Programs > Lieberman Lecture
The Lieberman Lecture
The annual Lieberman Lecture commemorates J. Ben Lieberman (1914–1984), founder and first president of the American Printing History Association. The lecture is a moveable feast, given at a different institution each year, by a figure distinguished in the history of printing or the book arts. Past speakers include Henry Morris, Richard-Gabriel Rummonds, Roderick Stinehour, Jack Stauffacher, Johanna Drucker, John Randle, G. Thomas Tanselle, Claire Van Vliet, and Paul Needham.
In March 2009 the Lieberman Lecture was given by John Kristensen at Wellesley College. Kristensen spoke on “The Book [Broadside, Bookplate, Business Card & Birth Announcement] Beautiful,” about his work at Firefly Press, located in Boston, over the past 30 years. Kristensen is a master printer whose depth of knowledge in classic and modern typography is evident in every product of his press, from the simplest business card to the most lavish book. His distinctive and elegant designs have graced publications of colleges, universities, libraries, and foundations from across the US, as well as artists and noted bibliophiles. Every project demonstrates John’s practical scholarship in the history of printing, his skill with hot-metal typecasting equipment and with antique and modern presses, and his ability to give clients not only what they want but often what they did not know they wanted.
Past Lieberman Lectures
Lectures in the series are listed with the hosting institution given in parentheses after the speaker's name.
2009
John Kristensen
Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA
2008
[no lecture]
2007
Sue Allen
Grolier Club, New York, NY
delivered 2008
2006
Henry Morris
Princeton University, Princeton, NJ
2005
Richard-Gabriel Rummonds
University of San Francisco, CA
2004
John Downer
Newberry Library, Chicago, IL
delivered in 2005
2003
Roderick Stinehour, with Jerry Kelly
Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA
2002
Jack Stauffacher, with Matthew Carter
Getty Center, Los Angeles
2001
Johanna Drucker
Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
2000
John Randle
Van Pelt Library, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
1999
Barry Moser
Iowa Center for the Book, Iowa City, IA
1998
Kenneth E. Carpenter
Boston Public Library, Boston, MA
1997
Robert H. Hirst
Bancroft Library, University of California at Berkeley
Berkeley, CA
1996
[no lecture]
1995
Claire Badaracco
University of Texas, Austin, TX
1994
G. Thomas Tanselle
University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA
1993
Robert Bringhurst
University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
1992
David Kaser
St. Louis Mercantile Library, St. Louis, MO
1991
Stephen O. Saxe
Book Club of Texas, Galveston, TX
1990
[no lecture]
1989
Clive Griffin
John Carter Brown Library, Brown University, Providence, RI
1988
James Gilreath
Colonial Williamsburg, Williamsburg, VA
1987
Paul Needham
Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN
1986
Claire Van Vliet
Mills College, Oakland, CA
APHA’s 34th Annual Conference, “The Book Beautiful,” meets in Newport, Rhode Island, October 16th–18th, 2009, during our 35th anniversary year. The program has been published and registration is now open. William S. Peterson, emeritus professor of English at the University of Maryland and editor of APHA’s journal, Printing History, will deliver the keynote address.
The recent issue of the Newsletter contains an announcement of the upcoming annual conference in Newport, Rhode Island; various notices of interest; chapter news from across the country; articles by Paul Moxon on the Vandercook and by Frank Romano on the typographic point; and a trustee profile of Russell Maret. Download it in PDF form here.
You'll read in the summer newsletter that from the fall issue 2009 (number 172) onwards the Newsletter will only be available in electronic form on this website. It will no longer be printed and mailed to members, a significant cost savings that may have an unexpected benefit: going electronic will make it possible for us to produce more newsletters each year. For the time being the design of the newsletter will remain the same, so those who wish to print it out will have the recognizable and familiar object to hold. Soon though we will reformat it somewhat for easier reading on your i-Phone or Blackberry. Of course we will continue to archive the newsletter on the website, so that all back issues will be available. We are also investigating ways to feed the publication to interested subscribers.
The excellent Brian Frykenberg is stepping down from the editorship of the Newsletter after the next issue and we need are seeking an active and well-connected member to replace him. The new editor will come just as we are migrating from print to electronic, a great opportunity for a creative, web-savvy person to expand and enhance our beloved workhorse. Contact Martin Antonetti, the VP for Publications, at mantonet@smith.edu if you are interested or know of someone who might be.