Graphic Arts

Please come to an informational session about the Adler Prize at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, October 14, 2009 in the Scheide Library, located in the Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, ground floor of Firestone Library. The Scheide Library holds outstanding collections of Bibles in manuscript and print, including a Gutenberg and a 36-line Bible; medieval manuscripts and incunabula; music manuscripts of Johann Sebastian Bach and Ludwig van Beethoven; and other rare materials. Scheide Librarian Paul Needham will give a brief tour and talk about the importance of book collecting. Julie Mellby, graphic arts curator, will be on hand to introduce the prize and answer questions about your competition essays.

The essay should be no more than ten, double-spaced pages and should be submitted along with the bibliography via e-mail, in a Microsoft Word attachment, to jmellby@princeton.edu by 5:00 p.m. Monday, November 30, 2009. Remember, the value or number of items is less important than the quality of their selection in satisfying the goal(s) of your collection. Please note your name, class year, residential address, email address, and phone number on a separate cover sheet.

Winners will receive their prizes at the annual winter dinner of the Friends of the Princeton University Library. The first prize essay will be published in a forthcoming issue of the Princeton University Library Chronicle and has the honor of representing Princeton University in an international book collecting competition.

DATES TO REMEMBER

Deadline for entries: 5:00 pm, November 30, 2009

First prize: $2000

Second prize: $1500

Third prize: $1000

Suggested readings from Paul Needham, Scheide Librarian:

Michael Sadleir, preface to his XIX Century Fiction (1951). Firestone 3579.079

A.N.L. Munby, Essays and Papers (1977). Firestone Z992.M958

John Carter, Taste and Technique in Book Collecting (1970). Firestone 0511.241.2.1970

G. Thomas Tanselle “The Rationale of Collecting,” Studies in Bibliography. Online at http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/bsuva/sb

See the 2008 winner: http://paw.princeton.edu/issues/2009/09/23/perspective/

The Friends of the Princeton University Library are pleased to announce the winners of the 2009 Elmer Adler Undergraduate Book Collecting Prize. The $2,000 first prize goes to Jac Mullen, Class of 2010, for his essay, “A Zealous Declaration,” in which he reveals his passion for the great novels of the twentieth century, “those works of linguistic robustness and playfulness, the brashly experimental, fiercely prophetic works of Weltliteratur.” The Adler award also put Mullen in touch with some family history. “When I told my grandfather I’d won,” Mullen said, “he gave me a copy of a very old issue of the Princeton University Library Chronicle [which] featured a bibliography of works collected by my great-grandfather, Gilbert Chinard, who was a professor of French literature here at Princeton in the 1930s and 1940s. More to the point, however, the issue was introduced by an essay my great-grandfather wrote about—of all things—book collecting!”

The second place prize of $1,500 is presented to Emily Rutherford, Class of 2012, for her essay, “The Beat Generation: A Book Collection for My Generation.” When Rutherford first read Allen Ginsberg’s famous line “I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked …,” she was hooked, and she began to acquire and read everything she could by and about Ginsberg and his contemporaries. She now lives with that first page of Howl affixed to the wall over her desk. The lines, she writes, “never, ever fail to comfort and inspire me.”

The Friends awarded the $1,000 third prize to Cindy Hong, Class of 2009, for her essay, “Dipping into Life: Collecting Letters of Modernist Writers.” The key to her favorite authors, she discovered, was in their personal correspondence. “No matter what happens to the future of letters,” writes Hong, these published collections will “provide contemporary readers with a glimpse into the lives of favorite modern writers.”

Each winner will receive a certificate from the Dean of the College and a new book chosen specifically for her/his collection, donated by Princeton University Press. Jac Mullen’s first prize essay will be published in the Princeton University Library Chronicle and will also be submitted to the National Undergraduate Book Collecting competition sponsored by Fine Books & Collections magazine.

The Friends of the Princeton University Library play a vital role in supporting the acquisitions and operations of the Library. All members of the community who have an interest in books, libraries, manuscripts, and the graphic arts are welcome to join. For further information on the Friends, please contact Linda Oliveira at 609-258-3155.

Entries due at 5:00 p.m., Friday, November 28, 2008

Jane & Louise Wilson, Oddments Room II (Voyages of the Adventure and Beagle), 2008. C-print, Edition of 4. Courtesy 303 Gallery, New York

The Elmer Adler Undergraduate Book Collecting Prize is awarded annually to the student or students who, in the opinion of the judges, have shown the most thought and ingenuity in assembling a thematically coherent collection of books, manuscripts, or other material normally collected by libraries. The prize is endowed from the estate of Elmer Adler who for many years encouraged the collecting of books by Princeton undergraduates. The rarity and value of the student’s collection are not as important as the creativity and persistence shown in collecting and the fidelity of the collection to the goals described in a personal essay.

Essays should be submitted via e-mail, in a Microsoft Word attachment, to jmellby@princeton.edu by 5:00 p.m. Friday, November 28, 2008 and should be no more than ten pages, double-spaced. Your entry should include a bibliography of the items in your collection. Please note your name, class year, residential address, email address, and phone number on a separate cover sheet.

Winners will receive their prizes at the spring dinner of the Friends of the Princeton University Library. The first prize essay will be published in a forthcoming issue of the Princeton University Library Chronicle and has the honor of representing Princeton University in a national book collecting competition. See last year’s national winner: http://www.finebooksmagazine.com/issue/0605/bookchampionship2008-1.phtml

Third prize: $1000

Deadline for entries: 5:00 p.m., Friday, November 28, 2008

An informational session introducing the contest will be held at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, October 15, 2008 in the Scheide Library, located in the Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, Firestone Library. The Scheide Library holds outstanding collections of Bibles in manuscript and print, including a Gutenberg and a 36-line Bible; medieval manuscripts and incunabula; music manuscripts of Johann Sebastian Bach and Ludwig van Beethoven; and other rare materials. Scheide Librarian Paul Needham will give a brief tour and talk about the importance of book collecting. Julie Mellby, graphic arts curator, will be on hand to answer questions about the Adler Prize.

Essays should be submitted via e-mail, in a Microsoft Word attachment, to jmellby@princeton.edu by 5:00 p.m. Friday, November 28, 2008 and should be no more than ten pages, double-spaced. Your entry should include a bibliography of the items in your collection. Please note your name, class year, residential address, email address, and phone number on a separate cover sheet.

Winners will receive their prizes at the annual winter dinner of the Friends of the Princeton University Library. The first prize essay will be published in a forthcoming issue of the Princeton University Library Chronicle and has the honor of representing Princeton University in an international book collecting competition.

DATES TO REMEMBER

Deadline for entries: 5:00 pm, November 28, 2008

First prize: $2000

Second prize: $1500

Third prize: $1000

Suggested readings from Paul Needham, Scheide Librarian:

Michael Sadleir, preface to his XIX Century Fiction (1951). Firestone 3579.079

A.N.L. Munby, Essays and Papers (1977). Firestone Z992.M958

John Carter, Taste and Technique in Book Collecting (1970). Firestone 0511.241.2.1970

G. Thomas Tanselle “The Rationale of Collecting,” Studies in Bibliography. Online at http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/bsuva/sb

It gives me great pleasure to announce the winners of the Elmer Adler Undergraduate Book Collecting Prize. The $2,000 first prize goes to Laura Fitzpatrick, Class of 2008, for her essay, “‘Love goes towards love’: Collecting Romeo and Juliet,” in which she explores used copies of Shakespeare’s play and the marginal notes left by other readers. “My books are a key,” she writes, “to understanding the passion that brings readers like myself coming back for more.”

In a tie for second place, both Caroline Hayley Crowell, Class of 2008, and Ian Segal, Class of 2008, will receive a $1,500 prize. Crowell’s essay, “New Orleans on My Mind: Books of the Big Easy,” focuses on her native New Orleans and the books that “help keep alive for me a city that is struggling to rebuild itself.” Each time she opens one of these volumes, she listens to hear the rhythm, the cadence and the accent of her home.

In “Irish Poetry and Its Contemporary Context,” Segal makes a case for examining Irish poetry “against the hurdling innovations and destructions of our contemporary era.” In this way, he begs to allow a curatorial gesture in which international writing finds itself reconsidering its own postcolonial contexts.

The Friends awarded the $1,000 third prize to Efe Murat Balikcioglu, Class of 2010, for his essay, “Major Poets of Czech and Polish Literature,” in which he grapples with verse written in languages he has not mastered. “To understand a poem does not mean to understand solely the language itself,” argues Mr. Balikcioglu. “There is a transcendental moment in which the reader’s feelings coincide with what the poem tries to convey.”

Each winner received a certificate from the Dean of the College and a new book chosen specifically for her/his collection, donated by Princeton University Press. Laura Fitzpatrick’s first prize essay will be published in the Princeton University Library Chronicle and will also be submitted to the National Undergraduate Book Collecting competition sponsored by Fine Books & Collections Magazine.

Although the collecting continues, the entries are in and the 2007/2008 Elmer Adler Undergraduate Book Collecting Prize is closed. I would like to thank all the students who entered and wish them the best of luck. The judges are reading the essays and will select the winners before the end of the calendar year. These names will be announced at the Winter Banquet of the Friends of the Princeton University Library on Saturday, February 2, 2008 and to the general public on February 4.

Our first place essay will be entered into the National Collegiate Book Collecting Championship, established and sponsored by Fine Books & Collections Magazine. http://www.finebooksmagazine.com/contest/index.phtml

For a list of past Princeton University contest winners and their topics, continue with this posting below:

Deadline for entries: 5:00 p.m., Friday, November 30, 2007

The Elmer Adler Undergraduate Book Collecting Prize is awarded annually to the student or students who, in the opinion of the judges, have shown the most thought and ingenuity in assembling a collection of books, manuscripts, or other material normally collected by libraries, on a directed theme. The prize is endowed from the estate of Elmer Adler, first Curator of Graphic Arts at Princeton (1940-1952), who for many years encouraged the collecting of fine and rare books by Princeton undergraduates. The rarity and value of the student’s collection are not as important as the creativity and persistence shown in collecting, and how the final collection meets the stated goals.

An informational session introducing the contest will be held at 4:30 on Wednesday, October 17, 2007 in the Graphic Arts Collection (2nd floor) of Firestone Library’s Rare Books and Special Collections. Julie Mellby, curator of graphic arts, will go over the rules and then, Dr. Robert Ruben, Class of 1955 and three-time Adler Prize winner, will give a talk on his collections and how he got started. For more information, you can call 609-258-3197 or email jmellby@princeton.edu.

Essays should be submitted via e-mail, in a Microsoft Word attachment, to jmellby@princeton.edu by 5:00 p.m. Friday, November 30, 2007 and should be no more than ten pages, double-spaced. Your entry should include a bibliography of the books in your collection. Please note your name, class year, residential address, email address, and phone number on a separate cover sheet.

Winners will receive their prizes at the annual winter dinner of the Friends of the Princeton University Library. The first prize essay will be published in a forthcoming issue of the Princeton University Library Chronicle and has the honor of representing Princeton University in an international book collecting competition.

DATES TO REMEMBER

Deadline for entries: 5:00 pm, November 30, 2007

First prize: $2000

Second prize: $1500

Third prize: $1000