Guide to Roxburghe Club Keepsakes collection Printers Mss 105
Processed and Finding Aid: Emily Corb, Encoded by: Beaudry Allen
UC Santa Barbara Library, Department of Special Research Collections
August 2018
University of California, Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara 93106-9010
special@library.ucsb.edu
Language of Material:
Multiple languages
Contributing Institution:
UC Santa Barbara Library, Department of Special Research Collections
Title: Roxburghe Club Keepsakes collection
Identifier/Call Number: Printers Mss 105
Physical Description:
4 linear feet
(4 flat boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1905 - 1969
Date (bulk): 1929-1956
Abstract: A collection of keepsakes and ephemera from The Roxburghe Club of San Francisco, the majority of which were limited edition
prints as commemorative items. The collection includes published and unpublished prints, drafts and samples, club invitations,
and announcements.
Language of Material: English, French, German, Russian, and Tibetan
Physical Location: Special Research Collections, UCSB Library
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open for research.
Accruals
Purchase, 2018.
Related Materials
Roxburghe Club Collection. Printers Mss 105. Department of Special Research Collections, UCSB Library, University of California,
Santa Barbara.
Biographical / Historical
Established in 1812 by bibliophiles of the United Kingdom, the Roxburghe Club has dedicated itself to the reproduction and
collection of unpublished or rare works, as well as the general appreciation for printing. The Roxburghe Club was populated
by nobility and scholars at the dawn of the Romantic period, during which "bibliomania" and literary collections became widely
popular.
In honor of this society, The Roxburghe Club was formed in San Francisco on April 3, 1928. Much of the impetus for creating
the Roxburghe Club of San Francisco was provided by Carl I. Wheat, historian, lawyer, and book collector. The purpose of the
club was to further the love of fine printing and books. Members include book collectors and booksellers, fine book printers
and binders. Over the years, hundreds of announcements, keepsakes, and other letterpress items have been printed by members,
as typographic souvenirs and gifts for the enjoyment of the membership.
Scope and Contents
This collection is primarily consists of keepsakes and epherma privately printed by the Roxburghe Club of San Francisco for
its members between 1929 and 1969. Objects include invitions to meetings, lectures and exhibitions, reproductions of rare
or famous literature and prints, exhibition checklists, and samples of different printing papers and font types. Some items
were not printed by the Roxburghe Club, but were products of another bibliograpjical society in San Francisco, the Zamarano
Club, as well as E. Vitus Clampus, a fraternal society dedicated to the preservation of Western history.
This collection mainly relates to events, exhibitions, and membership of the Roxburghe Club of San Francisco, as well as a
source of valuable historical context for printing and bibliographical societies. Among these keepsakes are also reproductions
of rare printed items.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged into three series:
Invitiations,
Reproductions and excerpts, and
Members' keepsake books.
Series I.
Invitations Series I.
1929-1969
box 1, folder 1, box 4, folder 1
Invitations
1929 - 1969
Scope and Contents
Invitations to club meetings, lectures, exhibitions, and dinners. Organized by year.
box 1, folder 2, box 4, folder 2
Invitations (broadsides)
1953 -1956
Scope and Contents
Includes nine invitations in the style of broadsides.
box 1, folder 3
E. Clampus Vitus invitations
1954 - 1955
Scope and Contents
Two invitations entitled "Wellerisms,"1955 and "Clamproclomation!,"
1954.
Series II.
Reproductions and excerpts
1905-1966
box 2, folder 1
Roxburghe Club of San Francisco Fine Printing (Letterpress) publications keepsakes
1946-1957
Scope and Contents
Five that are excerpts or reproductions of published materials, including articles, lyrics, and political cartoons, from the
Roxburghe club of San Francisco Fine Printing (letterpress) publications.
"The Lark," 1957
Description: A booklet containing a reproduction of the twenty-fourth addition to a series of writings titled "The Epi-Lark"
by Thomas Campbell, originally written in 1897. Written by Thomas Campbell.
"Eight Lyrics" by William Shakespere,1946
Description: A booklet containing a small collection of Lyrics written by William Shakespere.
"Mapping the American West," 1956 by Carl Irving Wheat. Preface by David Magee
An Hour's Walk Through Yerba Buena, second edition, 1957
Printed for the Roxburghe Club of San Fransisco. Preface by David Magee. Printed by Lawton Kennedy.
"A Crocodile Snarls, Squawks and Chuckles!," 1955
box 2, folder 2
Event commemoration and keepsakes
1929 - 1957
Scope and Contents
Includes letters, announcements, and programs of Roxburghe club events.
box 2, folder 3, box 4, folder 3
Samples
1926 - 1966
Scope and Contents
Includes samples and drafts font types and printing papers, as well as a number of limited edition reproductions of prints
and texts from printing companies. Many distributed by Linweave Limited Editions.
box 2, folder 4
Exhibition catalogs and collections
1946 - 1958
Scope and Contents
Nine catalogs for exhibitions and compiled selections from collections.
box 2, folder 5
Reproductions and excerpts
1946 - 1957
box 2, folder 6
Lhasa, Tibet print
1951
Language of Material: Tibetan, English
Scope and Contents
A loose-leaf print bought from Kalimpong, India, by Francis P. Farquhar, presented to the members of The Roxburghe Club of
San Francisco.
box 3, folder 1
The Hand of Zamarano
1956
Scope and Contents
A facsimile reproduction of a manuscript on California in 1829 for the Zamorano Club of Los Angeles. One of 250 copies. Manuscript
written by Don Agustin Vicente Zamorano. Translated by Arnulfo D. Trejo and Roland D. Hussey. Preface by George L. Harding.
box 3, folder 2
The Printer in Eighteenth-Century Williamsburg: An account of his life & times, his office, & his craft
1964
Scope and Contents
A book from the Williamsburg Craft Series, a series of publications from the National Histroic Park Colonial Williamsburghe
on the various traditional trades and crafts of Colonial America. Includes a number of engraved diagrams listing the various
processess and tools used by Colonial print makers. As interpreted by August Klapper. Published by Colonial Williamsburg.
box 3, folder 3
Reproductions and excerpts, miscellaneous printed pieces
1931 - 1946
box 4, folder 4
Fages - Serra Letters A. D. Mdcclxxii
1936 December 23
box 4, folder 5
"To whom it may concern"
1905 May
Scope and Contents
A broadside reproduction of a manuscript written by a shipwrecked crew. Printed for David Magee as a gift to the Zamorano
and Roxburghe Clubs.
box 3, folder 4-10
Series III.
Members' keepsake books
1943 - 1956
Scope and Contents
Includes various printed booklets and books given to members of the club.
