The Club Bindery, 1895–1909

Theodore Low De Vinne.  Christopher Plantin and the Plantin–Moretus Museum at Antwerp.  New York: The Grolier Club, 1888. 

This binding of red crushed goatskin, gilt, was created for Edwin B. Holden, the founding president of the bindery.  It is signed ᴄʟᴜʙ ʙɪɴᴅᴇʀʏ 1898.  Holden extra-illustrated this example with documents and illustrations. 

Gift of Arthur C. Holden, 1942. 

Cat. no. 6.1. 

Richard de Bury.  Philobiblon.  New York: The Grolier Club, 1889. 

These three bindings represent a high point in the work of the Club Bindery, created in 1900 for Edwin B. Holden by Léon Maillard.  The trio is the ne plus ultra of Club Bindery productions.  Their finishing reflects the most accomplished French work of the era — precise and complementary, while reflecting the inspiration of three distinct historical styles. 

Bequest of Marian Holden, 1980. 

Cat. no. 6.2 a-b-c. 

Charles Henry Hart.  Catalogue of the Engraved Portraits of Washington.  New York: The Grolier Club, 1904. 

The covering leather is a large piece of high-quality dark blue crushed goatskin, with simple gilt titling on the spine and the Club’s device on the front cover.  It is signed ᴄʟᴜʙ ʙɪɴᴅᴇʀʏ 1908 and reflects only too well the reduced capacity of the bindery, which would close within a year for want of patronage.  The binding die for the Club’s armorials is also displayed. 

Cat. no. 6.4. 

Two framed installation shots donated by Kenneth W. & Shirley McNerney Rendell, 2020:  The Club Bindery, 114 West 32nd Street, 1902–1909  

Club stamp