Pforzheimer Symposium celebrates significant book collector of twentieth century

In conjunction with the Grolier Club Collects II, the Grolier Club, the Harry Ransom Center, and the New York Public Library will co-sponsor The Pforzheimer Symposium at the Grolier Club on January 26 from 2 to 7 p.m.

The Pforzheimer Symposium will celebrate the book-collecting legacy of Carl H. Pforzheimer (1879–1957), long considered one the most significant and discerning book collectors of the twentieth century. Pforzheimer’s collection ranged from Gutenberg to Gissing. Today, his collecting is represented in three components that will be the focus of this symposium: the Gutenberg Bible and the Pforzheimer Library of English books and manuscripts (1475–1700) at the Harry Ransom Center, and the collection of Shelley and his Circle at the New York Public Library.

The speakers will include:

Bart Auerbach, Independent appraiser and a consultant to Sotheby’s Book and Manuscript Department

Gerald W. Cloud, Pforzheimer Curator of Early English Books and Manuscripts, Harry Ransom Center

Elizabeth Denlinger, Curator, Carl H. Pforzheimer Collection of Shelley and His Circle, New York Public Library

Stephen Massey, Independent appraiser and consultant based in New York

Eric White Curator of Rare Books, Firestone Library, Princeton University

David Scott Kastan, the George M. Bodman Professor of English at Yale University, will deliver the keynote address.

The symposium will take place at the Grolier Club in connection with The Grolier Club Collects II, an exhibition surveying current trends in book collecting from the libraries of Grolier Club members.