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LIBRARY MUG FUND COLLECTION
Beginning in 1899, Club member and head of the library William Henry Shelton (1840-1932) commissioned blank ceramic mugs to be painted by members and auctioned off to support the library fund (later called the library “Mug Fund.”)
Fellow artist member Charles Volkmar who ran a ceramic factory produced the mugs for the Salmagundi. Over the years, some of the mugs have been bought back by members and donated to the club to preserve their important history. The Club currently owns approximately 80 examples. Mugs were produced between 1899 and 1924, auctioning 24 per year. There are possibly 600 mugs that exist.
The library owns research binder prepared by Bob Muller documenting every sale of the mugs by year as well as the official ‘Mug book’ which documented the sales by the library committee.