Von dem Gang des Himels und Sternen “On the Course of the Heavens and Stars” Manuscript, Germany, second half of the 15th century MS M.384. Virgo is shown as winged woman holding a sheaf of wheat in her right hand and a trumpet in her left; the constellation is marked with red stars.

Beneath both feet of Boötes, see the Virgo the Maiden, who in her hands bears the gleaming ear of wheat [the star Spica]. Whether she is daughter of Astraeus, who, men say was the father of the stars, or child of another sire, may her course be untroubled! But another tale is current among men, how of old she lived on earth and met people face to face, and never disdained in ancient times the tribes of men and women, but mingling with them took her seat, even though she was an immortal. People called her Justice. (Aratus, Phaenomena 96-105)

Here is the news from FABS for September: 

Bookish Blogging: This month you can read my review of Michael Zinman’s just-published book, The Critical Mess. This is a compendium of short pieces by and about Zinman, who is notable for forming a historically important collection of early American imprints in a time when most people assumed that this was no longer possible. Zinman has collected many things: printing for the blind, children’s literature, Bay Psalm Book editions, American bindings, constitutions of American social clubs and institutions, and more. The book is very entertaining, but it will also give you food for thought about what, how and why you collect.

The Florida Bibliophile Society announces the publication of their fortieth anniversary volume, Forty Years of Books. Packed with essays, photos, and memories of the Society's activities over the years, this 186-page hardcover is an essential club history documenting a very active FABS society. The print run is limited to 100, and the volume is available to the general public at $50 and to Florida Bibs members at $25 exclusive of postage. To order, contact floridabibliophiles@gmail.com.

Your friendly newsletter editor has just returned from a week at Rare Book School and cannot recommend it enough! If you've often thought about going, but weren't sure whether to take the plunge, do it. Whether you are a collector, librarian or bookseller, you won't regret it.

Wild man with a lute on the binding of the Scheide copy of the Gutenberg Bible. Firestone Library, Princeton.

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 September. Events are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted. 

September 8: Enjoy a vicarious tour of historic San Francisco bars with J. K. Dineen’s presentation on SF legacy bars introducing his book High Spirits: The Legacy Bars of San Francisco. Tune in to hang out with Beat writers in North Beach’s Vesuvio Café, toss peanut shells on the floor of The Homestead in the Mission, or select jukebox songs (three for a quarter) at the Silver Crest Donut Shop in Bayview. (The Book Club of California)

September 8: Leonard Augsburger of the Newman Numismatic Portal project will discuss numismatic literature and highlight significant manuscript items in American collections. (The Manuscript Society)

September 12: Join Elyse Graham for a talk on the American medievalists, historians and librarians who served as secret agents during WWII—recruiting double agents, providing high-level analysis, and obtaining documents abroad. Her new book is entitled Book and Dagger: How Scholars and Librarians Became the Unlikely Spies of World War II. (The Caxton Club)

September 15: FABS Bindings Zoom group. Presentations and discussion of bindings and bookbinding craft for artisans, collectors and curators. To receive links contact Jennifer at info@fabsocieties.org

September 15: Artifacts from Native American homelands and burial grounds fill research collections and museums. Tony Platt examines UC-Berkeley’s role in “California’s buried indigenous past” and its hoarding of indigenous remains and cultural artifacts. (The Book Club of California)

September 18: FABS 19th Century Zoom Group. Congenial discussion of all things 19th century and bibliophilic! For links contact Jennifer at info@fabsocieties.org

September 22: Caitlin Keliiaa’s talk “Refusing Settler Domesticity: Native Women’s Labor and Resistance in the Bay Area Outing Program” examines the Bay Area Outing Program, which coercively recruited over a thousand Native girls and women from boarding schools to labor as live-in domestic workers across the San Francisco Bay Area. (The Book Club of California)

September 23: FABS Living With Books Zoom Group, hosted by Reid Byers. All the joys and challenges of the private library. Join us for convivial discussion! To receive links contact Jennifer at info@fabsocieties.org

Sneak peek at October:

October 10: Log on for Vanessa Pintado’s highlights tour of The Hispanic Society of America’s spectacular library, which holds (among other things) first editions of both parts of Don Quixote, the sole surviving printed leaf of the first Bible in any vernacular language (1478), the first Spanish grammar (1492) and dictionary (1495), as well as the world’s only known copy of the first edition of La Celestina, one of the most celebrated works of Spanish literature. (The Caxton Club)

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

Contact: Jennifer Larson, info@fabsocieties.org