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Bookseller terminology comes to life in the spring exhibit Slightly Foxed – but Still Desirable on display noon-10 p.m. daily through July in the Simon Room, Skillman Library. The show features illustrations from satirical artist Ronald Searle’s book of the same name with examples from Skillman’s rare book collection.
In conjunction with the exhibit, antiquarian bookseller Ron Lieberman will present “What Makes a Rare Book Rare?” 4:10 p.m. Wednesday, March 21 in the Gendebien Room, Skillman Library. The event is free and open to the public. After his discussion, Lieberman invites audience members to bring their own books for him to examine and discuss in a Skillman version of Antiques Roadshow.
Lieberman has sold and appraised books for over 35 years. His firm, The Family Album based in Kinzers, Pa., specializes in Pennsylvania German imprints, Bibles, fine binding, and printing history. Lieberman is a former member of the Board of Governors of the Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America (A.B.A.A.), and past chairman of the A.B.A.A. Security Committee; A.B.A.A. liaison with the American Library Association, and its Rare Book and Manuscript Section & Security Committee; and past president of the Middle Atlantic Chapter, A.B.A.A. For several years, he chaired the committee that managed the New York Antiquarian Book Fair. He was a founding member of the editorial board of the journal College and Undergraduate Libraries and frequent contributor.
Slightly Foxed – but Still Desirable offers witty insight into the world of rare book collecting. Searle’s caricatures illustrating bookseller terminology have been reproduced and enlarged for the Skillman exhibit and are paired with examples from the College’s own rare book collection. For example, the term “foxed” describes a book with pages that are “discoloured with brown damp spots,” and the accompanying book on display proudly shows off its spots.
“I was given a copy of Slightly Foxed several years ago, and I immediately thought of an exhibit using examples from our own collection,” says Diane Shaw, special collections librarian and College archivist. “Mr. Searle was enthusiastic and graciously gave us permission to go ahead, and the result is this very fun show. Everyone who knows the slightest thing about book collecting and sees Ronald Searle’s Slightly Foxed wants a copy of it; fortunately it is still in print and available from Souvenir Press.”
One of the world’s best known cartoonists, Searle first achieved fame in his native England with his St. Trinian’s cartoons depicting life at an “unholy” girls’ school. As a cartoonist for Punch and later as an illustrator for film, he influenced generations of younger artists and animators, including The Simpsons’ creator Matt Groening. More recently, he has been known for his books, particularly those featuring his highly-recognizable cats. He currently lives in the south of France, where he has produced several treatises on wine, including Something in the Cellar and the Illustrated Wine Speak. He has just released a volume of the drawings he made during his four years of captivity in Singapore during World War II.