Announcing the Windle - Loker Lecture Series

The Book Club of California is delighted to announce that John Windle and Chris Loker have funded an annual lecture series titled, “The Windle - Loker Lecture Series on the History of the Illustrated Book.” The lecture series is scheduled through 2022, and will bring to Book Club venues important national and international experts who will speak on the illustrated book within these five eras: 

·      Medieval and renaissance manuscript illustration (11th to 15th century)

·      Early woodcut illustration in printed books (16th to 18th century)

·      Pre-Raphaelite / Art Nouveau book illustration (19th century)

·      Artist book illustration (20th and 21st century)

·      The Future of the illustrated book (21st century and beyond)

This lecture series will occur once a year as a Monday evening presentation, offered to Club members and their guests. It will explore the beauty, scholarship, and stunning craftsmanship of illustrated books from medieval times to today. The final lecture in the series will furnish intriguing insights into the possible future of the illustrated book in our hypertext world, a fascinating and timely topic. The five lectures will be presented either in San Francisco, Los Angeles or San Diego, to allow Club members throughout California the opportunity over time to participate in this enjoyable evening program in different locations.

The Windle - Loker Lecture Series will focus on presenting some of the most distinguished subject matter experts in their fields. They will hale from across the US and from the UK, and will present us with tales of alluring books and full-color images of the best the illustrated codex has offered over the centuries. The first lecture will occur on August 6, 2018 with the academic (and entertaining) team of famed book collector Mark Samuels Lasner and Margaret D. Stetz from the University of Delaware, speaking on Pre-Raphaelite and Art Nouveau book illustration. The second lecture, in 2019, will feature speaker Dan De Simone, whose special collections career has included tenures at the Library of Congress and the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C.—Dan will speak on the topic of early woodcut illustration in printed books.

John Windle, an antiquarian bookseller for fifty years and a Club member for much of that time, has served on the BCC board several times, most recently as Vice President and as chair of the Publications Committee. His well-known bookshop, John Windle Antiquarian Bookseller, is located just a few blocks from our Club. John is a constant supporter of all aspects of the BCC, also serves on the board of the Bancroft Library, and is a long-standing member of the Grolier Club. Chris Loker, John’s wife, has worked with him in the antiquarian book business for fifteen years, specializing in antiquarian children’s books. She recently curated the successful Grolier Club exhibition One Hundred Books Famous in Children’s Literature, and will publish in May 2019 the academic volume A Shimmer of Joy: Children’s Picture Books in America, 1900-2015. Chris currently serves on the Grolier Club Council and is the chair of their Publications Committee. She also serves on the board of Rare Book School in Charlottesville, VA. John and Chris are delighted to support the Book Club with the Windle - Loker Lecture Series, and look forward to seeing Club members at those lecture events.