THE HISTORY OF

TAURINE BIBLIOPHILES OF AMERICA

This unique Peña was founded by Bob Archibald of Scituate, Massachusetts (a suburb of Boston). Although the name defined the organization as an American entity, even then, among the original eleven members, there was one gentleman from Scotland!

TBA's main objective was (and is) to foster "the mutual interest in collecting books relating to La Fiesta Brava and to enable the exchange of ideas of aficionados."

How did such a tiny club become known? Jim Fergus (our first Honorary Member) placed a small ad in the September, 1964 issue of his TOROS magazine, headed "Attention Book Collectors..." That ad gave us enough empetus to embark with eleven members. From the beginning, our newsletter, La Busca (The Search), published monthly until the past decade, was our prime medium of communication.

Our first Secretary/Editor, was Nancy Slayton of Peña Taurina Sol y Sombra. Her untimely death in 1982 led to the creation of the NATC Nancy Slayton Award. During George Smith's term as TBA's second president, the NATC George B. Smith Arts & Letters Medal was established (with George the first award winner).

Returning to our original purposes, we wanted:

  1. 1. A cooperative Book Search
  2. 2. Recognition for remote aficion
  3. 3. Lobby pressure for more taurine literature and news
  4. 4. News medium for book sales, magazine articles, etc.

Today, TBA stands 135-members strong, spread throughout the USA and in seven other countries.

In closing, we repeat what La Busca printed in 1966: "be sure to tell them, 'You're joining a club of taurine bibliophiles; you're not buying a subscription to a magazine!'"

by Bob Archibald

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Last updated: 1 August 1996
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