Collection context
Summary
- Title:
- Records of Los Compadres
- Dates:
- 1958-
- Creators:
- Los Compadres
- Abstract:
- The collection consists of the historical records reflecting the activities and interests of Los Compadres, a bibliographic society based in Orange County, California.
- Extent:
- 12 document boxes; 1 oversize folder.
- Language:
- Preferred citation:
-
[identification of item], Folder [#], Box [#],Records of Los Compadres. Sherman Library, Corona del Mar, California
Background
- Scope and content:
-
The collection consists of the historical records reflecting the activities and interests of Los Compadres, a bibliographic society based in Orange County, California. These include correspondence, organizational files, financial records, photographs, membership materials, meeting announcements and information, publication project files, and ephemera. Of note in the collection are materials related to the publication of the organization’s twentieth anniversary volume written by historian Don Meadows, Los Compadres: The First Twenty Years (1978) and photographs of an early trip to Anza Borrego by Los Compadres members in 1960. The records related to the organization’s meetings provide an excellent record of the group’s activities and documents a “who’s who" of distinguished speakers from various corners of the bibliographic world.
- Biographical / historical:
-
On the evening of February 8, 1958, Hank Givens, publisher of the Santa Ana Independent, gathered a group together at his Tustin home to discuss books and book collecting. Originally calling themselves the Bibliophile Society of Orange County, the group was later renamed Los Compadres. The original members included Hank Givens, Dwight Hamilton, Pat Patterson, Horace Parker, Ed Rice, Bill Rasmussen, and Don Meadows. Although it was not until 1966 that Los Compadres would formally codify its existence through the creation of a Constitution, they adopted the motto, “United by a love of books, art, history, and literature."
It was not until the following year that Los Compadres began meeting monthly on Saturday mornings, and their meeting sites changed from private homes to public venues. First meeting at the Villa Marina in Newport Beach, they moved to the Saddleback Inn in Santa Ana in 1966 and then to Irvine’s Airporter Inn in 1972. Finally, Los Compadres settled in to a regular meeting schedule at the Sherman Library and Gardens, where the organization has gathered since 1976. Although founded as a men’s social organization, Los Compadres began holding an annual breakfast meeting in honor of their wives and sweethearts in 1969; today these special gatherings are held in February to coincide with Valentine’s Day. In 2008 the first female members were admitted.
The organization is administered by a Governing Board and three officers: El Viejo (President), El Jefe (Vice-President), and El Escribano (Secretary and Treasurer). Currently, there are forty-four members of Los Compadres, and the organization meets on the second Saturday of each month except during the months of July and August. Over the years, erudite bibliophiles, librarians, printers, writers, book dealers, historians, biographers, and scientists have presented a varied range of programs at the gatherings and occasionally excursions undertaken for meetings which included visits to binderies, personal residences, and other destinations of interest to Los Compadres.
- Acquisition information:
- Portions of the collection were collected over the years by William O. Hendricks; additional materials were donated by Stuart F. Robinson in July 2007 and by Jim Lorson in October 2007.
- Arrangement:
-
This collection is arranged into the following series:
- Organizational Records
- Financial Records
- Correspondence
- Membership Records
- Meeting Records
- Publications
- Photographs
- Keepsakes
- Miscellany
Indexed terms
About this collection guide
- Date Prepared:
- 2018
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Collection is open for research.
- Terms of access:
-
Property rights to the physical object belong to the Sherman Library. Literary rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The Sherman Library do not hold the copyright.
- Preferred citation:
-
[identification of item], Folder [#], Box [#],Records of Los Compadres. Sherman Library, Corona del Mar, California
- Location of this collection:
-
614 Dahlia Ave.Corona del Mar, CA 92625, US
- Contact:
- (949) 673-1880