October Midday Program

“Only one thing is impossible for God: To find any sense in any copyright law on the planet.” – Mark Twain, Letters from the Earth

Leipzig. Tauchnitz. These names probably don’t leap to mind when you consider the history of popularizing American and British culture abroad. Yet one – a city – and the other – a family of German printers and publishers – played a role in doing just that.

Tauchnitz and Leipzig were the reason that in the mid-1920s, at an outdoor cafe in Paris, you might see a young Parisian forgetting to affect ennui while engrossed in Zane Grey’s The Thundering Herd … in English.

An innovator in publishing softcover, or paperbound, books, Tauchnitz produced books in English for distribution beyond US and UK borders. The publisher was popular with American and British authors, because Tauchnitz arranged to pay royalties – unlike publishers who pirated works for distribution beyond the reach of American and UK copyright law.

Join Caxtonian Charles Johanningsmeier as he reveals the fascinating tale of the rise and fall of the all-too-tempting-to-collect Tauchnitz editions. He will be joining us from the University of Nebraska, Omaha, where he occupies the Issacson Chair as Professor of English.

Tune in via Zoom or enjoy an afternoon out at the Union League Club, where we’ll watch the program on a big, plenty loud flat screen TV and then adjourn to enjoy a sumptuous array of luncheon choices. A cup or a bowl of soup, salads, sandwiches made to order, tempting special entrees … all generously portioned. A great value in food and food for thought!

Live attendance and optional lunch

View Zoom program on eighth floor, Steel Room, Union League Club. Presentation begins at 12:00 PM CT. Optional lunch immediately following in the fourth floor Rendezvous. $35 includes non-alcoholic beverage, a cup of soup, and your choice of sandwich, salad, or hot entree, tax, and tip.

Zoom presentation is free and open to all.

Zoom begins at 12:00PM CT/1:00 PM ET. Preregistration required via website.

Please forward this notice to anyone who may find it of interest.

Transportation to the Union League Club at 65 West Jackson Blvd., Chicago.

The Union League Club is easily accessible through many public transportation methods. Additionally, the following options are available for those who wish to travel by cab or car.

The Union League Club front desk offers a connection to cab service through Curb. The desk will call cabs for members and all guests while allowing riders to remain inside until the cab arrives. No curbside wait. Cabs will accept all payment forms, following the payment procedures you experience with a street-hailed cab.

If you are traveling by car, the Union League Club offers valet parking for Caxton events at $35.00. You must register and prepay in advance through the Caxton Club. Valet parking options will now be included as an option with all event registrations.

Spot Hero is an independent parking option, generally offering spots at the 318 S. Federal Street garage adjacent to the Union League Club. You may reserve and pay for a guaranteed parking spot through the Spot Hero app or website (spothero.com).

October Evening Program

Carrying a constitution is nothing new. The earliest pocket-sized constitutions originated in the 1770s, part of a revolutionary attempt to create stable governments by describing political powers and rights with words on paper and then printing and distributing those words widely. Since the American Revolution, small-scale constitutions have played roles in civic education and campaigns for equal rights. Copies have proliferated at moments of national crisis, and these understudied artifacts of everyday constitutionalism have addressed the needs of different groups – including political parties across the ideological spectrum, fraternal organizations, soldiers, trade unions, customers of banks and insurance agencies, immigrants, and schoolchildren. This illustrated lecture explores how America’s durable fundamental laws have been encountered in ephemeral forms across American history and how those compact constitutions have encouraged “We the People” to understand their governments and define their status as rights-bearing individuals in the most literal way.

Eric Slauter is Deputy Dean of the Humanities and the College at the University of Chicago, where he is an associate professor in the Department of English, an associate faculty member in the Divinity School, and serves as the founding director of the Karla Scherer Center for the Study of American Culture.

This all live event will include a buffet dinner suitable for all diets (vegan and vegetarian) and will conclude with a sweets assortment. Club members: remember to bring your Caxton badge.

Register today.

Transportation to the Union League Club at 65 West Jackson Blvd., Chicago.

The Union League Club is easily accessible through many public transportation methods. Additionally, the following options are available for those who wish to travel by cab or car.

The Union League Club front desk offers a connection to cab service through Curb. The desk will call cabs for members and all guests while allowing riders to remain inside until the cab arrives. No curb side wait. Cabs will accept all payment forms, following the payment procedures you experience with a street-hailed cab.

Spot Hero is an independent parking option, generally offering spots at the 318 S. Federal Street garage adjacent to the Union League Club. You may reserve and pay for a guaranteed parking spot through the Spot Hero app or website (spothero.com).

November Midday Program

Belle da Costa Greene was Pierpont Morgan’s personal librarian from 1908–1913 and from 1924–1948 the first Director of the Morgan Library. Though a striking and much written about figure, much of what is known about Greene derives from her more than 600 letters to art historian Bernard Berenson. While Greene’s letters to the connoisseur have proven invaluable to writers seeking to reconstruct the larger narrative of her life, the artistry of the letters and the way in which her writing creates a singular self, have gone unnoticed. Parker’s talk will examine Greene’s vivid account of her working life — how she managed her education, her vibrant responses to books, and some of her most signal accomplishments.

Deborah Parker is Professor of Italian at the University of Virginia. Her research expertise and teaching focus on Italian and Mediterranean visual and print cultures in the medieval and early modern eras. Her latest book, Becoming Belle da Costa Greene — A Visionary Librarian Through Her Letters is published by Villa I Tatti.

Register today!

Preregistration required via website. Zoom presentation is free and open to all. Please forward this notice to anyone who may find it of interest.

Even if you can’t attend at the scheduled time, if you’re interested, please register. After the program, we’ll send an email to all registrants, asking if you’d like a link to the complete recording. That way you can see the program even if you couldn’t attend live, ran into technical issues, or simply wanted to watch it again.

November Evening Program

Adrian Matejka, editor of Poetry magazine

December Program

Allie Alvis, Curator of Special Collections, Winterthur Library