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Finding Aid to the Parnassus Press records, 1930-1989 (bulk 1955-1978)
BANC MSS 71/198 c
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Collection Title: Parnassus Press records
Date (inclusive): 1930-1989
Date (bulk): 1955-1978
Collection Number: BANC MSS 71/198 c
Creator:
Parnassus Press
Extent:
30 cartons, 32 oversize boxes, 1 cardfile box, 16 oversize folders (98.95 linear feet)
Repository: The Bancroft Library.
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-6000
Phone: (510) 642-6481
Fax: (510) 642-7589
Email: bancref@library.berkeley.edu
URL: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/
Abstract: The Parnassus Press records including administrative files, correspondence, manuscripts, notebooks, sketches, drawings and
artifacts.
Languages Represented: Collection materials are in English, English, French, Italian
Physical Location: Many of the Bancroft Library collections are stored offsite and advance notice may be required for use. For current information
on the location of these materials, please consult the library's online catalog.
Collection is open for research.
All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from or otherwise use collection materials must be submitted in writing to the Head
of Public Services, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, 94720-6000. Consent is given on behalf of The
Bancroft Library 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. See:
http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/reference/permissions.html.
Restrictions also apply to digital representations of the original materials. Use of digital files is restricted to research
and educational purposes.Materials in this collection may be protected by the U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.). In addition,
the reproduction of some materials may be restricted by terms of University of California gift or purchase agreements, donor
restrictions, privacy and publicity rights, licensing and trademarks. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected
by copyright 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 owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively
with the user.
[Identification of item], Parnassus Press records, BANC MSS 71/198 c, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley
There are no alternate forms of this collection.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog
Parnassus Press
Publishers and publishing
Berkeley (Calif.)
Children's Literature -- Publishing
Donated by Herman Schein and Ruth Robbins Schein, 1971-1991.
No additions are expected.
Processed by Mario H. Ramirez in 2013.
Founded in 1957 in Berkeley, California by Herman Schein and Ruth Robbins Schein, the Parnassus Press specialized in high
quality illustrated children’s books that featured such well known authors as Ursula K. Le Guin and Theodora Krober. Known
for their imaginative drawings and culturally diverse themes, the Parnassus Press was also distinct in publishing bilingual
texts in Spanish, French and Italian that explored folk tales from countries such as Martinique, Italy and Mexico. Among their
titles are included
Wizard of the Earthsea,
Ishi: Last of His Tribe,
Bravo Marco!,
Ramón Makes a Trade,
To Catch a Mongoose,
A Penny and a Periwinkle and
The Emperor and the Drummer Boy. Their collaboration with the illustrator Nicholas Sidjakov,
Baboushka and the Three Kings, won the Caldecott Medal for most distinguished American children’s picture book from the American Library Association in
1961. Several of their titles were also written and/or illustrated by Ruth Robbins who herself was a skilled artist and author.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the press began publishing fiction geared towards adults. These titles include
The Frisco Kid,
American’s Far West and
How I Became Howard Johnson. Notably, they collaborated on an anthology on Pan-Africanism with the journal
The Black Scholar. A beacon of publishing and children’s literature on the West Coast, the complete catalog of the Parnassus Press were sold
to Houghton Mifflin in 1979.
Scope and Content of Collection
The Parnassus Press records contain manuscripts, financial records, correspondence, author profiles, illustrations, administrative
files, artwork, sample production materials, photographs and notebooks. Highlights of the collection include extensive information
on the daily operations of the press, its communications and contracts with authors, illustrators and printers, as well as
draft manuscripts and mock-ups of its many publications. Included as well are numerous examples of original artwork, book
exhibits, and materials that document the publishing process during the mid-twentieth century.