APHA's Annual Meeting & Awards
January 26, 2008
New York Public Library, NYC
Mike Denker, President of the Chesapeake Chapter, attended the American Printing History Association's national meeting held at the New York Public Library in New York City on Saturday, Janaury 26, 2008. Here is his report.
On Saturday January 21, I attended APHA’s annual board and general meetings at the New York Public Library. As president of one of APHA’s regional chapters, I am automatically a member of the board. Another board member, our own Sara Stone, reminded me that her term will be up this year and she will need to be replaced, we hope by a local DC area APHA member.
Outgoing president, Eric Hozenberg ran the board meeting, with president-elect Paul Romaine at his side. Among the many topics discussed at the meeting were:
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William S. Peterson, Chesapeake chapter member and editor the new series of Printing History, promised two issues of the journal each year. The final issue of the old series, #50 edited by David Pankow, is due this year as well.
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Membership and the ebb and flow of renewals, do not come in at one time, but throughout the year. Membership is not going down and has been supported by the growth of regional chapters.
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There is a need for a new company to store and sell the special publications of APHA which up to now have been handled by the Veatchs.
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A financial report: we are still in the black!
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Renaming the APHA fellowship program after Mark Samuals Lasner, local DC APHA member, collector and scholar, who has given so much support to the program. Discussed was the need to work harder to create an endowment to secure the fellowship for the long term.
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Reports from the various chapters: New York, New England, N. and S. California, and Chesapeake. I heard many words of approval of our activities in the Chesapeake Chapter.
The general meeting began minutes after the board meeting adjourned. The highlight of the meeting was presentation of two annual APHA awards, to an individual and an institution.
The individual award was presented to Henry Morris, proprietor of the Bird and Bull Press.
Oak Knoll Books & Oak Knoll Press was the recipient of the institutional award. Henry Morris and Robert Fleck, Jr. of Oak Knoll each gave entertaining acceptance speeches.
Henry Morris’ talk was especially interesting when he described his latest project, a book with chapters about 13 contemporary type founders, four of whom are Chapter members: Stan Nelson, Chris Manson, Mike Anderson and Jim Walczak. Each of these gentlemen has been working hard to complete multiple pages of type set material, to be shipped or delivered to Henry in Pennsylvania for incorporation into the book.
Also announced at the annual meeting were the recipients of the APHA fellowship awards for research. The meeting was followed by a reception at the library, and later a “tea” which consisted of wine in the great hall at the Grolier Club, surrounded by the wonderful exhibition, Benjamin Franklin, Writer and Printer.
After the general meeting I met and conversed with an interesting fellow, Paul Shaw, who is a New York City resident, calligrapher and historian, and a past recipient of an APHA fellowship. Paul is writing a biography of W.A. Dwiggins, who is perhaps best known for his work at Alfred A. Knopf, but whose earlier career is not so well known but very important in the history of American graphic design. I invited Paul to speak to our chapter, when I learned that he had plans to spend a couple of days at the Library of Congress, this fall. More on this, once we have nailed down a date and a venue.
Mike Denker, president, Chesapeake Chapter of APHA
Information taken from the meeting keepsakes shown below:
