Are books always at the top of your Christmas gift list? If so, you’ll want to take a look at two of Special Collections’ small rotating exhibits. Fine Printing: The Next Generation’s Heirlooms showcases the work of contemporary printers who value traditional methods and produce amazing, well-crafted and expertly-designed books using high-quality materials. These books …
Special Collections has a large collection of the work of the Grabhorn Press, a San Francisco fine printing establishment founded in 1920 by brothers Edwin and Robert Grabhorn. The Grabhorn Collection is comprised of books, broadsides, and ephemeral pieces produced by the press over several decades, including this undated Christmas card sent by Edwin and …
Special Collections is always acquiring new fine press books. This year, we’ve added books from important 20th century presses like the Grabhorn, Gregynog, and Golden Cockerel Presses, along with the work of contemporary artists. Here is a brief sampling:
Some of the newest acquisitions to our Fine Press collection are … Christmas cards! Many fine press printers produce holiday greetings for private individuals, and Special Collections acquires these ephemeral pieces along with books, broadsides, and other output from the fine printers we collect. The following cards (both recently acquired) were printed for the Ruth …
One of the HBLL’s current Art in the Library exhibits, Todd Stilson’s Necrocoactionism: Joint Ventures with the Deceased, features three of Special Collections’ emblem books. Emblem books originated in Europe in the 16th century. They feature images inspired by proverbs, mottoes, epigrams, and other pithy quotes, with the text printed alongside the image. Readers were …
In past months, Special Collections has added many books to our Fine Press collections. New acquisitions include examples from 20th century hand press publishers like the Hogarth Press, Cuala Press, and Grabhorn Press, as well as a number of titles from the Limited Editions Club (making our collection nearly complete!). We’ve also received a number …
November marks the bicentenary of the death of Italian printer, type designer and typographer Giambattista Bodoni. Museums in Italy have been celebrating Bodoni’s life and work throughout 2013, and typographers and graphic designers throughout the world are using the 200th anniversary of his death to inspire projects and exhibits. Born in 1740 into a family …
Now on display in Special Collections’ lobby is an assortment of printed versions of Aesop’s fables, from the 1400’s to the 2000’s. The books include Greek scholarly texts, verse translations, and adaptations for children. The majority are illustrated and range in style from crude woodcuts to detailed engravings and linocuts. Represented illustrators include John Ogilby, …