Biographical Information:
Scope and Contents
Arrangement of Materials:
Electronic Format:
Conditions Governing Access:
Conditions Governing Use:
Accruals:
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Preferred Citation:
Processing Information:
Contributing Institution:
Special Collections & Archives
Title: Kistler Printing and Lithography Collection
Creator:
Kistler, William A.
Identifier/Call Number: SC.KPL
Extent:
2.39 linear feet
Date (inclusive): 1922-1975
Abstract: William A. Kistler established a
printing business in Los Angeles in 1910. After World War I he purchased a lithography firm
where both he and his son practiced lithography for several years. The collection contains
the commercial work of Kistler Printing and Lithography from the 1920s to 1970s, including
proof sheets and paste-ups from
Fifty Photographs (1947),
First Penthouse Dwellers of America (1938), and
Dance Memoranda (1946).
Language of Material: English
Biographical Information:
William A. Kistler established a printing business in Los Angeles in 1910. After World War
I he purchased a lithography firm. His son, Lynton Kistler (1897-1993), learned offset
lithography there in the late 1920s, and also began working on lithographic stones. He was
one of a few local printers who became proficient with this process. Merle Armitage and Jean
Charlot were his first customers. In 1932 Kistler printed Armitage's
The Work of Maier-Krieg (
NB 588 M25 A7 ) using the offset process. Vernon Grant's graphic art appears on
several advertisements for the company during the 1930s.
In 1936, William Kistler sold his business, but Lynton continued making lithographs out of
his garage studio. After briefly opening his own business, he moved to New York in 1941
where he worked in the printing trade. While working for Blanchard Press in New York he
published a pamphlet on airplane profile recognition. On returning to Los Angeles in 1945,
he resumed working on projects for Merle Armitage who brought him more work from other
artists such as Edward Weston, Millard Sheets, and Warren Newcombe and his wife Beatrice
Wood.
Kistler stopped making lithographs in 1952 because of an allergic reaction he developed to
the acids used in lithography, and the expense of working on stone. He turned to more
commercial printing and purchased a plant at 1653 West Temple Street in Los Angeles. The
business prospered and his financial situation improved. In 1970, he sold this plant to
purchase a larger facility at Washington and Normandie Boulevards. He sold the business in
1976 and retired from commercial printing.
Scope and Contents
The
Kistler Printing and Lithography Collection contains the
commercial work of Kistler Printing and Lithography from the 1920s to the mid-1970s. Notable
contents includes proof sheets and paste-ups from
Fifty
Photographs
(1947),
First Penthouse Dwellers of
America
(1938), and
Dance Memoranda (1946) that Lynton
Kistler produced with Merle Armitage, as well as eight lithographs he made for artists. The
collection has been divided into two main series:
Print Jobs
(1922-1971) and
Printing Materials (1975).
Series I,
Print Jobs, consists of five subseries arranged by
print jobs or genre. Subseries A,
General (1924-1965),
Books (1925-1928, 1938, 1946),
Cards
(1930, 1950, 1971),
Catalogs, Programs, and Exhibitions
(1948-1968), and
Multiple Print Jobs for the Same Firm
(1922-1971. The roman number-Arabic number following the title is penciled on the
piece and likely refers to the exhibition order since many of these pieces were displayed in
1975. Materials are filed alphabetically within each subseries.
Series II,
Printing Materials, contains printing plates, a
paper sampler, and a small amount of manuscript material. Posters and other large flat works
are organized in a flat file drawer.
Arrangement of Materials:
Series I: Print Jobs, 1922-1971
Subseries A: General, 1924-1965
Subseries B: Books, 1925-1928, 1938, 1946
Subseries C: Cards, 1930, 1950, 1971
Subseries D: Catalogs, Programs, and Exhibitions, 1948-1968
Subseries E: Multiple Print Jobs for the Same Firm, 1922-1971
Series II: Printing Materials, 1975
Electronic Format:
Conditions Governing Access:
The collection is open for research use.
Conditions Governing Use:
Copyright for unpublished materials authored or otherwise produced by the creator(s) of
this collection has not been transferred to California State University, Northridge.
Copyright status for other materials is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials
protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires
the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be
commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any
use rests exclusively with the user.
Accruals:
1976
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Carl Haverlin, 1975.
Preferred Citation:
For information about citing items in this collection consult the appropriate style
manual, or see the
Citing Archival
Materials
guide.
Processing Information:
Tony Gardner
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Photographs