Click on any highlighted title for more information about that exhibition
- September 15 – November 20, 2010. "John Wiley & Sons: 200 Years of Publishing." Curated by Peter Booth Wiley and Frances Chavez.
- December 8, 2010 – February 5, 2011. "Varied Pages: Voices from the Womens Studio Workshop." Curated by Kathy Walkup.
- February 16-April 30, 2011. "Emma Hamilton’s Path to Fame." Curated by Jean Kislak & Arthur Dunkelman.
- May 18-July 27, 2011. "The Best of Both Worlds: Livres d’Artiste Finely Printed." Curated by Jerry Kelly.
For more details regarding any of these upcoming exhibitions, including related publications, special tours, and public events, contact:
Megan Smith, Exhibitions Coordinator
The Grolier Club
47 East 60th Street
New York, NY 10022
Tel. (212) 838-6690; Fax (212) 838-2445
msmith@grolierclub.org
IN OUR GROUND FLOOR GALLERY
September 15-November 20, 2010
John Wiley & Sons: 200 Years of Publishing
Curated by Frances Chaves and Peter Booth Wiley
“John Wiley & Sons: 200 Years of Publishing,” on view at the Grolier Club from September 15 through November 20, 2010, exhibits rare and first editions published by the company since its founding in 1807 through the present day. Publications from John Wiley & Sons, Inc.’s 203-year history represent the development of the publishing industry, the growth of the United States, the evolution of modern science, and the emergence of a global community. Wiley’s books are complemented by artwork and original documents.
The company’s founder, Charles Wiley, hosted early American authors James Fenimore Cooper, William Cullen Bryant, and others at his Wall Street location called “the Den.” First editions by these authors and by Washington Irving are included, as well as the first magazine printing of "The Star-Spangled Banner" under its original title, "Defence of Fort M’Henry" (1814).
In partnership with George Putnam, and on his own, Charles’ son John published the next generation of landmark nineteenth-century American authors. Examples included in the exhibition are first editions of both versions of Herman Melville’s Typee (1846 and 1848), Edgar Allan Poe’s Tales and The Raven and Other Poems (1845), and Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Mosses from an Old Manse (1846). Wiley was the largest publisher in the United States of renowned art historian and critic John Ruskin, as well, and on display will be first editions of some of the more than sixty Ruskin titles Wiley published.
After splitting with Putnam in 1848, John’s focus shifted to supplying critical scientific, technical, and engineering knowledge that drove America’s westward expansion and industrialization, a direction that the next generation of Wileys – Major William H. Wiley, William O. Wiley, and Edward P. Hamilton – continued. On display will be first editions by late nineteenth and early twentieth-century authors Dennis H. Mahan, Andrew Jackson Downing, Emma Willard, John Cresson Trautwine, William H. Searles, and Mansfield Merriman. Since the first Nobel Prize was awarded in 1901, Wiley and its acquired companies have also published the works of well over 400 Nobel laureates, in all categories – Literature, Economics, Physiology or Medicine, Chemistry, and Peace, and works by a number of these varied laureates are part of the exhibition.
Among the notable twentieth-century publications is the first edition of the architect’s bible, Architectural Graphic Standards by Charles J. Ramsey and Harold R. Sleeper (1932), still in print today, as well as ground-breaking books on new technologies such as Norbert Wiener’s Cybernetics (1948).
Under the leadership of W. Bradford Wiley in the second half of the twentieth century, Wiley expanded operations around the world and established a mix of scientific, technical, medical, and scholarly; professional/trade; and higher education publishing that is unique in the industry. Over the past twenty-five years, although Wiley has been led by non-family CEOs Andrew Neilly, Charles R. Ellis, and William J. Pesce, members of the sixth and seventh generations have continued to be involved in the day-to-day operations of the business. During this time, Wiley has grown rapidly, evolving into an important force in the global exchange of commerce, ideas, opinions, and know-how, providing essential knowledge and solutions to students, instructors, scientists, researchers, professionals, consumers, and lifelong learners worldwide. Examples of how new technologies are transforming the way Wiley delivers content are part of the exhibition.
Peter Booth Wiley, Chairman of Wiley’s Board of Directors, Inc., a sixth-generation descendant of Charles Wiley, and a published historian, directed a curatorial team that included guest curator Frances N. Chaves and Wiley Corporate Communications Director Susan Spilka. The exhibition is accompanied by an illustrated catalogue published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., with an introduction by Peter Booth Wiley. An online exhibit, also available at www.wiley.com, and a video by the award-winning “Nightline” producer, P. F. Bentley, accompany the installation at the Grolier. Knowledge for Generations, a lavishly illustrated history of Wiley, including photographs, timelines, and graphics, will be available at a discounted price on site at the Grolier Club. All proceeds will be donated to charity.
Mr. Wiley will lecture on the exhibition at the Grolier Club on Thursday, November 18, at 6 p.m. The event is open to the public.