In February 2024, as I was boxing up my Paul Elder exhibition at the Book Club of California, Kevin Kosik, the Club’s Executive Director, put a bug in my ear. “I think the Board of Directors would be receptive right now to a book proposal,” he said. “Strike while the iron is hot, so to speak.” So I did! And on Monday, my book was released at a splendid reception at the Book Club’s headquarters in San Francisco.
The Book Club staff laid out tasty platters of food, and concocted a special “Western Publisher” cocktail for the evening: prosecco and elderberry liqueur, with a slice of lemon. About sixty Club members and guests were in attendance. My special guests were Jean Rodgers, Paul Elder’s granddaughter, and her daughter Meg, and Bruce Smith of the Arts & Crafts Press, visiting from Japan, who wrote the foreword.
At 6pm the presentations began, with many people joining on Zoom. As my 2023 Karmiole Lecture covered Elder’s biography and his bookstores, this time I chose to speak about his books. I titled my talk “Twelve Paul Elder Books You Should Read, Despite Rumors You’ve Heard that Elders Aren’t Worth Reading.” The book designers, Allwyn O’Mara and Carmel O’Mara-Horwitz, then spoke about their experience in designing the book, their first book designed solely with digital tools.
