Har-ma Press records, 1979-1984

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Summary

Title:
Har-ma Press Records
Dates:
1979-1984
Creators:
Har-Ma Press
Abstract:
Correspondence between Muir Dawson, Harold Smith, and Roger Levenson, and other documents regarding the development, manufacture and sale of the Har-ma printing press.
Extent:
0.2 linear feet (1 box)
Language:
Materials are in English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Har-ma Press Records (Collection 2181). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.

Background

Scope and content:

Materials documenting the development of the Har-ma printing press, invented by Harold Smith. Includes sales information, correspondence documenting bookseller Muir Dawson's relationship with Harold Smith during the years Smith built the presses, operating instructions, a list of the locations of each press, and two artists' books produced on a Har-ma press.

Biographical / historical:

The Har-ma Press was invented in the late 1970s by Harold Smith, an engineer from Sacramento, California. The name of the press is derived from the first three letters of Harold Smith's first name and the last two letters of his wife, Alma's first name. Harold and Alma Smith worked closely as authors and printers.

In 1978, the Har-ma caught the eye of Roger Levenson, printer and proprietor of Tamalpais Press, during a demonstration by Smith at a printer's fair. Levenson immediately ordered one for himself, and Smith subsequently consulted Levenson on design improvements as he built additional presses. Levenson also recommended the Har-ma to Muir Dawson, owner and operator of Dawson's Bookshop in Los Angeles. Dawson purchased a Har-ma press for the bookshop, and arranged the sale of several others, including one to UCLA. Smith built a total of 15 presses: a prototype numbered 0 and numbers 1-16, but no number 13. Harold Smith died in 1999.

Acquisition information:
Purchase, 2013.
Processing information:

Collections are processed to a variety of levels depending on the work necessary to make them usable, their perceived user interest and research value, availability of staff and resources, and competing priorities. Library Special Collections provides a standard level of preservation and access for all collections and, when time and resources permit, conducts more intensive processing. These materials have been arranged and described according to national and local standards and best practices.

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Arrangement:

Collection arranged by subject.

Physical location:
Stored off-site. All requests to access special collections material must be made in advance using the request button located on this page.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Finding aid prepared by Jimmy Zavala under the supervision of Kelly Kress; machine-readable finding aid created by Caroline Cubé..
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2025-03-27 12:17:15 -0700 .

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open for research. All requests to access special collections materials must be made in advance using the request button located on this page.

Terms of access:

Property rights to the objects belong to UCLA Library Special Collections. All other rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Har-ma Press Records (Collection 2181). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.

Location of this collection:
A1713 Charles E. Young Research Library
Box 951575
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575, US
Contact:
(310) 825-4988
AskLSC@library.ucla.edu
Website