The Rare Book & Manuscript Library, University of Illinois

For Book Collectors:

Book Collecting Contest— The No. 44 Society—Book Valuations

(Click Here for Contest Poster!)

Entries Now Being Accepted!

The Harris Fletcher Book Collecting Award
&
T.W. Baldwin Prize for Book Collecting

To foster the love of books, The Rare Book & Manuscript Library of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign holds annual book collecting contests. The competition, co-sponsored by the University Library and The No. 44 Society, includes separate judging and prizes for undergraduate (Fletcher Award) and graduate (Baldwin Prize) student collections.

The prize for undergraduate collectors is named for Harris Francis Fletcher (1892-1971), professor of English (1926-62), whose John Milton collection is a jewel of the University. The graduate prize honors T.W. Baldwin, who put together a remarkable collection of imprints from the age of Shakespeare, with strengths in Elizabethan drama, pedagogy, religion, and social history.

First prize for each category is $1000. All contestants receive a student membership in the Friends of the University of Illinois Library.

Rules for Entry:

The annual contest takes place during the spring semester and is open to all registered University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign undergraduates and graduates. Entries will be taken beginning January 19, 2010. Deadline for entry is April 2, 2010.

To enter, each contestant must submit a document containing the following:

A brief (500-1000 word) statement describing the background and development of the collection. Please include name, student status, and departmental affiliation.

A list of five titles the contestant hopes to some day add to the collection, along with reasons for their desired inclusion.

A bibliography of the collection, with high points noted, as in these examples:

Grieg, Nordahl. The Ship Sails On. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1927.
This sea novel by Nordahl Grieg was a major influence on Malcolm Lowry’s first novel, Ultramarine. This copy of the scarce novel includes the dustjacket by noted illustrator John Austen.
Davenport, John, et al. Cambridge Poetry 1930. London: Hogarth Press, 1930.
This collected volume of poetry by Cambridge University undergraduates was printed by Virginia and Leonard Woolf at the Hogarth Press. It includes Malcolm Lowry’s poem,“For Nordahl Grieg Ship’s Fireman,” Lowry’s first book appearance.
Lowry, Malcolm. Under the Volcano. London: Jonathan Cape, 1947.
This is the first British edition of Lowry’s best-known novel. Although Lowry was a British author, the novel was first published in New York by Reynal and Hitchcock. This copy lacks the dustjacket.

The collection must be owned by the student. It should be based on some unifying principle, such as subject, a single author or group of authors, or place or genre of publication, type of book, bindings, etc. It may be on any subject and may include manuscripts and graphics. Evaluation is based on motivation, discrimination and judgment, coherence of the collection, originality, accomplishment, and condition of the works entered. Monetary value is not a determining factor. A previous winner may enter again only if a different collection is submitted. A previous non-winning entry may be submitted again, although the collection must show growth since the first entry. Finalists may be asked to give a presentation to the judges and to show five examples from their collections.

Prizes are awarded at the regular May meeting of The No. 44 Society, the book collectors’ club of Urbana-Champaign, based in The Rare Book & Manuscript Library. Winners will be notified in advance and asked to share information about their collection at the awards meeting. Winners will also be invited to lend selected books from their collections for a special exhibition in the Marshall Gallery of the University Library during the month of May.

Any questions about the competition may be addressed to the staff of The Rare Book & Manuscript Library, (217) 333-3777.

Prize winners may be eligible to compete in the Fine Books & Collections Collegiate Book Collecting Championship. For more information, please see:
http://www.finebooksmagazine.com/contest/index.phtml .

A Brief Bibliography on Book-Collecting

Adelman, Seymour. The Moving Pageant: A Selection of Essays. Lititz, Pennsylvania : Sutter House, 1977.

Bernard, Phillipa, with Leo Bernard and Angus O'Neill. Antiquarian Books: A Companion for Booksellers, Librarians, and Collectors. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1994.

Carter, John. ABC for Book Collectors. New Castle, Del.: Oak Knoll Press, 1995.

De Hamel, Christopher and Richard A. Linenthal, eds. Fine Books and Book Collecting.

Dickinson, Donald C. Dictionary of American Book Collectors. Greenwood Publishing Group, 1986.

Dunbar, Maurice. Hooked on Books : Everybody's Guide to Book Collecting. James Whitaker & Associates, 1997.

Franklin, Colin. Book Collecting As One of the Fine Arts: And Other Essays. Scolar Press, 1996.

Iacone, Salvatore J. The Pleasures of Book Collecting. New York: Harper & Row, 1976.

Lewis, Wilmarth. Collector's Progress. London: Constable & Co., 1952.

Michaels, Carolyn Clugston. Children's Book Collecting. Hamden, Conn.: Library Professional Publications, 1993.

Newton, A. Edward. The Amenities of Book-Collecting and Kindred Affections. Boston: Atlantic Monthly Press, 1918.

Peters, Jean, editor. Book Collecting: A Modern Guide. New York: R. R. Bowker, 1977.

Quayle, Eric. The Collector's Book of Books. New York: C. N. Potter, 1971.

The Collector's Book of Children's Books. New York: C. N. Potter, 1971.

Wilson, Robert A. Modern Book Collecting. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1980.


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