This author was lucky enough to gain an audience with William H. Helfand, the curator and collector behind The Grolier Club’s current exhibit, “Quack, Quack, Quack: The Sellers of Nostrums in Prints, Posters, Ephemera & Books.” The results of this talk follow below. “AT” refers to the interviewer, Abby Tallmer; “WHH” refers to the interviewee, Mr. Helfand.
AT : Why don’t you start by discussing The Grolier Club for AE Monthly readers who may not be familiar with it?
WHH: Absolutely. The Grolier Club is a private club in New York City that consists of book and print collectors, librarians, auctioneers, and other members of the rare book world. The club puts on 4 to 5 exhibits per year, each of which last for a couple of months. This exhibit was curated by me from my collection of printed materials on quackery. The next exhibit will be a group show: Grolier members will post or enter 1 to 2 pieces each from their own collections.
AT: Can you tell me a bit about your idea for this exhibit?
WHH: This exhibit is trying to trace an idea throughout the years, an intellectual history told through books and prints and other materials, if you will. The exhibit is anchored around (& limited by) what is in my collection. Because I have a lot of posters, advertising brochures, and illustrations, I included those as well as books and pamphlets and broadsides.