Descriptive Summary
Access
Publication Rights
Preferred Citation
Acquisition Information
Adminstrative History
Scope and Content of Collection
Indexing Terms
Descriptive Summary
Title: Records of Los Compadres
Dates: 1958-
Collection Number: 2018_02
Creator/Collector:
Los Compadres
Extent: 12 document boxes; 1 oversize folder.
Repository:
Sherman Library & Gardens
Corona del Mar, California 92625
Abstract: The collection consists of the historical records reflecting
the activities and interests of Los Compadres, a bibliographic society based in
Orange County, California.
Language of Material: English
Access
Collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
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
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.
Adminstrative History
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.
Scope and Content of Collection
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.
Arrangement
This collection is arranged into the following series:
- Organizational Records
- Financial Records
- Correspondence
- Membership Records
- Meeting Records
- Publications
- Photographs
- Keepsakes
- Miscellany
Indexing Terms
Los Compadres
Book collectors – California – Orange County – History – Sources.
Orange County (Calif.) – History – 20th century – Sources.