June Midday Program

Let us clue you in.

Composer Jerome Kern of Showboat and “The Way You Look Tonight” fame was an amazing book collector. And kern is going to figure prominently into the remarkable story you’ll be hearing … but it will be kern not Kern, for the composer in this tale was no musician.

Instead he was every bit a Wise man who conducted a daring swindle that caught eager bibliophiles in a net of fraud and deceit ... bibliophiles who included a prominent Caxtonian. Here’s a tantalizing hint: there’s a Ransom note that says Wise materials are being held in Austin, Texas. Talk about footprints — some fourteen feet are involved! Someone did a lot of boxing.

Another scrap of a clue about the forgery: a sonnet is on it.

More riddles than solutions. What we need is a clever Englishman to play Sherlock to our Watson. Ah! We’ve got one: Joseph Hone.

Dr. Hone is a reader in literature and book history at Newcastle University. With degrees from Oxford and Exeter he is much published. The Book Forger is his fourth book — and it’s the genuine article.

It’s elementary. If you enjoy true crime stories in which the only red is the blushing of all those who were taken in, and if your appetite was whetted by Tom Danneberg’s terrific review of the The Book Forger in the March/April Caxtonian, then you’ll want to forge ahead and register for this program today!

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.

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.

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).

Visit the Caxton Club booth at the 2025 MWABA Chicago Book & Paper Fair. Booksellers from across the Midwest and the USA will be offering fine antiquarian, rare, collectible, first edition and other books, ephemera, and maps.

https://mwaba.com/