses to the conflict. The articles, along with two editorial board reprints, are written in support of the Mujahideen and Pol Pot. This propaganda was published by Call Publications; The Call, where Kline's articles first appeared, was a short-lived weekly newspaper of the Marxist-Leninist Communist Party based in Chicago.
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| Christian Liberty |
Luther, Martin. Christian Liberty. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1987. 40 pages. Stapled illustrated wraps. Translated by W. A. Lambert and revised by Harold J. Grimm. First published in November 1520, The Freedom of a Christian (or Christian Liberty) was one of three important Reformation tracts Luther wrote that year to clarify his new evangelical theology. Christian Liberty was written in a more conciliatory tone with the Catholic church, while The Address to the German Nobility (August 1520) and The Babylonian Captivity of the Church (October 1520) were direct attacks on the authority of the papacy and the sacramental system of the church, respectively. The devotional tract was originally written in Latin because it was intended for Pope Leo X, though it is unknown whether the pope ever received or read the document.
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| Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God |
Edwards, Jonathan. Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 1992. 32 pages. Stapled illustrated wraps. Foreword by John D. Currid. Regarded as the most famous sermon ever preached in America, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" was first delivered at Edwards's church in Northampton, Massachusetts, but gained national attention when Edwards was invited to preach at a church in Enfield, Connecticut, on July 8, 1741. The pastor of the Enfield church considered his congregation apathetic to the gospel and invited Edwards to shake the congregation. The Enfield congregants were so troubled by "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" that Edwards had to cut the sermon short and the pastors had to go into the congregation to comfort and console the attendees. Within days, Edwards's sermon was printed and distributed throughout the area. It quickly became the most influential sermon of the First Great Awakening in America. This booklet reprint was intended for publication on the 250th anniversary of the sermon but was published one year later.
