Dartmouth College Library
Collection Management & Development Program
Collection Development Policy
RARE BOOKS: PRESSES
- COLLECTION AREA
- GENERAL PURPOSE
- DARTMOUTH COLLEGE PROGRAM
- GENERAL SUBJECT BOUNDARIES
- LANGUAGES
- GEOGRAPHIC AREAS
- TYPES OF MATERIALS COLLECTED
- FORMAT OF MATERIALS COLLECTED
- OTHER RESOURCES AVAILABLE
- CREATION DATE
- REVISION DATE
- BIBLIOGRAPHER
Rare Books: Presses (Special Collections)
The collection seeks to reflect -- sometimes by example and sometimes by comprehensive coverage -- the history and ongoing development of printing and the book arts. Emphasis is on the traditional formats and ink-on-paper processes, but experimental productions -- especially from presses which are collected intensively -- are acquired. Archives of specific presses and other bodies of papers complement the printed resources.
The College has long emphasized a humanistic approach to the development of knowledge and society, and especially in the media through which the arts and sciences are communicated and in which they are preserved. Historically the principal medium has been the printed word; the Presses Collection focuses on the development, refinement, and experimental future of that medium, collecting both older works (principally by gift) and modern ones (principally by purchase).
The Presses Collection has been especially important to the establishment and ongoing program of the new Book Arts Workshop, a fully-equipped hand-press shop within Baker Library.
The subject matter is related tangentially to all manner of curricular work in many fields and directly to the programs in English, History, Art, Drama, and those of the Hopkins Center and the Hood Museum.
- Printing History. Collected are examples from famous presses of all periods, e.g., sixteenth and seventeenth centuries (Aldus, Estienne, Plantin, Elzevir), more recent British and American (Daniel, Kelmscott, Vale, Ashendene, Doves, Pickering, Village, Merrymount, Grabhorn, Lakeside). Fifteenth century imprints are assigned to the Incunabula Collection, which can be considered a closely associated collection.
- Modern Presses and Fine Printing. The collection's development strives to keep abreast of advances in both traditional and experimental fine printing. See also Collection Development Guide for Fine Arts.
- Designers and Society Publications. The work of many famous designers is collected (e.g., Rudolph Ruzicka, Bruce Rogers), as are issuances of certain bibliographic societies, such as the Grolier Club, the Limited Editions Club, and the Bibliophile Society.
- Standing orders are maintained -- and complete or near-complete coverage attempted -- for the following: Arion, Ewert, Pennyroyal, Janus, Stinehour, and Typographeum.
There are no specific exclusions, although the overwhelming majority of material is in English (or, for earlier works, Latin).
Earlier works are principally from western Europe, Britain, and (since the early eighteenth century) the North American continent. Heavy emphasis is placed on New England printers. Other collections focusing on new England imprints include New Hampshire Imprints, The 1926 Memorial Collection (illustrated 1769-1869 New England imprints), Gilman, Chase-Streeter Railroads, and Isaiah Thomas.
Modern fine press publications from New Hampshire and Vermont are particularly sought (e.g., Typographeum, Janus, Ewert, Stinehour).
The above notwithstanding, there are no exclusive geographical limits.
Manuscript material associated with modern presses is generally limited to the New England-New York region.
Principal emphasis is on the traditional monograph. There are a few serials. Ephemeral material relating to specific presses (e.g., announcements, invitations, prospectuses) is usually retained in "miscellaneous uncataloged" folders or boxes.
The traditional book format (ink-on-paper leaves bound within covered boards or wrappers) predominates. Also collected are single leaves, broadsides, pamphlets, printers' proofs, and experimental, non-traditional formats.
Manuscripts are as defined in the general manuscript policy statement. Also to be found -- particularly in bodies of papers of presses or individuals -- are drawings, engravings, printing plates and blocks, etc.
Dartmouth's resources in printing and the book arts are complemented by fine collections in other institutions, each with different emphases. Many of these collections are located at Research Libraries Group members, the New York Public Library's collection being perhaps the finest overall. Lending to and from these libraries provides backup for both their and our research in this area.
July 1985 (Stanley Brown)
April 1994
Stanley W. Brown
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Last updated February 18, 1999 by: CMDC@Dartmouth.Edu (jdh)