Joie du Livre: FABS Newsletter for July 2025

Incipit of the Faversham Magna Carta. Photo: Jennifer Larson

Forthwith no bailiff shall place any man to his open law, not to an open oath upon his own simple affirmation without faithful witnesses brought for the purpose. No free man be taken or imprisoned nor dispossessed of his free tenement nor of his liberties or free customs nor outlawed nor exiled nor in any way brought to destruction nor shall we go upon him nor condemn him except through the lawful judgement of his peers or through the law of the land. -The Faversham Magna Carta, 1300

Faversham UK is one of a handful of towns that still possess their medieval copies of the Magna Carta. Originally granted by King John 1215, Faversham’s 1300 version is a confirmation of the re-issue of 1225. The charter is one of the most celebrated documents of English history, revered the world over as a foundational document for liberty and democracy. Among other things it recognizes rights of due process.

Here is the news from FABS for July:

July Blogging: This month we feature Hal Kanthor’s posters for Gilbert and Sullivan productions. Since he was teenager, Hal has been collecting “Gilbertiana”: librettos, programs, autograph letters and manuscripts, theatrical souvenirs, photographs, advertising material, and posters. As he writes, posters are of interest “not only for better understanding the theatrical history and evolution of these productions, but also for the diversity of their graphic designs.” Enjoy Hal’s informative, visually striking post—and God save the Queen!

The Baxter Society announces an exhibition entitled Printing Books for Four Decades, on view through August 29^th, 2025, at the Glickman Family Library at the University of Southern Maine in Portland ME. A celebration of the work of printer Scott Vile at the Ascensius Press, the show will present many of the exquisite books and ephemera printed there since 1990, both by letterpress and offset processes. Admission to the exhibition is free. Scott is a longtime supporter of FABS and designs the FABS Journal. We congratulate him on forty years of printing to the highest standards!

Speaking of FABS Journal, we were saddened to hear of the passing of Caxtonian Virginia Kramer in June. With her husband Kay Kramer of The Printery, Ginny ably helmed our Journal through twenty-two issues, handling the editing, advertising and distribution. The Kramers also provided FABS with its first website. We are grateful for their many contributions.

The Grolier Photography Group presents their Newsletter, an informative mix of events, announcements, auctions, articles and other news for all photography enthusiasts:

https://preview.mailerlite.io/preview/545452/emails/157482831011907378

Does your club have news to share, or are you a club member with big news? Would you like to blog about your collection? Please contact Jennifer Larson at info@fabsocieties.org

FABS Member Society events for July. Events are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted. Summer is a slower time for bibliophilic societies, and the schedule will pick up in September, but kudos to the Book Club of California for their continuous online programming!

July 14: In “Freedom to Discriminate,” Gene Slater will discuss the phenomenon of residential segregation, especially as it arose in California with the all-white neighborhood of Berkeley and the 1964 state constitutional amendment to authorize segregation. (Book Club of California)

July 14: FABS Handpress Era Group will meet at 7:30pm EST on Zoom for an hour of talk about printed items before 1800. John Windle will speak on the intriguing topic “Adana to Vandercook” and David Levy will discuss two acquisitions from the latest Ricky Jay sale, dealing with two eighteenth-century pamphlets on Hoyle. (Contact Jennifer Larson at info@fabsocieties.org)

July 17: The FABS 19^th Century Zoom Group meets for convivial conversation about all things bookish and 19^th century! You are invited. Contact Jennifer Larson at info@fabsocieties.org

July 21: Reid Byers, author of The Private Library, will speak “On Collecting the Imaginary” in connection with his BCC exhibition “Imaginary Books: Lost, Unfinished, and Fictive Books Found Only in Other Books.” On view at the Book Club through July 21, 2025, and fresh off a blockbuster engagement at the Grolier Club, Reid’s exhibition is part conceptual art installation and part bibliophilic entertainment. (Book Club of California)

July 22: Join the FABS Living With Books group for congenial discussion of the challenges and pleasures of home libraries. This month's topics: (1) Clamshell and other book boxes; (2) Manuscripts in the library. (Contact Jennifer Larson at info@fabsocieties.org)

July 28: Unholy Sensations: A Story of Sex, Scandal and California’s First Cult Scare by Prof. Joshua Paddison takes a close-up look at the Fountaingrove scandal of 1891, in which a utopian spiritualist community was accused of perverting Biblical teaching to promote a “new sexology” that was “worse than Mormonism.” The poet and prophet Thomas Lake Harris thus became the prototype for a new public menace, the “California cult leader.” (Book Club of California)

Stay tuned to the FABS Calendar, as more events are sure to be posted soon.