Old Book Table (New York, N.Y.): Records, 1931-

RLIN ID No.
NYGG05-A10017

Main Entry
Old Book Table (Club)

Title
Records, 1931-

Physical Description
10 boxes (5 linear feet)

Historical/Biographical Note
Founded in New York in 1931 and originally named the Book Table, the Old Book Table is a social club composed of antiquarian booksellers and those engaged in professions related to antiquarian bookselling. The club meets regularly throughout the year to transact business and to enjoy social amenities. Guests— chiefly collectors, rare books librarians, and colleagues in the antiquarian book world—are frequently invited to meetings. In the course of its first seventy-five years, the club had 88 members and over 450 guests. Included in its membership have been many of the leading antiquarian booksellers in the northeastern United States.

Scope and Contents
Minutes of meetings (1941-present) and a summary of the years 1931-1940 prepared in 1942 by E. Byrne Hackett, one of the founders. Correspondence, chiefly about membership matters and meeting attendance (1931-present). Pen-and-ink sketches by Alfred F. Goldsmith, usually incorporating a caricature self-portrait and a contemporary book-trade scene (1931-1947). Correspondence between A. Edward Newton and Ernest R. Gee about the printing, distribution, and income from Eddie Newton’s Ride, and about the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Fund, a benevolent fund for booksellers (1934). Correspondents include but are not limited to: James J. Drake, Ernest Gee, Edward Lazare, Heinz D. Lubrecht, Thomas P. MacDonnell, Aaron Mendoza, Douglas G. Parsonage, Walter Schatzki, and Lawrence C. Witten. The names of most correspondents are indicated in the finding aid.

Financial records and treasurers’ reports (1968-present). Membership and mailing lists (1971-present). Printed dinner menus (1993-present), printed ephemera, constitutions, historical sketches, and other club publications (1933-present). Correspondence and research notes of Joseph J. Felcone while compiling The Old Book Table. A Record of its First Seventy-Five Years, 1931-2005 (2005). Photograph of an Old Book Table dinner (undated but 1939-1943). Miscellaneous photographs of club members, spouses, guests, collectors and other rare-books-world personalities (ca. 1940-present). Printed keepsakes.

Restriction on Access
All materials created within 40 years of the current date are closed and may not be examined except by written permission from an officer of the Old Book Table.

Finding Aid Note
Unpublished finding aid available in repository.

Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift; Joseph J. Felcone; 2005 August.

Publications Note
Joseph J. Felcone. The Old Book Table. A Record of its First Seventy-Five Years, 1931-2005 (2005)

Access points:
Names
Drake, James J.
Felcone, Joseph J. (Joseph James), 1946-
Gee, Ernest R. (Ernest Richard), 1878-1956.
Goldsmith, Alfred F. (Alfred Francis), 1881-1947.
Gomme, Laurence J. (Laurence James), b. 1882.
Hackett, E. Byrne (Edmond Byrne), 1879-1953.
Lazare, Edward J.
Lubrecht, Heinz D., 1908-1997.
MacDonnell, Thomas P.
Mendoza, Aaron, d. 1960.
Newton. A. Edward (Alfred Edward), 1864-1940.
Parsonage, Douglas G., 1907-1983.
Schatzki, Walter, 1899-
Witten, Laurence C.

Antiquarian Booksellers Fund.
Antiquarian Booksellers Provident Fund.
Old Book-Table (Club)

Subjects
Antiquarian booksellers.
Antiquarian booksellers. Correspondence.
Antiquarian booksellers. New York (State). New York.
Antiquarian booksellers. Societies, etc.
Book collecting. Societies, etc.
Booksellers and Bookselling. Societies, etc.

Genres
Caricatures. New York (State). New York.
Financial statements. New York (State). New York.
Keepsakes (Books). New York (State). New York.
Mailing lists. New York (State). New York.
Menus. New York (State). New York.
Minutes. New York (State). New York.
Photographs. New York (State). New York.
Printed ephemera. New York (State). New York.
Self-portraits. New York (State). New York.
Sketches. New York (State). New York.

Occupation (as reflected in collection)
Antiquarian booksellers. New York (State). New York.

Location
Grolier Club, 47 East 60th Street, New York, N.Y. 10022-1098.