The Grolier Club of New York

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The Grolier Club of New York America's oldest & largest society for bibliophiles and enthusiasts in the graphic arts. (212) 838-6690, x7, [email protected].

Founded in 1884, the Grolier Club of New York is America’s oldest and largest society for bibliophiles and enthusiasts in the graphic arts. Named for Jean Grolier (1489 or 90-1565), the Renaissance collector renowned for sharing his library with friends, the Club’s objective is to foster “the study, collecting, and appreciation of books and works on paper.” The Club maintains a research library on printing and related book arts, and its programs include public exhibitions as well as a long and distinguished series of publications. As part of its mission to promote the art and history of the book, the Grolier Club regularly hosts the lectures and gatherings of other bookish organizations, and opens many of its own events to the public. No advance notice is required to view Grolier Club exhibitions; however, RSVPs and reservations for other events should be made through Maev Brennan, tel.

Explore the history of hand papermaking through the tools, artworks, books, and teaching lineages of its key pioneers, i...
10/15/2026

Explore the history of hand papermaking through the tools, artworks, books, and teaching lineages of its key pioneers, including Dard Hunter, Douglass Howell, Laurence Barker, Walter Hamady, Timothy Barrett, Elaine and Donna Koretsky, and more.

Their techniques and innovations continue to inform contemporary artists, who reinterpret and expand the possibilities of handmade paper today.

Visit "Pioneers in Hand Papermaking” Monday - Saturday from 10am to 5pm, or visit online here: https://grolierclub.omeka.net/exhibits/show/dieudonne

Photo credits:
Laura Anderson Barbata, Shapono, 1992–2001.
From the project Yanomami Owë Mamotima, for which Dieu Donné was an advisor. Paper created in the Amazon of Venezuela. Edition of 50 signed by Sheroanawe Hakihiiwe. Courtesy of Laura Anderson Barbata and Dieu Donné. c: 2001 Yanomami Owë Mamotima Project

Helen Hiebert, Sound Blocks, 2010.
Laser cut by Joe Freedman. Colophon printed by Diane Jacobs.
Letterform design by Shu-Ju Wang.

Traffic was made in the 1980s and issued in 2017. Wessel commuted by car from his East Bay home to his teaching job in S...
10/12/2026

Traffic was made in the 1980s and issued in 2017. Wessel commuted by car from his East Bay home to his teaching job in San Francisco. One day, he discovered that he could take advantage of the morning and evening axial light to photograph on the road. “A glance was enough,” he said.



Visit the full sequence of Traffic, now on view through the end of “Henry Wessel: Photographs and Books.”



Visit "Henry Wessel: Photographs and Books" Monday-Saturday, 10am-5pm.

In the blowout technique, water becomes a tool for making images. A waterproof stencil or object is placed on a freshly ...
10/08/2026

In the blowout technique, water becomes a tool for making images. A waterproof stencil or object is placed on a freshly formed sheet of paper, protecting the pulp beneath it while water sprays away the surrounding material.

The remaining pulp forms the image, which can then be transferred onto a base sheet. Artists can repeat the process, layering multiple blowouts to build increasingly complex compositions.

Discover the surprising possibilities of water and pulp in “Pioneers in Hand Papermaking: 50 Years of Innovation at Dieu Donné”.

Visit the exhibition Monday - Saturday from 10am to 5pm, or visit online here: https://grolierclub.omeka.net/exhibits/show/dieudonne

Photo credits:
Melvin Edwards, Ogun Knows, 2000.
Collaborators: Pat Almonrode and Paul Wong.
Courtesy of Dieu Donné Papermill, NY.

Diana Al-Hadid, Babble On, 2025.
Collaborators: Amy Jacobs. Varied edition of 6, No. 1 of 1 DD proof.
Courtesy of Dieu Donné Papermill, NY.

The full sequence of Incidents, twenty-seven photographs comprising one work of art, remains on view in “Henry Wessel: P...
10/05/2026

The full sequence of Incidents, twenty-seven photographs comprising one work of art, remains on view in “Henry Wessel: Photographs and Books” through Saturday, October 9.

Visit "Henry Wessel: Photographs and Books" Monday-Saturday, 10am-5pm.

At Dieu Donné, artists use colored paper pulp much like paint, working wet-into-wet to create images directly on a sheet...
10/02/2026

At Dieu Donné, artists use colored paper pulp much like paint, working wet-into-wet to create images directly on a sheet of paper. The pulp can be poured, spooned, or squeezed onto the surface, building up layers of color.

Once pressed and dried, the layers become permanently bonded, transforming the sheet into a unique work of art. Artists can also work directly into pools of liquid pulp, blending and marbling colors to create fluid, freeform compositions.

Discover the possibilities of painting with paper pulp in “Pioneers in Hand Papermaking: 50 Years of Innovation at Dieu Donné”.

Visit the exhibition Monday - Saturday from 10am to 5pm, or visit online here: https://grolierclub.omeka.net/exhibits/show/dieudonne

Photo credits:
Firelei Báez, Patriarch, 2013.
Collaborator: Amy Jacobs. Courtesy of Dieu Donné Papermill, NY.

Natalie Frank, Woman, Eyes Closed III, 2019.
Collaborator: Amy Jacobs. Courtesy of Dieu Donné Papermill, NY.

For Wessel, an interesting photograph did not illustrate an agenda or idea but existed independently even of what was ph...
09/30/2026

For Wessel, an interesting photograph did not illustrate an agenda or idea but existed independently even of what was photographed:

“We can recognize and name what has been described but not what just happened, not what is going on, not what is about to happen. Once you accept the idea that all photographs are fictions, analogies for the things they represent, then you are more receptive to the meaning that is being suggested by that analogy, by that fiction.”

Visit "Henry Wessel: Photographs and Books" Monday-Saturday, 10am-5pm

Since the 1970s, artists have experimented with archival pigments to create richly colored paper pulp, expanding the pos...
09/24/2026

Since the 1970s, artists have experimented with archival pigments to create richly colored paper pulp, expanding the possibilities of fine art papermaking.

Stencils offer one way to compose images with color. Rather than printing ink onto a sheet, artists use waterproof stencils to separate different colors of wet pulp, applying them directly onto a wet base sheet. Colors can be layered to build intricate images, with the pigment becoming part of the paper itself.

Discover the techniques behind colored paper pulp in Pioneers in Hand Papermaking.

Visit the exhibition Monday - Saturday from 10am to 5pm, or visit online here: https://grolierclub.omeka.net/exhibits/show/dieudonne

Photo credits:
Lesley Dill, I Had a Blueprint of History, 2012.
Collaborators: Susan Gosin and Paul Wong. Published by Dieu Donné Press, Inc., and Peter Kruty Editions. Letterpress by Peter Kruty and Sayre Gaydos. Bound by Peter Kruty Editions.

Arlene Shechet, Dharmajika Near and Far, 1997.
Collaborator: Paul Wong. Courtesy of Dieu Donné Papermill, NY.

The Grolier Club doesn't just have 100 year old book auction catalogues, we also have whispers of 100 year old book auct...
09/22/2026

The Grolier Club doesn't just have 100 year old book auction catalogues, we also have whispers of 100 year old book auction gossip. Back in 1919, our Librarian Ruth Shepard Granniss likely heard from a member that the bookseller George D. Smith purchased the entirety of Anderson Galleries' April 16th sale "almost en bloc" for Henry E. Huntington, whose family fortune came from railroads. Her quick note on the flyleaf transformed that bit of bookish gossip into historical record.

Unique to papermaking, watermarks have fascinated artists for centuries. Italian papermakers are credited with developin...
09/18/2026

Unique to papermaking, watermarks have fascinated artists for centuries. Italian papermakers are credited with developing the technique in the 13th century, creating images within the paper rather than on its surface.

In traditional chiaroscuro watermarks, embossed wire mesh creates subtle variations in the paper’s thickness. When illuminated, these variations become shadows and highlights, revealing an image hidden within the fibers. Contemporary artists have expanded the possibilities with materials such as laser-cut vinyl, creating images that are not printed onto paper, but become part of it.

Visit "Pioneers in Hand Papermaking" Monday - Saturday from 10am to 5pm, or visit online here: https://grolierclub.omeka.net/exhibits/show/dieudonne

"Henry Wessel: Photographs and Books" is now open in our Second Floor Gallery! We open our 2026-2027 season with a spotl...
09/14/2026

"Henry Wessel: Photographs and Books" is now open in our Second Floor Gallery! We open our 2026-2027 season with a spotlight exhibition on photographs and books by Henry Wessel (1942–2018), who first came to prominence in 1972 with a solo exhibition at MoMA in New York. Initially, his practice centered on exhibitions with related catalogs. Wessel later moved emphatically to making sequences of photographs explicitly intended as one work issued as portfolios and published as books with minimal further context. Curated by Grolier Club member Jack Gray from his collection, the exhibition features over 65 photographs including Wessel’s full “Incidents” and “Traffic” portfolios, and highlights from Wessel’s full body of work.

Visit "Henry Wessel: Photographs and Books" Monday-Saturday, 10am-5pm.

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47 E 60th Street
New York, NY
10022

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 4pm
Tuesday 10am - 4pm
Wednesday 10am - 4pm
Thursday 10am - 4pm
Friday 10am - 4pm
Saturday 10am - 5pm

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