Sue Bradbury | The story of the Folio Society

TUESDAY, 4 April 2023, 7.00 P.M. VIA ZOOM

‘There is nothing on earth more exquisite than a bonny book’ [George Bernard Shaw]

The story of the Folio Society

 The Folio Society was a post war baby – the brainchild of a young serviceman, Charles Ede, who became fascinated by private presses in general and Kelmscott Press in particular, while still at school. Recently demobbed, he founded the Society in 1947 with the aim of restoring high standards of typography, illustration, printing and binding to commercially-produced books. Seventy-five years later it is still going strong. Its story is endlessly fascinating: what Folio lacked in live authors it made up for in live illustrators, translators, editors and dauntless champions of Charles’s original vision.

Sue Bradbury, OBE, joined the company in 1972 and, as it evolved, was privileged to experience every aspect from picture research, marketing, design and production, to her eventual role, from 1984 onwards, as Editorial Director. She remained involved with Folio for over 40 years and loved every minute of it.