Bryn Mawr College

Seymour Adelman Book Collector's Prize

Seymour Adelman, who was Honorary Curator of Rare Books at Bryn Mawr College, gave his own collection of books and manuscripts to the Bryn Mawr College Library in 1976. Adelman believed that students are often collectors without realizing it, and he established the Seymour Adelman Book Collector's Prize in 1979 in order to encourage students to think about their books in a new way. The prize was first awarded in 1980.

• Contest rules
• Prizes
• Books on book collecting
• Past winners

Contest Rules

The annual contest takes place during the spring semester and is open to all registered Bryn Mawr College undergraduates. Each contestant submits a statement no longer than 500 words explaining the collection and how it was begun, and an annotated bibliographic list of the collection. Each entrant is asked to give a presentation to the judges and to show five examples from her collection.

The collection must be owned by the student. It may be on any subject, a single author or group of authors, and may include manuscripts and graphics. Evaluation is based on motivation, coherence of the collection, originality, accomplishment, and condition of the works entered. Monetary value is not a determining factor.

A previous winner may enter again only if a different collection is submitted. A previous non-winning entry may be submitted again, although the collection must show growth since the first entry.

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Prizes

The awards are presented at the Student Awards Ceremony. First prize includes a $500 award, and second prize includes a $250 award. Both prizes also include a copy of John Carter's ABC for Book Collectors. All contestants receive a student membership in the Friends of the Bryn Mawr College Libraries.

In addition, the top prize winner of the Adelman contest will be eligible for the National Collegiate Book Collecting Championship, with a first place prize of $2500. See http://hq.abaa.org/books/antiquarian/abaapages/contest for additional details

For further information, please contact the Special Collections Librarian, Marianne Hansen.

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A Short Selection of Books about Book Collecting

Adelman, Seymour. The Moving Pageant: A Selection of Essays. Lititz, Pennsylvania: Sutter House, 1977. Canaday PS3551.D42 M6

Bernard, Phillipa, with Leo Bernard and Angus O'Neill. Antiquarian Books: A Companion for Booksellers, Librarians, and Collectors. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1994. Canaday Ref Z326 .B47 1994

Carter, John. ABC for Book Collectors. New Castle, Del.: Oak Knoll Press, 1995. Canaday Z1006 .C37

Iacone, Salvatore J. The Pleasures of Book Collecting. New York: Harper & Row, 1976. McCabe Z987 .I15 1976

Michaels, Carolyn Clugston. Children's Book Collecting. Hamden, Conn.: Library Professional Publications, 1993. Canaday Z987.5.U6 M53 1993

Newton, A. Edward. The Amenities of Book-Collecting and Kindred Affections. Boston: Atlantic Monthly Press, 1918. Canaday Z992 .N38 1924

Peters, Jean, editor. Book Collecting: A Modern Guide. New York: R. R. Bowker, 1977. Canaday Z987 .B68

Quayle, Eric. The Collector's Book of Books. New York: C. N. Potter,1971. Canaday f Z987 .Q34

The Collector's Book of Children's Books. New York: C. N. Potter,1971. Canaday f Z987 .Q342

Willmarth, Lewis. Collector's Progress. London: Constable & Co., 1952. Canaday Z989 .L5

Wilson, Robert A. Modern Book Collecting. New York: Alfred A.Knopf, 1980. Canaday Z987 .W49 1980

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Past Winners

 

Year	Prize	Name and Class Year	Subject of Collection
1980	1st Prize	Catherine E. Du Beau (1980)	Eclectic
	1st Prize	Leslie Victoria Kurke (1981)	Classical Studies
1981	1st Prize	Pamela Carter (1982)	Penguins
	1st Prize	Artemis Hionides (1982)	Modern Greece
1982	1st Prize	Ruth Herold (1982)	Herman Melville
	2nd Prize	Saba Bahar (1984)	Alexandria
	2nd Prize	Sara Baughman (1982)	Illustrated Works
1983	1st Prize	Eva Posfay (1984)	Hungarian Poetry
	1st Prize	Hanna Rubin (1983)	Classic Children's Books
1984	1st Prize	Marion M. Gartner (1985)	King Arthur
1985	1st Prize	Anne J. Brownstein (1985)	Poetry
1986	1st Prize	Alice Elizabeth Krinsky (1988)	Lewis Carroll
1987	1st Prize	Genevieve Bell (1990)	Australian Literature
1988	1st Prize	Robin Bernstein (1991)	Bibles and Religious Literature
	1st Prize	Heather Harwood (1988)	Classical Studies
1989	1st Prize	Elizabeth Knapp (1990)	Folklore
1990	1st Prize	Catherine Barriger (1990)	Spanish Novels by Women
	1st Prize	Lorrie Kim (1990)	Female Authors
1991	1st Prize	Charlotte Troyanowski (1994)	Historical Etiquette
	2nd Prize	Ina Warriner (1991)	Souvenir Books about Finland
1992	1st Prize	Leili Towfigh (1992)	Baha'i Faith
	2nd Prize	Sara Rubin (1992)	African and African-American Writers
1993	1st Prize	Catherine C. Hoffman (1995)	Lucy Maud Montgomery
	2nd Prize	Carrie LaSeur (1993)	American West
	2nd Prize	Gretchen Maxeiner (1994)	Latin Literature
1994	1st Prize	Jennifer K. Jackson (1994)	Preserving the Past
	2nd Prize	Melanie Evans (1997)	Children's Books
	2nd Prize	Joanna Reiner (1995)	Tea
1995	1st Prize	Melissa Cohn (1997)	Autograph Books
	2nd Prize	Gabrielle Costanzo (1997)	Eclectic
1996	1st Prize	Brenda Fishman (1998)	Learning Languages
	2nd Prize	Jane J. Park (1996)	Asian-American Literature
	2nd Prize	Sara Wakefield (1997)	Fairy Tales
1997	1st Prize	Robin Brenner (1999)	Picture Books
	2nd Prize	Heather McLees (1998)	Scottish History and Culture
	3rd Prize	Astrid Cook (1997)	20th Century Books by Women
1998	1st Prize	Virginia Hutton (2000)
	2nd Prize	Rebecca Silverman (2001)
	3rd Prize	Jill Baron (2000)
1999	1st Prize	Elizabeth Scanlon (1999)	Poetry
2000	1st Prize	Ada Palmer (2001)	Distopia
	2nd Prize	Virginia Hutton (2000)	Ghost Stories
2001	1st Prize	Elaine Massung (2004)	Modern Fiction (firsts)
	2nd Prize	Jenny Lentz (2002)	19th Century Writers
	2nd Prize	Amanda Pegg (2001)	Science Fiction
2002	1st Prize	Jenny Lentz (2002)	Nancy Drew
	2nd Prize	Susannah Smith (2003)	Edward Gorey
	2nd Prize	Sally Lemmon (2003)	Hawai'i
2003	1st Prize	Susan Howson (2003)	Young Adult Classics
	2nd Prize	Laura Nuffer (2005)	Anthropology
2004	1st Prize	Lawral Wornek (2004)	Ballet
	2nd Prize	Molly Tamulevich (2007)	Unexplained Phenomena
2005	1st Prize	Elizabeth Kestler (2008)	Science Fiction / Fantasy
	2nd Prize	Joanna Karpinski (2005)	The Titanic
2006	1st Prize	Melody Brandston (2008)	Juvenile Series Fiction
	2nd Prize	Meridel Newton (2006)	Anne McCaffrey
2007	1st Prize	Vanessa Poggioli (2007)	New York, NY
	2nd Prize	Christen Gore (2007)	Scottish Country Dance
2008	1st Prize	Helen Cosgrove-Davies (2010)	Fashion
2009	1st Prize	Anna Van Brookhoven (2009)	Children's Books
	2nd Prize	Megan Clark (2011)	19th-Century Costume
	2nd Prize	Jessica Schwartz (2009)	Seeing America
2010	1st Prize	Madeline Birkner (2010)	Photography
	2nd Prize	Helen Cosgrove-Davies (2010)	Knitting
2011	1st Prize	Maggie Stack (2011)	Men and Women at Sea
	2nd Prize	Nicole Yulo (2011)	Contemporary Picture Books
	2nd Prize	Anne Harding (2012)	Books on Books
2012	Prize	Stephanie Trott	Food Studies
2013	1st Prize	Katherine Littrell  (2014)	Early Modern Theater
	2nd Prize	Lauren Malamed (2015)	Zines

 

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