Good humoured search for books

BOOK lovers are being invited to do some detective work to help find two missing books from the 18th century that may shed further light on a recently discovered York society called The Good Humour Club.
By The Newsroom
Published 24th Jun 2013, 02:00 BST

The Laurence Sterne Trust at Shandy Hall, Coxwold, is appealing for information that might help find the books, which contain the society minutes.

Shandy Hall’s team of university and volunteer researchers is certain that there were four volumes of minutes for the Good Humour Club in total, thought to span the period between 1725 and 1800.

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Book Two, from 1743, is in the collection at Shandy Hall and Book Four has been located in York Minster Library.

The search is now on for Books One and Three.

Reuniting these unique books could unlock a fascinating piece of York’s social history, and they could be in someone’s attic.

The Good Humour Club was an 18th century society which celebrated the importance of good food and good friends.

Members were men from a variety of backgrounds; clergymen and doctors rubbed shoulders with master craftsmen and prosperous shop-keepers at weekly meetings, where a good supper and a steady supply of punch could be had.

The club met in Sunton’s Coffee-House on Coney Street. For more details visit the trust website.

Related topics:York