Finding Aid for the Ted Freedman Papers 1935-1966

Processed by .
William Andrews Clark Memorial Library
University of California, Los Angeles
2520 Cimarron Street
Los Angeles, CA 90018
Phone: (323) 731-8529
Fax: (323) 731-8617
Email: rfenning@humnet.ucla.edu
URL: http://www.humnet.ucla.edu/humnet/clarklib/
©2009
The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.


Descriptive Summary

Title: Ted Freedman Papers,
Date (inclusive): 1935-1966
Collection number: Press Coll. Archives Freedman
Creator: Freedman, Ted, 1906-
Extent: 3 boxes (1.75 linear feet)
Repository: University of California, Los Angeles. Library. William Andrews Clark Memorial Library
Los Angeles, California 90095-1490
Abstract: This collection contains correspondence, ephemera, photographs and other materials collected by Ted Freedman, from 1935-1966. Many items were printed under his personal imprint, the Platen Press.
Physical location: This collection is stored at the Southern Regional Library Facility. Please contact Clark Library staff at least 2 weeks in advance if you would like to view the materials in this collection.
Language of Material: Collection materials in English

Access

Collection is open for research.

Publication Rights

Copyright has not been assigned to the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library, UCLA. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Clark Librarian. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library, UCLA as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Ted Freedman Papers, Press Coll. Archives Freedman, William Andrews Clark Memorial Library, University of California, Los Angeles.

Acquisition Information

Items in this collection were assembled over time by the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library.

Processing History

The collection was arranged previously by another individual, and rearranged slightly in November 2009 by Ashley Johnston.

Biography

Ted Freedman was a printer with the University of California Press in Berkeley and also enjoyed printing as a hobby. Freedman lived in Los Angeles when he published his first work under the Platen Press imprint in 1935, Annunciation by Meridel Le Sueur, in an edition of five hundred copies signed by the author. He moved to Orinda, CA and after receiving a Pilot platen press as a gift in August 1944, he began printing under the Platen Press imprint there. Freedman printed a variety of items, from greeting cards to business cards, and distributed them to members of groups interested in fine printing, such as the Rounce & Coffin Club and the Typophiles.

Scope and Content

This collection contains correspondence, ephemera, photographs and other materials written and collected by Ted Freedman, a Bay Area printer, from 1935-1966. The correspondence is primarily Freedman's letters to H. Richard Archer but other correspondents include two members of the Southern California printing community, William Cheney and Grant Dahlstrom. Many of the printed items were printed under Freedman's personal imprint, the Platen Press, in Orinda, CA. The collection was arranged previously by another individual, and rearranged slightly in November 2009. Series are organized thematically, and then further sorted chronologically when possible.

Arrangement

The collection is organized into the following series:
  • Series 1. Correspondence, 1949-1962. 1 box
  • Series 2. Ephemera, 1935-1966. 2 boxes

Related Material

Ted Freedman Papers, BANC MSS 79/79 c, The Bancroft Library, Universtity of California, Berkeley. Finding aid available online. 

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Subjects

Hippogryph Press.
Platen Press.
Archer, H. Richard (Horace Richard), 1911-1978, correspondent.
Cheney, William Murray, 1907-, correspondent.
Dahlstrom, Grant Edward, correspondent.
Everson, William, 1912-1994.
Fruge´, August, 1909-2004.
Printers--California--20th century.
Private presses--California--20th century.
Ritchie, Ward, 1905-1996.
Rounce & Coffin Club.
Small presses--California--20th century.
Typophiles (New York, N.Y.)

Genres and Forms

Ephemera--California--20th century.
Letters--California--20th century.


 

Series 1. Correspondence 1949-1962

Physical Description: 1 box

Scope and Content Note

Includes letters written to other fine press printers, primarily H. Richard Archer, William Cheney and Grant Dahlstrom and a few replies from Archer. In addition to personal correspondence, printing groups like the Rounce & Coffin Club and printing techniques are discussed.

Arrangement

The collection was arranged previously by another individual, and rearranged slightly in November 2009. Series are organized thematically, and then further sorted chronologically when possible.
Box 1, Folder 1-4

Ted Freedman Letters to H. Richard Archer, 1949-1961

Scope and Content Note

Includes proofs, ephemera, slides, and photographs.
Box 1, Folder 5

H. Richard Archer Letters to Ted Freedman, 1951-1962

Box 1, Folder 6

Ted Freedman Letters to William Cheney, 1950-1954

Scope and Content Note

Includes clippings and ephemera.
Box 1, Folder 7

Freedman to Archer, Cheney and Grant Dahlstrom from the Grant Dahlstrom Collection, 1952-1954

Box 1, Folder 8

Ted Freedman Miscellaneous Correspondence, 1940-1955

Physical Description: 9 letters

Scope and Content Note

Includes ephemera.
 

Series 2. Ephemera 1935-1966

Physical Description: 2 boxes

Scope and Content Note

Includes proofs, broadsheets, photographs and other materials printed by the Platen Press and sent to printers with Freedman's correspondence.
Box 2, Folder 1

Annunciation by Meridel Le Sueur, 1935

Scope and Content Note

Signed by the author.
Box 2, Folder 2

Fine Printing in the Far West by Oscar Lewis, 1946

Box 2, Folder 3

At the Stevenson Fountain by Wallace Irwin, 1947

Note

Includes handwritten note: "Proof until issued by Book Club."
Box 2, Folder 4

In Memoriam, Burton Spencer Abbott, 1947

Box 2, Folder 5

Paul A. Bennett visits the University of California Press, 1947

Box 2, Folder 6

A Sonnet to the Statue of Liberty, The New Colossus by Emma Lazarus, 1947

Box 2, Folder 7

Common Language in a Printing Office of 1501 Addressed to the Elementary Teacher, 1948

Box 2, Folder 8

Concerning Thomas James, Typefounder, 1948

Note

1 copy printed by Platen Press "for its friends and acquaintances" and 2 copies printed by Platen Press "for the members of the Rounce & Coffin Club."
Box 2, Folder 9

The Mantua Makers, a poem, 1949

Scope and Content Note

Includes ephemera.
Box 2, Folder 10

My Books by Leigh Hunt, 1949

Box 2, Folder 11

1951 Catalog of the Tenth Exhibition of Western Books, 1951

Box 2, Folder 12

Far Afield #4, Winter, 1951-1952

Box 2, Folder 13

The California Star, 1952

Box 2, Folder 14

Our Malady by A. Powell Davies, 1953

Box 2, Folder 15

Can We Be Saints? by Henry F. Pommer, 1954

Box 2, Folder 16

Honoring Dorothy Abbe, 1956

Box 2, Folder 17

Gorwynion Y. Gauav : The Brilliance of Winter, undated

Box 2, Folder 18

"Your Affectionate Friend, B. Franklin" booklet, undated

Box 2, Folder 19

Photographs, 1949-1952

Box 2, Folder 20

Christmas cards, 1944-1964, undated

Box 2, Folder 21

Postcards, 1949-1966, undated

Box 2, Folder 22

Bookplates, undated

Box 2, Folder 23

Ephemera, 1948-1958, undated

Box 2, Folder 24

Empty Envelopes, undated

Box 3

Oversized Ephemera, 1940-41, 1950-1957, undated

Physical Description: 9 items

Scope and Content Note

Includes a local news article on Freedman, letters, photographs, proofs and other items.