The Trials and Tribulations of a Woman Book Collector

In the early 20^th century American book collecting reached the peak of its popularity.  Not coincidentally, A. Edward Newton wrote a number of inspirational books about books during this time, the most famous being The Amenities of Book Collecting (1918). The vast majority of inspired collectors were men.  Women book collectors in fact have always been fairly rare.  Did women—although heavy readers--just not collect books or were there barriers preventing them from participating at the highest levels?   One contemporary woman collector was bold enough to express her feelings in print tinged heavily with frustration.  Genevieve Earle’s essay described below first appeared in the August 1933 issue of Charles Heartman’s magazine, The American Book Collector.  Earle published the essay separately in a now very scarce pamphlet as a Christmas greeting.  The format was modeled after similar pamphlets issued yearly by A. Edward Newton.