Restrictions on Access
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
Preferred Citation
UCLA Catalog Record ID
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Biography/History
Scope and Content
Arrangement note
Title: Har-ma Press Records
Identifier/Call Number: LSC.2181
Contributing Institution:
UCLA Library Special Collections
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
0.2 linear feet
(1 box)
Date: 1979-1984
Abstract: Correspondence between Muir Dawson, Harold Smith, and Roger Levenson, and other documents regarding the development, manufacture
and sale of the Har-ma printing press.
Language of Materials: English
Physical Location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library Special
Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Creator:
Har-Ma Press.
Restrictions on Access
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Open for research. Advance notice required for access. Contact the UCLA Library Special
Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library Special Collections. Literary rights, including copyright,
are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright
and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Har-ma Press Records (Collection 2181). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research
Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
UCLA Catalog Record ID
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Purchase, 2013.
Biography/History
The Har-ma Press was invented in the late 1970s by Harold Smith, an engineer from Sacramento, California. The name of the
press is derived from the first three letters of Harold Smith's first name and the last two letters of his wife, Alma's first
name. Harold and Alma Smith worked closely as authors and printers.
In 1978, the Har-ma caught the eye of Roger Levenson, printer and proprietor of Tamalpais Press, during a demonstration by
Smith at a printer's fair. Levenson immediately ordered one for himself, and Smith subsequently consulted Levenson on design
improvements as he built additional presses. Levenson also recommended the Har-ma to Muir Dawson, owner and operator of Dawson's
Bookshop in Los Angeles. Dawson purchased a Har-ma press for the bookshop, and arranged the sale of several others, including
one to UCLA. Smith built a total of 15 presses: a prototype numbered 0 and numbers 1-16, but no number 13. Harold Smith died
in 1999.
Scope and Content
Materials documenting the development of the Har-ma printing press, invented by Harold Smith. Includes sales information,
correspondence documenting bookseller Muir Dawson's relationship with Harold Smith during the years Smith built the presses,
operating instructions, a list of the locations of each press, and two artists' books produced on a Har-ma press.
Arrangement note
Collection arranged by subject.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Dawson, Muir
Levenson, Roger, 1914-1994
Smith, Harold
Hand presses
Printing presses