The Club of Odd Volumes

The Club of Odd Volumes is a private social club and society of bibliophiles founded in 1887, in Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

The Club of Odd Volumes
77 Mt. Vernon Street
General information
LocationBeacon Hill
Address77 Mt. Vernon Street
Town or cityBoston
CountryUnited States
Coordinates42.358458°N 71.067054°W / 42.358458; -71.067054

History

The club was founded on January 29, 1887, with the following intention:

The objects shall be to promote an interest in, and a love for whatever will tend to make literature attractive as given in the form of printed and illustrated volumes, to mutually assist in making researches and collections of first and rare editions, and to promote elegance in the production of Odd Volumes.[1]

The term odd is an eighteenth-century usage meaning varied or unmatched. In the club’s name it is a reference to book collecting, where an odd volume is a unique book, often the lone volume remaining from a larger set. By extension, each member of the club is an odd volume, selected for their uniqueness and for what they bring to the larger membership.

The Sette of Odd Volumes, an English bibliophile dining-club founded in 1878, was the inspiration for the organization. George Clulow, President of the Sette of Odd Volumes, London, suggested the name The Club of Odd Volumes.[2][3][nb 1]

The club began primarily as a dinner club, complementing established social clubs like the Somerset Club, Algonquin Club, Union Club, and Harvard Club.[5][6] The group conducts lectures, meets regularly for dinners and lunches, collects and publishes books, and develops literary exhibits.[7]

The club hosts authors, book designers, artists, politicians, printers, and people prominent in creative fields. H. G. Wells visited after a monthly dinner meeting in 1906. In January 1921 Harry Houdini gave a talk on Books on Magic and the Theater. Author Amy Lowell and actress Ada Dwyer Russell were guests of the Club in 1923, when Lowell gave a talk on John Keats. Winston Churchill was a guest at the Club, at a private luncheon, April 1949. [8][9]

Building

The club has been at 77 Mt. Vernon Street in Beacon Hill since it purchased the building 1936. The building was the home of Sarah Wyman Whitman. Prior to 1936, it rented the buildings across the street at 50, 52 and 54 Mt. Vernon Street.[7]

Library and publications

Between its founding and 1900, the club expanded its membership and activities to include an active exhibition and publishing program as well as the maintenance of a library. Members in the Club of Odd Volumes, currently limited to a maximum of 87, are often associated with Boston's universities, museums and libraries. They often include rare and antiquarian book collectors, curators, scholars, printers and typophiles. The club continues to offer exhibitions on a wide variety of themes, including the printing arts, typography and antiquarian books.

The club has a substantial library of antiquarian books and an archive of letterpress printing.

The collection, only accessible by club members, has about 2,200 titles.[10]

Publications
Internal publications

Representative examples of the Club’s yearbooks and bylaws

  • Club of Odd Volumes (1889). Annual Exhibition.
  • —— (1904). Constitution and By-laws with a List of the Officers and Members: April 1904.
  • —— (1950). Historical sketch of the Club of Odd Volumes.
  • —— (1915). Year Book. s.n.
  • Charles A. Rheault, ed. (2004). A Chronicle, 1987-2003.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
Works of authors and poets

The following is a short selection of published works:

Notable members

Notable members include

  • Exhibition at the Boston Art Club, 1889
  • Bookplate, 1904
  • The Club of Odd Volumes, image of Mt. Vernon Street building, 1911

See also

Notes
  1. The archives of the Sette of Odd Volumes are now at Cambridge University Library.[4]

References
  1. Percival Merritt (1915). "The Club of Odd Volumes". The Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America. The Society. pp. 21–22. Retrieved 28 April 2013.
  2. Percival Merritt (1915). "The Club of Odd Volumes". The Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America. The Society. p. 23. Retrieved 28 April 2013.
  3. Volumes, Club of Odd (1922). Year Book.
  4. Sette of Odd Volumes. Cambridge University Library.
  5. Club of Odd Volumes (1915). Year Book. s.n. p. 53. Retrieved 28 April 2013.
  6. Percival Merritt (1915). "The Club of Odd Volumes". The Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America. The Society. p. 25. Retrieved 28 April 2013.
  7. May Melvin Petronella (11 August 2004). Victorian Boston today: twelve walking tours. UPNE. p. 110. ISBN 978-1-55553-605-3. Retrieved 28 April 2013.
  8. Volumes, Club of Odd (1922). Year Book.
  9. "WINSTON CHURCHILL AND BOSTON". The International Churchill Society. 2015-03-27. Retrieved 2020-07-08.
  10. David H Stam (2001). International dictionary of library histories. Taylor & Francis. p. 27. ISBN 978-1-57958-244-9. Retrieved 28 April 2013.
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