Har-ma Press records
LSC.2181
Finding aid prepared by Jimmy Zavala under the supervision of Kelly Kress; machine-readable finding aid created by Caroline
Cubé..
UCLA Library Special Collections
Room A1713, Charles E. Young Research Library
Box 951575
Los Angeles, CA, 90095-1575
(310) 825-4988
spec-coll@library.ucla.edu
Finding aid last updated 25 July 2016.
Title: Har-ma Press Records
Identifier/Call Number: LSC.2181
Contributing Institution:
UCLA Library Special Collections
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
0.2 linear feet
(1 box)
Date: 1979-1984
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.
Language of Materials: English
Physical Location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library Special
Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Creator:
Har-Ma Press.
Restrictions on Access
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Open for research. Advance notice required for access. Contact the UCLA Library Special
Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library Special Collections. Literary 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.
UCLA Catalog Record ID
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Purchase, 2013.
Biography/History
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.
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.
Arrangement note
Collection arranged by subject.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Dawson, Muir
Levenson, Roger, 1914-1994
Smith, Harold
Hand presses
Printing presses
Box 1, Folder 1
Correspondence between Muir Dawson and Roger Levenson
1979-1984
Scope and Contents note
9 letters and 4 postcards exchanged between Muir Dawson and Roger Levenson about the Har-ma Press.
Box 1, Folder 2
Correspondence between Muir Dawson and Harold Smith
1979-1982
Scope and Contents note
5 Letters exchanged between Muir Dawson and Harold Smith regarding acquisitions of presses for various clients. Also included
is one handwritten thank you note from Smith to Dawson as well as another handwritten note from Harold and Alma Smith to the
Dawsons.
Box 1, Folder 3
Correspondence between Muir Dawson and Jean P. Whyte
1982-1983
Scope and Contents note
13 Letters exchanged between Muir Dawson and Jean P. Whyte, a professor from Monash University in Victoria, Australia, regarding
the sale of Har-ma Press #11 to Monash University.
Box 1, Folder 4
Correspondences regarding interest in Har-ma Press.
1979-1982
Scope and Contents note
7 letters between multiple individuals. The bulk of the letters demonstrate interest by different people in acquiring a Har-ma
Press. A couple of letters concern the sale of Har-Ma Press #8 to UCLA professor of Spanish, Enrique Cepeda.
Box 1, Folder 5
Annotated Letter about missing press # 13.
1984
Scope and Contents note
This letter between Roger Levenson and an unknown correspondent documents the locations of all 15 Har-ma presses that Smith
built. The letter also contains a notation in Muir Dawson's hand about the missing press # 13 that reads as follows: "9/23/84
Roger says Harold tells him there is no # 13."
Box 1, Folder 6
Messages in Wood
1979
Scope and Contents note
A book of text and images written and drawn by the Smiths and produced by Harold and Alma on a Har-ma Press.
Box 1, Folder 7
The Har-ma Press
1981
General Physical Description note: Pamphlet. 5 5/8 x 3 3/4 inches, (14) pp. Illustrated. Green printed wrappers, stitched, with a blind-stamped image of a Har-Ma
press on the front cover.
Scope and Contents note
Limited edition of 150 copies printed on Har-ma Press number 8 (UCLA Horn Press) as a keepsake for the members of the Rounce
and Coffin Club.
Box 1, Folder 8
Publicity
1978-1985
Scope and Contents note
Includes drafts of two articles written by Muir Dawson and Roger Levenson in the UCLA Librarian and Fine Print Magazine, with
original artwork for the latter. There are 7 copies of the article in the UCLA Librarian. Also included is a letterhead with
a photograph of a Har-ma Press for sale purposes in the Printer’s Fair, Marin County, 11/5/78. Four photocopies of this letterhead
are included.
Box 1, Folder 9
Har-ma Press Sales
1980-1983
Scope and Contents note
Original purchase order and shipping manifest of Har-ma Press #11 to Monash University. There are two copies of the shipping
manifest. Also included is a shipping manifest from California Motor Express regarding the sale of books from Dawson’s bookshop
to the Book Club of California and a business card from Staudt International Service Corp, an international freight company.
Shipping manifests for presses delivered to Dawson’s book shop and original billing for the sale of two presses is also a
part of this file.
Box 1, Folder 10
Har-ma Press operating instructions
Unknown
Scope and Contents note
A set of printed instructions and a separate set of typed instructions on how to operate the Har-ma Press. There are also
3 handwritten notes on disassembling the press for moving or other operations tips based on experience with working with the
press.
Box 1, Folder 11
Program Announcements
1981
Scope and Contents note
Program announcements for “An Evening devoted to the Past, Present and Future of Handpresses,” February 5, 1981 at Dawson’s
Book Shop featuring Harold and Alma Smith and Roger Levenson.
