The Philobiblon Club, founded in 1893, is Philadelphia’s club for Bibliophiles—Collectors, Librarians, Booksellers, Binders, Printers, Illustrators, and anyone else who loves Books.
The Philobiblon Club is exactly what its name implies: an association of book-lovers. It is not a literary club of writers, publishers, and illustrators of books and articles; nor is it a club of those who are interested primarily in the ideas and experiences that go into books; nor is it an association of bibliographers for whom the book is a tool for study and research. It is a club for those who love books—old, new, big, little, proud, quaint, rich, poor. For its true members (and admittedly there is much overlapping in all these interests) the book as book has a special mystique that can be extended only by courtesy to the vellum manuscript, the letter collection, the magazine or newspaper, the television or film.
From Robert Spiller, The Philobiblon Club of Philadelphia: The First Eighty Years, 1893-1973.
Philobiblon is ALIVE AND WELL, AND ON THE MOVE!!
Following upon the disruptions occasioned by the COVID pandemic and after many years of meeting at the Franklin Inn Club for dinner and a book-related talk, the Philobiblon Club is moving to a new venue and a new approach to its programs. Meetings will be held for the winter/spring 2024 season in the Main Auditorium of the Philadelphia Ethical Society, 1906 Rittenhouse Square, Philadelphia. They will begin at 5:30 pm with a wine-and-cheese reception, followed by a talk at 6:30 pm. Attendance will be free, with annual dues, now $50 and due in January, covering the cost associated with these programs.
To jumpstart this exciting new chapter for the Philobiblon Club, we will be holding the first gathering of old, new, and prospective members on Wednesday, December 13, from 5:30-7:30 pm. Come and celebrate Philobiblon’s 130th birthday with us.
IMPORTANT: Be sure to mark your calendars with the following dates for winter/spring 2024 meetings:
Wednesday, January 17th
Wednesday, February 21st
Wednesday, March 13th
Wednesday, April 10th
Wednesday, May 8th
Speakers will be announced shortly.
For more information and to RSVP for the December meeting, email philobiblonclub1893@gmail.com
The Philobiblon Club is affiliated with FABS, the Fellowship of American Bibliophilic Societies.