Jan 22, 2019 You are invited ~~ Ninth Annual Book Collector’s Evening

Tuesday, February 12
6:00PM
Alta Club
100 East South Temple
Salt Lake City, Utah

A Rare Book Rogue in Texas: The Crimes and Misdemeanors of Johnny Jenkins

In 1975, John Jenkins engineered the largest rare book coup of the twentieth century – the purchase of the legendary Eberstadt inventory of rare Americana for nearly three million dollars (about $35 million in 2019 terms). His career as an antiquarian began long before that. Among other feats, he authored a massive bibliographical guide to the history of Texas. He dabbled in movies, helping to finance The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. He invested in oil wells. He helped the FBI recover stolen Audubon copperplate engravings. He was a high-stakes poker player. And he let forgeries of Texas historical documents pass through his should-have-known-better hands. He was shot in the back of the head along the Colorado River. His death is still a mystery.

Please join Friends of the Library, University of Utah for our 9th Annual Book Collector’s Evening, when we welcome Michael Vinson as our guest speaker. Michael is a specialist in Western Americana, appraising for Sotheby’s and the PBS program, “Antiques Roadshow.” He is often consulted about rare book crimes by The New York Times and Boston Public Radio’s WGBH. He is the author of several books and articles.

Our evening includes dinner, a silent auction, and a hands-on display of books from the Rare Books Department, selected from Jenkins’ Basic Texas Books.

Tickets are $60 per person.

RSVP by February 8th, 2019 to Judy Jarrow judy.jarrow@utah.edu or 801-581-3421

Image taken from A Texas Matchmaker by Andy Adams, 1904