Don't know what to do with that collection of rare 19th-century cookbooks you have lying around your room?
The Margaret B. Stillwell Prize for outstanding student collections of rare, interesting or unique books, established in 1984 by the bibliophilic John Russell Bartlett Society, will award three undergraduates with up to $750 this semester.
Stillwell was the Curator of the Annmary Brown Memorial from 1917 to 1953. The prize was named in her honor because of her efforts to promote serious book collecting.
The number of competitors varies each year, with up to 10 applicants at its peak. Applicants submit a short essay, giving an overview of their collection and expressing their book-collecting aspirations.
From that pool, four to six finalists are chosen and present their collections to a panel of Bartlett Society judges, who choose a winner based on five-minute speeches.
Winning isn't everything, however. Simply attending the competition is often an entertaining experience.
One past applicant, Matthew Brenckle '01, who did not receive a prize, dressed in a British shipsman outfit to promote his book collection, which focused on British maritime history, said Richard Ring, reference and acquisitions librarian for the John Carter Brown Library and a member of the Bartlett Society. The collection of another applicant, Amy Lichtenbaum '01, consisted entirely of teenage advice manuals.
"It was fun to hear people talk about something special to them," said Rebecca Sadun '02, winner of the contest in 2002.
Being around other interested book-collectors was exciting and it validated her own interest in collecting, she said.
Other activities are often brought to the competition. This year, Nicholas Basbanes, author of "A Splendor of Letters" and other works on words and book collecting, will have a signing at the finalists' showing.
The intention behind the contest is to "encourage young collectors and to give them a venue," Ring said.
Some libraries have offered to show the winning collections, he said, providing exposure and perhaps even generating more interest in book collecting.
The Stillwell Prize, in addition to providing an immediate reward to young collectors, has more long-lasting effects.
Prize winner Suzanne Karr '01, who is now working on her dissertation at Yale University on Renaissance pop-up books, said that while doing research she attended a class at the University of Virginia.
"The teacher was on the (Stillwell prize) panel," she said. "He remembered me and actually brought it up," telling the class that Karr had a wonderful collection on artificial flowers.
Sadun, who won the prize with her collection on "The Birth of Science and the Birth of Mankind," had a different experience - though it was still made possible by the Stillwell Prize.
While in England with two friends, Sadun came across the complete works of T.H. Huxley, all first editions in perfect condition. After a bit of haggling, said Sadun, "the prize money was the same amount as the books!"
"Without a doubt, the prize money allowed me to make my ... purchase," she said.
Both Karr and Sadun continued their collections after winning the award, and both agreed that collectors should purchase books on a subject they love.
"Collect what you're interested in. It doesn't matter what it's really worth," advised Karr.
"(Famous collections) all started with somebody collecting books because they were passionate about it," Ring said.
The Stillwell Prize's most important effect is encouraging collectors to continue their work, he said.
He added that the Library of Congress, the largest library in the world with close to 128 million items, was started by a well-known book collector, Thomas Jefferson.
"In a larger view ... every major institutional collection started with an amateur collector," Ring said.
Those interested in applying should e-mail Richard_Ring@brown.edu.
