Book Artifacts Collection, circa 2345 B.C.-1993 A.D., bulk circa 1510-1976

Summary

Abstract:

The Book Artifacts Collection contains material relating to the development of writing, the history of printing, and the book arts (circa 2345 B.C.-1993 A.D.). This collection of artifacts and other realia illustrates various aspects of book production and design, from early cuneiform clay tablets, papyri, seals, and other writing materials, book curiosities and miniature books to the 20th century book, including printing presses and later 20th century printing devices. The bulk of the collection deals with hand and machine printing and binding. The collection includes specimens of various types of binding, binder's tools and equipment; illustration, relief, photographic and photomechanical processes; paper-making; practical pressroom and composing room equipment and presses; type design, type founding, and type-setting; music engraving; cartography; and specialty printing.

Extent:

ca. 1360 items (4 selected digital objects)

Language:

Collection materials are in Multiple languages

Background

Scope and content:

The Book Artifacts Collection contains material relating to the development of writing, the history of printing, and the book arts (circa 2345 B.C.-1993 A.D.). This collection of artifacts and other realia illustrates various aspects of book production and design, from early cuneiform clay tablets, papyri, seals, and other writing materials, to book curiosities, miniature books, and the 20th century book, including printing presses and later 20th century printing devices. The bulk of the collection consists of hand and machine printing and binding. The collection includes specimens of various types of binding, binder's tools and equipment; illustration, relief, photographic and photomechanical processes; paper-making; practical pressroom and composing room equipment and presses; type design, type founding, and type-setting; music engraving; cartography; and specialty printing.

The collection comprises materials that have come from a variety of sources, mostly through gifts and donations. Leslie Clark, who was in charge of rare books and book artifacts until her death in 1979, devised the original classification scheme, which is composed of nineteen series that are alphanumerically ordered from A5 to Z(0-6). The Guide to the Book Artifacts Collection (Flora Elizabeth Reynolds, 2nd, 1999) (the “Guide”) provides an overview of the collection at a series level and cursory overview at the item level. The series level descriptions from the Guide are included in this finding aid. The Register for the Book Artifacts Collection (the “Register”) is composed of four volumes and provides a complete description of the collection at an item level and detailed subject and name index for the collection circa 1986; the Guide includes additional updates to the collection between 1986-1999. This finding aid references both the Register and the Guide to provide for the most comprehensive and consistent series, sub-series and item level descriptions of the artifacts in the collection. The Register has been transcribed into this finding aid to the extent that it could be copied. Therefore, pages that include decorations or hand-written notes were not transcribed. However, the Register has been digitized and is available in four searchable PDF documents (one PDF document per volume) with this finding aid.

The majority of this collection consists of artifacts that relate to the processes of hand and machine printing and binding. Series B5 and Series B6 include materials relating to case, or commercial bookbinding and the hand binding of books, respectively. Series B6 is a large collection that includes sewing supplies, nipping presses, finishing tools, and illustrations of the hand binding process. Series D4 is the Cheri Archive, which includes Peter Koch’s records and working papers for the production of an English translation of Colette’s novel Cheri. Series F6, Format, Imposition, Register and Folding, includes a series of imposition examples, which represent the important pre-press process of arranging the printed book’s pages on a printer’s sheet to allow for faster printing and easier binding. Series I4 and I5, Design, Decoration, and Illustration, contain artifacts and examples of design, decoration and illustration in books. Series I4, Hand Illumination, includes an example of hand illumination. Series I5, Intaglio and Relief Processes, consists of woodblocks, woodcuts, wood engravings, etching and linocuts. Series I52, Electrotyping and Stereotyping, includes electrotyping and stereotyping plates for the reproduction of illustrations and other printed matter. Series I53, Photographic Processes, consists of halftone photoengravings and lithography. Series I54, Photochemical Processes, relates to photochemical processes such as photopolymer printing. Series I55, Prints, Proofs and Drawings, includes examples of various printing processes such as woodblocks, woodcuts, wood engravings, and photoengravings. Series P2, Papermaking and Trade, Handmade Paper and Machine-Made Paper, includes equipment for papermaking and samples of hand-made and machine-made paper. Series P7, Practical Printing, Pressroom and Composing Equipment, contains printing tools, types and equipment. Many of these items are in the Press Room of The Bancroft Library and are used for demonstrations on the principles of hand printing. Series T8, Typography, consists of specimens of movable type, matrices, punches and counterpunches. Subseries T86, Casting and setting by machine, includes displays that illustrate the principles of casting type by machine, a collection of typecast ornaments from the Merrymount Press and John Henry Nash, assembled matrices and examples of forms on monotype and linotype machines, and, finally, examples of stereotyping plates.

The remaining portion of the collection consists of the following Series: Alphabets, Writing Materials, and Writings in Various Forms (Series A5); Music Engraving (Series V2); Map printing (Series V3); Specialty printing (Series W2); and Supplementary Collections (Series Z). Series A5 includes hieroglyphic inscriptions on a fragment of limestone (ca. 2345-2330 B.C.), Sumerian Cuneiform writing on clay tablets from the third millennium B.C., examples of alphabets and letterforms, pens, and book curiosities such as miniature and microscopic books. The music engraving collection, Series V2, belonged to one of the last music engravers in the United States, Richard B. Pettit. Series W2 includes specialty printing from the Panama-Pacific International Exposition. Series Z includes historical artifacts, the Beulah Mitchell Clute Collection, seals, book arts medals, materials relating to the printing the guide, and commemorative postage stamps.

Acquisition information:

Items from various sources, including gifts to the library.

Physical location:

Many of the Bancroft Library collections are stored offsite and advance notice may be required for use. For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the library's online catalog.

Rules or conventions:

Finding Aid prepared using Describing Archives: a Content Standard

Note:

The Guide of the Book Artifacts Collection, by Flora Elizabeth Reynolds is located in the Main (Gardner) Stacks and in The Bancroft Library Reference Collection under the call number Z116.A3 R49 1999. The Register and Index to the BART Collection is located in The Bancroft Library reference desk under the call number E13.B23 R44 1986.

Location of this collection:

UC Berkeley, Bancroft Library

University of California, Berkeley, The Bancroft Library

Berkeley, CA 94720-6000, US

Contact:

510-642-6481

bancref-library@berkeley.edu

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