Springtime means it is time for the AAS Adopt-a-Book fundraiser! A hearty thank you to all who have participated in this popular event in the past. We have raised over $125,000 for acquisitions over the last nine years. Today, Tuesday, April 4th, we launch our tenth annual online catalog of “orphans” to be adopted.
This year, to mark the tenth anniversary, we have changed the focus of the event from the usual support of acquisitions to support for an upcoming exhibition. In December 2017 the Society will be sending over 150 books, games, prints, and watercolors to the Grolier Club in New York for our exhibition Radiant with Color & Art. Co-curated by AAS Children’s Literature Curator Laura Wasowicz and Andrew W. Mellon Curator of Graphic Arts Lauren Hewes, this show will examine the work of the McLoughlin Brothers, well-known publishers of children’s picture books. “This will be a groundbreaking show,” says Wasowicz. “It will celebrate the production methods and marketing used by McLoughlin over four decades and will include original never-before seen artwork and printing blocks used by the firm.” We have posted on this blog previously about the curatorial process of selecting material for the show. We are in the home stretch and will be busy this summer preparing a printed catalog and building exhibition mounts and labels.
Raising funds for the exhibition has occupied AAS staff for the last two years. Donations from many generous AAS members and the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation are already in hand. Using the tenth annual Adopt-a-Book event as a way to crowdsource additional funding for Radiant with Color & Art engages additional constituents with our collections. All of the material in this year’s Adopt-a-Book online catalog is traveling to New York and will be on display in the exhibition. As in past years, participants may donate in honor of someone (friends, family, colleagues), but this year supporters will be recognized on a special acknowledgement page in the printed catalog for the exhibition, as well as on the Adopt-a-Book page on the AAS website.
“Adopt-a-Book is always a popular event with our former fellows, scholars, staff, and friends,” says Hewes, who is organizing the event this year. “This year’s online catalog selection is especially attractive, with lots of gorgeous watercolors, picture books, and even paper dolls.” Due to our impending construction project, there is no evening event in Antiquarian Hall scheduled this year for Adopt-a-Book, so the only way to participate is via the online catalog of “orphans.” We appreciate all and any support of this initiative! Thank you!
