Description
Correspondence with private and small press owners; records of his press, The Platen Press, in Orinda; clippings, including
some on labor unions. Contains material on the Rounce and Coffin Club and the William Morris Society.
Background
A printer by trade, employed by the University of California Press in Berkeley from 1944, Ted Freedman also delighted in printing
as a hobby. In 1935, when living in Los Angeles, he borrowed a platen press to publish his first work with the Platen Press
imprint, Annunciation by Meridel Le Sueur, in an edition of five hundred copies signed by the author. A gift in August 1944 of a Pilot platen press
revived the Platen Press imprint, this time in Orinda, leading to the design and publication of greeting cards and numerous
small pieces, many of which were distributed to members of the Typophiles and other organizations interested in fine printing.
Extent
4 boxes, 1 oversize folder
Restrictions
Copyright has not been assigned to The Bancroft Library. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts
must be submitted in writing to the Head of Public Services. Permission for publication is given on behalf of The Bancroft
Library as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which
must also be obtained by the reader.
Availability
Collection is open for research.