The Baxter Society

(note early hour)

Reid Byers, the President of the Baxter Society and convener of the New England group of the Grolier Club, is the author of The Private Library, listed among the best non-fiction books of 2021 by the Washington Post. At our November meeting, he will speak on his upcoming book and exhibition at the Grolier Club, Imaginary Books: Lost, Unfinished, and Fictive Works Found Only in Other Books. The meeting will be held at 6:00 pm on November 13, at Glickman Library in Portland and on Zoom.

The New York Times said:

This irresistible conceptual-art installation displays meticulously constructed simulacra of books that don’t exist — some because they’ve been lost, others because they never did exist. Look for “Love’s Labour’s Won,” Ernest Hemingway’s first novel, and the “Necronomicon.” (Dec. 5-Feb. 15, 2025; Grolier Club) – Will Heinrich, NY Times, Sept 6, 2024.

The Fall meeting schedule for the Baxter Society has been announced:

Sept 18: Joint meeting with the Kate Cheney Chappell Center for Book Arts, Stephanie Stigliano will speak on her work.

Oct 9: Anne Bromer will speak on “Miniature Books Deserve More Respect.”

Nov 13: Reid Byers will speak on his Grolier Club exhibition “Imaginary Books.”

Dec 11: Annual Holiday Party and Business Meeting (in person only)

Jan 8: Annual Show-and-Tell (online only)

Véronique Plesch, Professor of Art History at Colby College and chair of the Art Department, holds advanced degrees in Art History and Medieval French Literature from the University of Geneva, and from Princeton University, where she received her Ph.D. in Art History. She will speak on “The Many Paradoxes of Tom Phillips’s A Humument.”

The meeting will be held at Glickman Library at USM, and on Zoom, on May 15, at 5:00 pm.

PLEASE NOTE THE TIME AND DATE CHANGE.

A Humument: A Treated Victorian Novel is an altered book by British artist Tom Phillips. It is a piece of art created over W.H. Mallock’s 1892 novel A Human Document whose title results from the partial deletion of the original title: A Human document.

Since 2011 she has appeared as the rare book specialist on the History Channel’s show Pawn Stars. She speaks and writes widely on rare books and collecting; her work has been featured in The New York Times, The Atlantic, Forbes, Variety, The Paris Review, and more. She is the author of Printer’s Error: Irreverent Stories from Book History and of The Romance Novel in English. Her upcoming book is Jane Austen’s Bookshelf, chronicling her efforts to build a book collection of Austen’s favorite women writers (Simon & Schuster, 2025). She will speak Wednesday on “Next Generation Book Collecting: How Gen Z is Joining the Centuries-Long Tradition.”

The February Meeting of the Baxter Society will be held at 7:00 pm, Wednesday February 7, on Zoom. Held jointly with the Kate Cheney Chappell ’83 Center for Book Arts, the meeting’s speakers will be Rebecca Goodale and Carrie Scanga on the topic of “Making Books Together.”

A visit to Pettengill Farm, a study site stewarded by the Freeport Historical Society, inspired Back Then and Now, their third collaboration.

To receive a link to the Zoom meeting, please register at the link sent to you in this month’s email from the Baxter Society.

Because of the closure of Glickman Library during the time of our meeting, the January meeting, our annual Show-and-Tell, will be held on Zoom only. Please check your email for the link or contact us through this website’s contact menu.

Unless otherwise noted, you may attend either in person at room 423-424 Glickman Library, U. of Southern Maine, Portland, or on Zoom, at 7:00 pm. 
The public is welcome.

Wednesday, Jan 10, at 7:00 pm, Annual Show-and-Tell. At Glickman Library, and on Zoom.

Wednesday, Feb 7, at 7:00 pm, Rebecca Goodale and Carrie Scanga - "Making Books Together", held jointly with the Kate Cheney Chappell Center for the Book Arts. On Zoom only.

Wednesday, Mar 13 - Anne Bromer - "Miniature Books Deserve More Respect."

Wednesday, April 24 - Rebecca Romney - "Next Generation Book Collecting.
How Gen-Z is Joining the Centuries-Long Tradition." 

Wednesday, May 15 - Veronique Plesch - "The Many Paradoxes of Tom Phillips’s A Humument." 

For Zoom meetings: the link will be sent to members via e-mail both in advance and on the morning of the meeting.

Please remember that Baxter Society membership runs on the calendar year. Please pay your 2024 dues by January. Thank you.