Bibliophemera

This bookmark was created for the 1955 Book Fair, or Feria del Libro, in Puerto Rico. Just shy of five inches in length, it's made of plastic and the print announces the date and place of the fair: Allen Esq.,San Jose-San Juan. The book fair ran for nearly a week that year--October 21-27 San Jose refers to Plaza de San Jose, one of several plazas in San Juan, which I believe is an old section of San Juan still popular with the arts community. Libreria Campos was a San Juan publisher and bookseller for whom I can find publications dating from the 1930s to 1950s. They must have either sponsored or hosted the 1955 fair. Their history before and after the date range above is unknown to me. "Allen Esq" offers a clue to the history of the fair also, but I can't, as yet, connect it to anything specific. So, for now, this little bookmark is the only relic I can find online of that book fair nearly 60 years ago in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Here's a bookmark printed specially for the book, The Orphans' Nine Commandments , by William R. Holman (TCU Press, 2008). Posting it here is an appropriate follow-up to my previous post , which also involved William Holman and books--his and his wife's donation of their private collection of valuable books on the book arts. The bookmark's content offers a brief teaser for a compelling story awaiting the reader. The red notation was made by Mr. Holman to encourage comments by readers. And I would encourage anyone to read this powerful and engaging memoir and let Mr. Holman know your thoughts. I did and what follows is a modified version of that correspondence. The first chapter of The Orphans' Nine Commandments will knock the wind out of you and lay the foundation for the emotional, gut-wrenching journey a young boy (Holman) is forced to take through orphanages and foster homes during the 1930s and the Great Depression. As you recover from the shock of what happene...