October Midday Program

Caxtonians do love to go searching after a first. A first edition.

A first printing. A first of its kind. Especially when the prize is a one-and-only.

Now here’s a chance to realize that quest. We’ll be taking you to New York’s Hispanic Society of America Library, which houses the first editions of both parts of Don Quixote (1605 and 1615). But wait, there’s more. The library holds …

• the sole surviving leaf of the first Bible in any vernacular (1478)

• the first Spanish grammar (1492) and dictionary (1495)

• the first book to be printed during its author’s lifetime, Speculum vitae humanae (1468)

… as well as the only copy in the world of the first edition of one of the most celebrated works of Spanish literature, Comedia de Calisto y Melibea, better known as La Celestina.

La Celestina is regarded as the first masterpiece of Spanish prose and the greatest work of the early Renaissance in Spain.

Seeing and hearing about just a bit of this would be worth charging some windmills, let alone logging into Zoom or taking an elevator at the Union League Club. Especially because our guide will be La Celestina expert Vanessa Pintado, assistant curator of manuscripts and rare books.

Let Sancho Panza to water the horses while you battle to the head of the line by registering today!

Live attendance and optional lunch

View Zoom program on eighth floor, Steel Room, Union League Club. Presentation begins at 12:00 PM CT. Optional lunch immediately following in the fourth floor Rendezvous. $35 includes non-alcoholic beverage, a cup of soup, and your choice of sandwich, salad, or hot entree, tax, and tip.

Zoom presentation is free and open to all.

Zoom begins at 12:00PM CT/1:00 PM ET. Preregistration required via website.

Please forward this notice to anyone who may find it of interest.

Even if you can’t attend at the scheduled time, if you’re interested, please register. After the program, we’ll send an email to all registrants, asking if you’d like a link to the complete recording. That way you can see the program even if you couldn’t attend live, ran into technical issues, or simply wanted to watch it again.

Transportation to the Union League Club at 65 West Jackson Blvd., Chicago.

The Union League Club is easily accessible through many public transportation methods. Additionally, the following options are available for those who wish to travel by cab or car.

The Union League Club front desk offers a connection to cab service through Curb. The desk will call cabs for members and all guests while allowing riders to remain inside until the cab arrives. No curbside wait. Cabs will accept all payment forms, following the payment procedures you experience with a street-hailed cab.

If you are traveling by car, the Union League Club offers valet parking for Caxton events at $35.00. You must register and prepay in advance through the Caxton Club. Valet parking options will now be included as an option with all event registrations.

Spot Hero is an independent parking option, generally offering spots at the 318 S. Federal Street garage adjacent to the Union League Club. You may reserve and pay for a guaranteed parking spot through the Spot Hero app or website (spothero.com).

Meet and mingle with fellow Caxton Club members in the Library Lounge at D4 Irish Pub & Cafe. This is an opportunity to socialize with old friends and meet new members, too.

The Evening Program and Membership committees have reserved the Library Lounge from 5:30 until 7:30 pm. There will be a buffet of select appetizers. Full beverage service available at additional cost. Happy hour drink specials including draft beer, house wines, and Stoli cocktails available from 5:30 to 6:00.

D4, named after Dublin’s tony zip code, Dublin 4, brings a taste of Dublin to Chicago’s Streeterville neighborhood.

Remember to bring your Caxton badge. Register today.

Parking Spot Hero is an independent parking option, generally offering spots at the The Streeter Parking Garage directly above the restaurant with entrance on Ohio St. or Grand Ave. There are other garages nearby. You may reserve and pay for a guaranteed parking spot through the Spot Hero app or website (spothero.com).

November Evening Program

In this program, Lauren Hewes will introduce Caxton Club members to the Stephen D. Paine Collection of American Ephemera at the American Antiquarian Society, a national research library located in Worcester, Massachusetts. The talk will include an overview of the 18,000 objects in the Paine Collection – a private collection built between c.1975 and 1997 and recently donated to AAS – and an explanation of the Society’s larger ephemera holdings. Hewes will discuss how libraries decide what qualifies as “ephemera” and how researchers have used pre-1900 ephemeral objects in their projects.

Lauren Hewes is the vice president for collections and Andrew W. Mellon Curator of Graphic Arts. She manages and oversees the Society’s acquisition, cataloging, conservation, curatorial and readers’ services departments. She is also the Andrew W. Mellon Curator of Graphic Arts and builds and cares for the Society’s extensive collections of prints, broadsides, ephemera, and photographs, working with the Center for Historic American Visual Culture (CHAViC), AAS fellows, and outside scholars to make connections between American history and the visual resources of the Society. Lauren has previously held positions at the Print Council of America, the National Park Service, and Shelburne Museum, and she has published widely on American printmaking and portraiture. She has a BS from Ithaca College and an MA in art history from Williams College.

Register today.

Zoom presentation is free and open to all.

Zoom begins at 6:30PM CT/7:30 PM ET. Preregistration required via website.

Please forward this notice to anyone who may find it of interest.

Even if you can’t attend at the scheduled time, if you’re interested, please register. After the program, we’ll send an email to all registrants, asking if you’d like a link to the complete recording. That way you can see the program even if you couldn’t attend live, ran into technical issues, or simply wanted to watch it again.