I joined the Book Club of California last week. I had visited their headquarters in downtown San Francisco last August during the California Rare Book School (RBS) session in the Bay Area. The space was comfortable, the members were welcoming, and the talk on William Addison Dwiggins‘ work with Alfred A. Knopf was enjoyable.
During this year’s course with the RBS, our teacher, Kathleen Walkup, showed us a few examples of the Book Club’s publications while we were in the special collections at Mills College. I also had a chance to talk to a few of my classmates who have been members for several years. Convinced, I joined last week and was pleased to receive an envelope in the mail yesterday filled with back issues of their newsletter, journal (letterpress printed and edited by Peter Koch, no less), and other information from past publications, talks, and exhibits.
If I did not have heavy family responsibilities at this stage in my life, I would be heading to the Book Club for their Monday evening talks and other events throughout the year. It would be great to connect with other like-minded bibliophiles and collectors on a more regular basis. I’m pretty isolated out here in the land of engineers and tech startups whose eyes often glaze over when I mention what I am doing with books. However, the Book Club’s publications and the once or twice a year events I can manage to get over to will have to do for now.
Of Paper and Ink 