Guide to the Ann Rosener Papers
M1946
Finding aid prepared by Joseph Geller
Dept. of Special Collections & University Archives
Stanford University Libraries.
557 Escondido Mall
Stanford, California, 94305
Email: specialcollections@stanford.edu
2014
Title: Ann Rosener papers
Identifier/Call Number: M1946
Contributing Institution:
Dept. of Special Collections & University Archives
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
20.0 Linear feet
(21 manuscript boxes; 10 flat boxes)
Date: circa 1900-2013
Abstract: The collection contains correspondence, photographs, posters, exhibition catalogs, subject files, drafts, and business records
documenting Ann Rosener's career as a photographer, designer, and publisher.
creator:
Rosener, Ann.
Preferred Citation
[identification of item], Ann Rosener papers (M1946). Dept. of Special Collections and University Archives, Stanford University
Libraries, Stanford, Calif.
Access to Collection
The materials are open for research use. Audio-visual materials are not available in original format, and must be reformatted
to a digital use copy.
Publication Rights
All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from, or otherwise use collection materials must be submitted in writing to the
Head of Special Collections and University Archives, Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, California 94305-6064. Consent
is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission
from the copyright owner. Such permission must be obtained from the copyright owner, heir(s) or assigns. See: http://library.stanford.edu/spc/using-collections/permission-publish.
Restrictions also apply to digital representations of the original materials. Use of digital files is restricted to research
and educational purposes.
Biographical Note
Ann Rosener in her long life was active as a photographer, designer, and private press publisher. She was a native of San
Francisco, where her grandparents settled in the mid-19th century; her father was a civil engineer. She graduated in 1935
from Smith College, where she took poetry and literature classes that helped shape her lifelong interests.
During World War II, Rosener worked as a photojournalist in Washington for the Office of War Information. One of her assignments
was to photograph women at home to show their ability to help the war effort, whether repairing vacuum cleaners or salvaging
cooking grease for bombs. Her postwar portraits of Walter Gropius, Richard Neutra, Patrice Munsel, and Tennessee Williams,
among others, were published in
Life magazine.
In the early 1950s Rosener returned to California, settling in the Los Angeles area. She married briefly and through her husband,
the art dealer Frank Perls, she met artists and collectors. She continued to work as a photographer, but in 1951 she designed
a museum for the Pacific Coast Borax Company in Death Valley, and in 1956 was involved in the production of the film "Around
the World in 80 Days."
After moving to the Bay Area, she worked at Stanford University from 1964 to 1988, designing exhibition catalogues and posters
for the Stanford Museum of Art, as well as library bookplates and invitations to University functions.
In 1976 Rosener acquired a Vandercook press and Chandler & Price presses and began to set type by hand. Her earliest effort
was the poem by W. B. Yeats "The Coming of Wisdom with Time." Only a photocopy survives, but it shows the "First proofs made
on the Vandercook 4 at Occasional Works in Woodside" date from December of 1976. A few other small projects date from the
late 1970s and early 1980s, when she first hand set Bembo, then bought monotype Bembo from Mackenzie and Harris. Bembo remained
her favorite typeface, whether metal or digital. After she retired, Rosener became more ambitious. Four books printed on the
Vandercook involved collaborations with artists, incorporating original prints or facsimile reproductions. From 1992 new projects
demanded greater skills as a printer and as a publisher: a collection of poetry by C. P. Cavafy with etchings by William Brice;
two complex illustrated accordion-fold books; and two anthologies of poems that not only showed her far-ranging reading but
involved considerable correspondence about permissions.
Her letters demonstrate her wit and way with words. Rosener collaborated with several Bay Area printers (notably Eric Holub);
for Jeff Maser, her agent and colleague, she printed a series of broadsides. She often designed papers for her book covers,
and T&J Graphics in Redwood City supplied color printing as well as technical advice. From 1993 her books were bound by the
Foolscap Press in Santa Cruz. Her last publications, dating from 2007–08, were significantly poetry broadsides, the last a
translation of an ode by Horace that recalls the subject of the Yeats poem of 1976.
Biography from the 2013 Mills College Library exhibit, "Ann Rosener: Designer, Printer, and Publisher"— curated by Linda Brownrigg
and Betsy Fryberger.
Scope and Contents
The collection contains correspondence, photographs, posters, exhibition catalogs, subject files, drafts, and business records
documenting Ann Rosener's career as a photographer, designer, and publisher. It includes photographs from her work for the
Office of War Information, portraits of artists such as William Brice and Rico Lebrun, and photographs of family, friends,
and travels. Rosener's research for the film
Around the World in 80 Days (1956) is also included in the collection, as well as her photographs and design work for the Borax Museum and the Frank
Perls Gallery. Other materials of interest include posters and exhibition catalogs designed for the Stanford Art Museum, Art
Department, and the Stanford Development Office. The collection also contains correspondence, drafts, and business records
from her private press, Occasional Works.
Arrangement
The Collection is arranged into seven series:
Series 1. Personal
Series 2. Correspondence
Series 3. Travel
Series 4. Professional
Series 5. Stanford University
Series 6. Photographs
Series 7. Artwork
Acquisition Information
This collection was given by Nancy Packer to Stanford University, Special Collections in October, 2012.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Brice, William, 1921-2008
Frank Perls Gallery.
Lebrun, Rico, 1900-1964
Neutra, Richard Joseph, 1892-1970
Occasional Works (Firm).
Pacific Coast Borax Company
Rosener, Ann.
Stanford University. Department of Art and Art History.
Stanford University. Museum of Art
United States. Office of War Information.
Book design.
Private press books--United States.
Series 1. Personal
Scope and Contents
This small series contains juvenilia and miscellaneous artifacts, ephemera, and biographical materials.
Flat-box 14, Folder 1
Notes from Ann to her father
circa 1922
Box 1, Folder 1
Copper printing plate (for calling card)
Box 1, Folders 6-8
Greeting cards and ephemera; includes scrap material for hand-made cards
Flat-box 31, Folder 4
Posters from Ann Rosener exhibit, Mills College Library 2013
Series 2. Correspondence
Scope and Contents
This series contains letters and cards to/from Ann Rosener. Materials sent with correspondence, such as photographs, typescripts,
and clippings have been retained in this series.
Box 1, Folder 9
Early family correspondence; includes letters and post cards from Ann's mother to Ann and to/from other family members; letters
from Ann to her parents; also letters from miscellaneous family members
circa 1900-1925
Box 2, Folder 9
Susan Wilson, notes and wood engravings
Box 2, Folder 10
Miscellaneous letters to Ann Rosener
Box 2, Folder 11
Correspondence and holiday cards
circa 1960-1970
Box 2, Folders 12-14
Holiday cards
circa 1960-1970
Series 3. Travel
Scope and Contents
This series contains materials from Ann Rosener's travels, including itineraries, travel brochures, postcards, and notes.
Box 3, Folders 2-4
England, France, and Russia
circa 1970-1981
Box 4, Folder 5
London, miscellaneous travel material and correspondence
Series 4. Professional
Scope and Contents
This series contains materials from Ann Rosener's varied career as a designer and publisher.
This series contains some photographs, but the majority of photographs documenting her career as a photographer have been
arranged in Series 6. Design work done for Stanford University has also been arranged separately in Series 5.
Subseries 1. Around the World in 80 Days
Scope and Contents
This subseries contains costume and set design research material for the film
Around the World in 80 Days (1956). Also included are photographs Rosener took of actress Shirley MacLaine.
Box 15, Folder 1
General notes and research
Flat-box 14, Folder 3
Research; magazines and clippings
Box 15, Folder 2
Shirley MacLaine, casting notes
Box 15, Folder 3
Shirley MacLaine (photographic prints)
Box 15, Folder 4
Shirley MacLaine (negatives)
Box 15, Folder 6
England, photostats and prints
Box 15, Folder 7
Paris and the balloon, research notes
Box 15, Folder 8
Paris and the balloon, photostats and prints
Box 15, Folder 10
Spain, photostats and prints
Box 15, Folder 11
S.S. Mongolia, Suez, and Indian Ocean - research notes
Box 15, Folder 12
S.S. Mongolia, Suez, and Indian Ocean - photostats and prints
Box 15, Folder 14
India, photostats and prints
Box 15, Folder 15
Hong Kong, Singapore, and Yokohama - research notes
Box 15, Folders 16-18
Hong Kong, Singapore, and Yokohama - photostats and prints
Box 16, Folder 1
San Francisco to New York, research notes
Box 16, Folders 2-3
San Francisco to New York, photostats and prints
Subseries 2. Occasional Works
Scope and Contents
This subseries contains working files from Ann Rosener’s fine press, Occasional Works. It includes correspondence, business
records, and drafts and proofs for various publications, particularly for
How Words See: Some Twentieth-Century Poems about Works of Art (1998) and
Sunday Collection: Thirty twentieth-century poems about Sunday (1995).
Box 7, Folder 2
Correspondence and permissions
Box 7, Folder 4
Miscellaneous business records
Box 7, Folders 5-7
Invoices and business records
circa 1991-2004
Box 8, Folders 1-2
Mailing lists
circa 1985-1995
Box 8, Folder 7
How Words See, chronologies
Box 8, Folder 8
How Words See, permissions
Box 8, Folder 9
How Words See, type proofs
Box 8, Folder 10
How Words See, biographies and reviews
Box 8, Folder 11
How Words See, poems included
Box 9, Folder 1
How Words See, poems not included
Box 9, Folder 2
How Words See and
Sunday, business records
Box 9, Folder 5
Poets and poems, clippings
Box 9, Folder 10
Sunday, poems not included
Box 9, Folder 12
Sunday, letters and cards
Flat-box 26, Folder 4
Thirteen Views of Santa Barbara (Edgar Bowers), jacket design, 1989
Subseries 3. Miscellaneous art/design projects and subject files
Scope and Contents
This series contains materials from other miscellaneous professional projects such as design work for the Borax Museum and
the Frank Perls Gallery. Also included are subject files, presumably used for design research.
Box 5, Folder 1
Curriculum Vitae
circa 1961
Box 5, Folders 2-3
Art gallery/museum, ephemera
Flat-box 29, Folder 3
Miscellaneous museum and gallery posters
Box 5, Folder 4
Barclay Fund, design work
Box 5, Folder 6
Borax Museum; publications, ephemera, and photographs of exhibit
Box 5, Folder 7
Carnegie Quarterly
1966-1970
Box 5, Folder 8
Design research - acrobats
Box 5, Folder 9
Design research - artists' marks
Box 5, Folder 10
Design research - hats and wheels
Box 5, Folder 11
Design research - household objects
Box 5, Folder 12
Design research - shoes, scenic, and patterns
Box 5, Folder 13
Design research - writing
Box 6, Folder 1
Mary Hiedecker, typescripts
Box 6, Folder 3
Journal of Fashion, Culture, and Fine Arts,
1895
Box 6, Folder 4
Journal of Fashion, Culture, and Fine Arts (photocopy)
1895
Box 6, Folder 5
Rico Lebrun, Crucifixion catalogue
1950
Flat-box 31, Folders 2
Robert Motherwell exhibit posters
1957
Box 6, Folder 8
Frank Perls Gallery, ephemera
Flat-box 29, Folder 1
Frank Perls Gallery, posters
Box 16, Folders 4-5
Printing and design samples
Series 5. Stanford University
1964-1988
Scope and Contents
This series contains exhibit catalogues, brochures, postcards, event invitations, and posters designed by Ann Rosener for
the Stanford Art Museum/Art Department, the Stanford Development Office, and other Stanford venues, such as the University
Library.
Subseries 1. Stanford Art Museum and Art Department
Box 10, Folder 1
Rodin and Balzac, exhibit catalogue
1973
Box 10, Folder 2
Whistler: Themes and Variations, exhibit catalogue
1978
Box 10, Folder 3
Eighteenth-Century Italian Prints, exhibit catalogue
1980
Box 10, Folder 4
Figures from Rodin's Gates of Hell, exhibit catalogue
1984
Box 10, Folder 5
Robert Motherwell, exhibit catalogue jacket
1986
Box 10, Folder 6
Richard Diebenkorn, exhibit catalogue jacket
1987
Flat-box 30, Folders 1-5
Stanford Art Museum/Department posters
Flat-box 31, Folders 3
Stanford Art Museum/Department posters
Subseries 2. Stanford Development Office
circa 1961-1974
Box 11, Folders 2-7
Publications and ephemera
Box 12, Folders 1-7
Publications and ephemera
Box 13, Folders 1-6
Publications and ephemera
Box 13, Folder 7
Stanford University Libraries, book plate designs
Flat-box 29, Folder 2
Miscellaneous Stanford event posters
Series 6. Photographs
Scope and Contents
This series contains photographic prints, negatives, contact sheets and slides from Ann Rosener's career as a photographer.
Included in this series are prints from Rosener’s work for the Office of War Information; portraits of artists such as William
Brice, Rico Lebrun, and Richard Neutra; photographs documenting Borax production locations and facilities; and miscellaneous
travel photographs and photographs of family and friends.
Flat-box 24, Folder 1
Office of War Information, Women in Essential Service (photographic print)
1943
Box 17, Folders 1-3
Office of War Information, Women in Essential Service (photographic prints)
circa 1942-1944
Box 17, Folder 4
Office of War Information, Women in Essential Service (photographic prints and negatives)
circa 1942-1944
Box 17, Folder 5
Borax Museum (photographic prints)
Flat-box 25, Folders 1-5
Borax: photographs documenting Borax production locations and facilities; includes images of Death Valley, CA, Turkey and
other locations; also construction of factory, mule team, and Boron Mine
Flat-box 23, Folder 2
Eugene Berman (photographic prints, contact sheets, negatives)
Flat-box 23, Folder 3
William Brice (photographic prints, contact sheets, negatives)
Box 17, Folder 8
William Brice, studio (negatives)
Box 17, Folder 9
Rico Lebrun (photographic prints, contact sheets, negatives)
Flat-box 23, Folders 4-5
Rico Lebrun, Crucifixion series (photographic prints)
1950
Flat-box 23, Folder 6
Rico Lebrun, Crucifixion series (contact sheets and negatives)
1950
Box 18, Folder 4
Walter Lodge (photographic prints and negatives)
circa 1956
Box 19, Folder 15
Alvin and Elaine Lustig (negatives)
Box 17, Folder 10
Richard Neutra (photographic prints)
Box 17, Folder 11
Richard Neutra (negatives)
1953
Flat-box 24, Folder 4
Father McLean (photographic prints)
Flat-box 24, Folder 5
Father McLean (contact sheets and negatives)
Box 18, Folder 2
Vincent Price and family (photographic prints and negatives)
1956
Flat-box 24, Folder 7
Alice B. Toklas (photographic print)
Flat-box 23, Folder 7
Frank Perls Gallery (photographic prints and contact sheets)
Flat-box 23, Folder 8
Frank Perls Gallery (negatives)
Box 17, Folder 13
Claire McCardle exhibit (contact sheets)
1953
Flat-box 23, Folder 1
Portraits of various artists (photographic prints and contact sheets)
Box 19, Folders 1-3
Family and friends (photographic prints)
Flat-box 24, Folder 8
Family and friends (photographic prints)
Box 19, Folder 4
Rosener family (photographic prints)
Box 19, Folder 5
Ann Rosener (photographic prints)
Box 19, Folder 6
Ann Rosener and Frank Perls (photographic prints)
Flat-box 31, Folders 1
Portrait of Ann Rosener in her press by Leo Holub (photographic print)
1978
Box 19, Folder 7
Leland S. Rosener, Jr. (negatives)
1911-1912
Box 19, Folder 8
Daniel (photographic prints)
circa 1954
Box 19, Folder 9
J.T., Cora, etc. (photographic prints, contact sheets, negatives)
1954
Box 19, Folder 14
Gebelle children (negatives)
1969
Box 18, Folder 7
Kathleen Winsor (negatives)
Box 17, Folder 15
Bradbury building (contact sheets and negatives)
Box 17, Folder 14
Mojave, mule barn, etc. (photographic prints, contact sheets, negatives)
Flat-box 24, Folder 6
San Francisco (photographic prints and contact sheets)
Box 17, Folder 12
Utter McKinley, Los Angeles, etc. (contact sheets and negatives)
Box 18, Folder 9
Watts Towers/Sam Rodia (negatives)
Box 18, Folder 12
Muscle Beach (photographic prints)
Box 18, Folder 13
Muscle Beach (contact sheets)
Box 18, Folder 1
Cats (photographic prints, contact sheets, negatives)
Box 18, Folder 6
Children's life (negatives)
Flat-box 24, Folder 2
Europe (photographic prints and contact sheets)
1957
Box 18, Folders 14-15
Europe (contact sheets)
1957
Box 17, Folder 7
Scandinavia, England, etc. (negatives)
Box 17, Folder 6
Paris, New York, etc. (negatives)
Box 18, Folder 11
Cairo, Eygpt - International Kinema Research (photographic prints)
Box 19, Folder 10
Yosemite trip (photographic prints)
1922
Box 19, Folder 11
Martha's Vineyard (photographic prints, contact sheets, negatives)
1965
Box 19, Folder 13
Summer (contact sheets and negatives)
1964
Box 20, Folders 1-3
Miscellaneous photographic prints and contact sheets
circa 1950-1965
Box 20, Folders 4-8
Miscellaneous negatives
circa 1950-1965
Box 21, Folders 1-11
Miscellaneous photographic prints
Box 22, Folder 1
Miscellaneous contact sheets
Flat-box 24, Folder 9
Miscellaneous photographic prints
Series 7. Artwork
Scope and Contents
This series contains miscellaneous artwork, including drawings, paintings, prints, and mixed media materials, as well as related
clippings and ephemera. The works are mostly unidentified, but possibly by Ann Rosener, William Brice, Rico Lebrun, and others
in her circle.
Flat-box 26, Folder 1
William Brice drawings; caricatures of Ann Rosener as a photographer
Flat-box 26, Folder 2
Drawings; caricatures of Ambrose Perls