The Making of A Book at the Officina Bodoni: Twelve Woodcuts. By Frans Masereel. Verona: Officina Bodoni, 1973.
Archives & Special Collections
A&SC at Hillman Library
3960 Forbes Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15260
Phone: 412-648-8190
Email:
ULS-Archives&SpecialCollections@pitt.edu
The “Found Treasures” exhibit features examples from 27 (out of 70) private and fine presses held by Special Collections. While this guide profiles only five presses, it is a mere sampling of imprints in the exhibit.
What is a fine or private press? Abe Books offers these great definitions:
Fine Press
"A fine press is a type of publisher that produces books of a high intrinsic and artistic quality. A fine press will often publish books in limited edition, include additional illustrations from a famous artist, use higher quality paper, or employ a famous bookbinder for their volumes. The distinguishing difference between a fine press and a small press is the fine presses’ commitment to fine printing and superior quality."
-Abe Books
Private Press
"This is type of small press that is most often operated as an artistic or craft-based venture rather than a purely commercial business. Private press is often a term used to describe the English Arts and Crafts movement of the 19th and 20th centuries under the influence of William Morris whose Kelmscott Press aimed to return publishing to its medieval roots and away from the cheap mechanization of the Industrial Revolution."
-Abe Books
Exhibition curated by Charles Aston (cea@pitt.edu), curator of rare books, prints, and exhibits.
The following two files document the presses included in the exhibit as well as the other fine and private press holdings that can found at Special Collections
We would be happy to pull materials from the other presses for viewing:
