The Furman University Libraries invites you for a gathering on Wednesday, November 18, 2015 at 3:00 PM in the Pitts Room (2nd floor of the library).
Furman’s Bibliophiles have enjoyed several stimulating presentations and discussions in years past. And now after a hiatus of nearly a year and a half, we are once again extending invitations to all who have expressed interest previously and new recruits as well. We have the opportunity to call on our own Special Collections Librarian and Archivist, Jeff Makala, who has agreed to present to us a range of discoveries and insights he acquired in the research of one of his recent projects. The topics are many in what is titled:
Mathew Carey and the American Bible Marketplace, 1810-1825
In 1810, Mathew Carey was the highest-volume publisher of Bibles in the United States. By 1825, he was out of the Bible business altogether. During this time, a number of significant changes in the American book trades and publishing industry took place, both technological and organizational. This informal presentation will explore Carey’s work in negotiating a changing and newly-competitive national marketplace for Bibles. Among other things, this is a story of: cutthroat competition; a dizzying array of Biblical consumer choices; book trade “frenemies;” capitalist Quakers; incompetent printers; a touch of industrial espionage; and the beginnings of big-business Bible production in the United States.
In addition there will be several relevant and interesting items on display for perusal from both Furman’s Special Collections and Jeff’s own collection.
There will be light refreshments. That’s Wednesday, November 18, 2015 at 3:00 PM. We hope you can attend and make this the first of a series of future gatherings.