Published by Undated New York: The OBT i.e. The Old Book Table, 1971
Manuscript / Paper Collectible
[iv] + 39 + 7 pp, with a further 17 pp loosely inserted at back (making a total of 67 pp), 4to. Good, in maroon plastic folder. Preface followed by list of 'Past Officers, Roster of Members, etc.', 'Chronology of The Old Book Table [1931-1970]' and 'Alphabetical List of Guests 1933-1970'. The loose leaves mainly consist of 'Extracts from the Minutes: 1931-1954'. The preface begins: 'Five members of the antiquarian booktrade in New York City met for a friendly dinner on the night of 9 January 1931. They were: Ernest R. Gee, a leading specialist in sporting and color plate books; E. Byrne Hackett, head of the Brick Row Bookshop, dealing in rare books and specialising in literature of the Johnsonian period; Frank R. Thoms, head of the firm of Thoms & Eron, general booksellers; Edgar H. Wells, who had given up being a dean at Harvard University to found and operate his own bookshop from the early 1920's until his death in 1938; and Geoffrey J. L. Gomme, who served as Edgar Wells's scholarly cataloguer and shop manager.' At the end of the volume is reproduced over six pages the Club's 1933 constitution. Scarce: no copies on COPAC or WorldCat, the last of which does however give a record for the book.