The Caxton Club is a private social club and bibliophilic society founded in Chicago in 1895 to promote the book arts and the history of the book. To further its goals, the club holds monthly (September through June) dinner meetings and luncheons, sponsors bibliophile events (often in collaboration with the Newberry Library and with other regional institutions) and exhibitions, and publishes books, exhibition catalogs, and a monthly journal, The Caxtonian. The Caxton Club is a member club of the Fellowship of American Bibliophilic Societies.

History

The Caxton Club was founded in 1895 by a group of fifteen bibliophiles to support the publication of fine books in the style of the then-new Arts and Crafts Movement. The club's name honors the fifteenth-century English printer William Caxton. The founders included John Vance Cheney, Edward E. Ayer, Martin A. Ryerson, James Ellsworth, Charles L. Hutchinson, and Washington Irving Way and Chauncey L. Williams (of Way & Williams). In 1976, women began to be admitted as members of the Caxton Club, marking a departure from the common practice in gentlemen's clubs of excluding women before that era. Mary Beth Beal is notable for being the Caxton Club’s first female President in 1985-1986. In 1995 the Caxton Club centenary was celebrated with publication of The Caxton Club, 1895–1995: Celebrating a Century of the Book in Chicago which has been characterized as a "significant addition to the history of American bibliophily." The Club published several fine editions in partnership with the Lakeside Press of Chicago. The Club awards scholarships and grants to students and researchers in the book arts.

Notable members

Publications

In the course of its history, the Caxton Club has published formal publications and other printed pieces. These include The French Bookbinders of the Eighteenth Century, The Cowboy in American Literature by J. Frank Dobie, Tales for Bibliophiles. and Imaginary Books and Libraries. A complete listing of the publications is available here: club’s publications.