TWELVE ILAB BOOKSELLERS AT CHICAGO'S HISTORICAL "MILLIONAIRES' ROW"

ILAB POP UP BOOK FAIR ON UNESCO WORLD BOOK AND COPYRIGHT DAY, 23 APRIL 2016

"Sweet home Chicago" is worth visiting for its architectural gems. Glessner House, for example, was designed for the family of famous industrialist John Jacob Glessner by noted American architect Henry Hobson Richardson. A radical departure from traditional Victorian architecture, the structure served as an inspiration to architects such as Louis Sullivan, Mies van der Rohe and the young Frank Lloyd Wright, and helped redefine domestic architecture.

 

The Glessner family lived in this house for fifty years, through the heyday and decline of the Prairie Avenue neighborhood, once known as Chicago’s “millionaires’ row” . John Glessner cherished his home as a symbol of happy family life, and the interiors demonstrate the nearly perfect collaboration between the architect and his clients. Designed during the so-called Gilded Age, when America’s newly rich industrialists were living in modern-day castles, Glessner House represents architect Henry Hobson Richardson’s response to the Glessners’ desire for a simple, comfortable, and cozy home.

Completed in 1887, Glessner House is today an internationally-known architectural treasure. As early as 1960, it was named an honorary Chicago landmark, in 1970 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and in 1976, the former home of the Glessner family was honoured as a National Historic Landmark. The 17,000 square foot home now houses a museum and hosts highly-class cultural events – lectures, exhibitions – in its premises.

On UNESCO World Book and Copyright Day, 23 April 2016, twelve Chicago booksellers will hold an ILAB Pop Up Book Fair at this wonderful historical venue. All members of the Midwest Chapter of the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America (ABAA), they will show a fine selection of rare books, manuscripts, prints, autographs and ephemera from all centuries and for all tastes at Glessner House to take part in the worldwide ILAB/UNESCO World Book and Copyright Day celebrations and to raise funds in support of the great work of UNESCO’s Forest Whitaker Peace and Development Initiative (WPDI) in South Sudan. The following ILAB booksellers invite you to enjoy a day among beautiful books in the former beautiful home of  Chicago’s famous Glessner family: 

Jeff Hirsch (Jeff Hirsch Books), James M. Borg (Borg Antiquarian), Paul and Elizabeth Garon (Beasley Books), Owen Kubik (Kubik Fine Books Ltd), Larry Van De Carr (Bookleggers Used Books), Annette Kolling-Buckley (Columbia Books), Bradley A. Jonas (Powell's Bookstore), William L. Butts (Main Street Fine Books & Manuscripts, Ltd.), Sammy Blade Berk (Harlan J. Berk, Ltd.), Daniel Weinberg (Abraham Lincoln Book Shop, Inc.), Rob Rulon-Miller (Rulon Miller Books), and the organizer of this great event: Kurt D. Gippert (Kurt Gippert Bookseller).

All dealers have agreed to donate 10 per cent of the proceeds of any sale made during the ILAB Pop Up Fair to UNESCO. Their generous support for literacy will be echoed by main sponsor Leslie Hindman Auctioneers, represented by Mary Kohnke, and co-sponsor The Caxton Club, represented by Jackie Vossler. Several other organizations have agreed to also attend and promote this amazing Chicago contribution to the ILAB Pop Up Celebrations 2016: the Cliff Dwellers Club, the Union League Club, the American Institute of Architects-Chicago Chapter, the Society of Architectural Historians-Chicago Chapter, the Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust, the American Writers Museum, the Glessner House and their association of house museums, as well as the local Midwest Antiquarian Booksellers Association (MWABA). Other organizations are expected to join.


Take a virtual tour through Glessner House, and be prepared for a really big event!

WHERE AND WHEN?

CHICAGO, GLESSNER HOUSE, 1800 S. PRAIRIE AVENUE, 23 APRIL 2016, 10 am to 5 pm.

Meet the ILAB booksellers there, admire their excellent rare books on display, buy some schoolbooks for the children in South Sudan by making a donation to UNESCO, and have a glass of wine or beer or – maybe – champagne to celebrate the very heart of our culture: literacy.

JOIN US ... ORGANIZE IT ... ILAB POP UP BOOK FAIRS ... ACROSS THE WORLD ... ON UNESCO WORLD BOOK & COPYRIGHT DAY ... 23 APRIL 2016!

March 2016 – For immediate release. Pictures: ILAB, UNESCO, the Organizers, Glessner House