Though glittering red and green decorations and lights are already on display in the stores and holiday music is filling up the airwaves (and our iPods), the Christmas season is still weeks away.  It seems like between Halloween and the winter holiday season, Thanksgiving is only a brief stop on our festive march to New Year’s Eve.  There are hardly any songs about the holiday and, let’s face it, the turkey isn’t very marketable; it’s not as scary as a jack-o-lantern or as jolly as Santa Claus and his elves.

Perhaps Thanksgiving is often an afterthought because it’s always been difficult to commercialize and that’s kind of what Americans do best!  There are, of course, wonderful shared national traditions surrounding Thanksgiving: football, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, the headaches of holiday travel, and the sleep-inducing feasting with family and friends.  Hallmark still makes Thanksgiving greeting cards and I’m sure there’ll be some Thanksgiving images and greetings circulating in social media this week.

The imagery of Thanksgiving has always been about giving thanks for abundance: the abundance of a fruitful harvest and the abundance of joy and blessings as family gather together for Thanksgiving meals.  I thought that this week would be a nice time to highlight some early traditional images of the holiday from our postcard collections.

Postcard collecting is still a popular pastime among hobbyists and you’ll see bins of postcards at many an antique shop.  The picture postcard reached the zenith of its popularity in the period between the turn of the century and the first World War.  Thanks to advances in color printing processes and in domestic and international mail services, it was an inexpensive and aesthetically pleasing form of communication for the general public.

There are several collections of postcards in the Walter Havighurst Special Collections, including the Charles Shields Postcard and Trade Card Collections, the Clyde N. Bowden Postcard Collection, and the Charles Murphy Collection featuring postcards on public conveyances and railroads from around the world.  Among the subjects depicted in the estimated 500,000 postcards in these combined collections are geographic locations and architectural landmarks throughout the US and the world and the traditional greeting card images of people, animals, flowers, and holiday and seasonal images.  We’ve digitized our trade card collection and initial plans have been made to create a digital collection of our postcards, as well.

In looking through the hundreds of Thanksgiving themed postcards, I found many expected depictions of turkeys and cornucopias, pilgrims and Native Americans, most dated between 1900 and 1920.  What I was surprised by were the many comical depictions of children leading turkeys to slaughter!  There were also many patriotic images of flags and turkeys, which made me think of Benjamin Franklin’s famous suggestion to his daughter in a letter dated 1784 that the turkey was a “more respectable Bird” than the bald eagle, in his opinion “a Bird of bad moral Character”.

One of my personal favorites is this early depiction of the association between football and the holiday.  Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Kimberly Tully
Special Collections Librarian

“The Private Press-Man’s Tale”

The Bird & Bull Press is one of America’s oldest private presses. It was started in 1958 by Henry Morris – who describes a private press as “someone who prints books or ephemera related to his personal interests…” By starting the press Morris was hoping to “make use of the product of a new hobby – hand paper-making.” Morris admits, in his forward to Sidney E. Berger’s Forty-Four Years of Bird & Bull: A Bibliography, 1958-2002, that he knew very little about book design or the printing and binding of ‘fine books,’ rather it was the content of the book that he found most important. Many of the books published by Bird & Bull deal directly with “bookish” subjects, such as paper-making, printing, illustration, book binding, typography, and booksellers. Because of this Henry Morris and his press have played an important role in the study, preservation, and dissemination of printing history.

Each of the Bird & Bull publications is printed by letterpress from metal type on either Morris’s own handmade paper or on imported mould-made papers. Each book includes a detailed description of the paper, type and bindery used in production of the publication.

The Walter Havighurst is home to over sixty works published by Bird & Bull. I’ve selected a few of my favorites to share here. All quotes are taken from the works described.

The Art of Intaglio Produced on a Letterpress by Henry Morris, 2010

From “The Art of Intaglio Produced on a Letterpress”

Traditionally, intaglios (etchings and engravings) are printed on special presses that are able to exert the pressure necessary for printing. Morris was interested in using a letterpress to print intaglios, but was told it was not possible.

From “The Art of Intaglio Produced on a Letterpress”

He began experimenting and was successful in printing two small intaglios on a letterpress. The Art of Intaglio Produced on a Letterpress is the result of these experiments. Ultimately, Morris was able to print twelve intaglio plates for this publication.

This books also happens to be Morris’s first dos-a-dos binding, as it includes a 16-page addition entitled Schlocker & The Fishes, which recounts an unforgettable event in Morris’s early life.

“Trade Tokens of British and American Booksellers & Bookmakers”

Trade Tokens of British and American Booksellers & Bookmakers by Henry Morris, 1989

With this publication Morris asserted that a “study of the history of the making and uses of these metal tokens will lead the reader down pleasurable and instructive byways of the history of the Book, many of which seem to have been long unnoticed.”

Copper token issued with “Trade Tokens of British and American Booksellers & Bookmakers”

While one other publication on the subject did exist at the time, William Longman’s Tokens of the Eighteenth Century connected with Booksellers and Bookmakers, London 1916, Morris claims his publication was the first attempt to describe the known American tokens. In addition to the book, eleven original copper tokens were struck for the publication and are included with the book.

Karli Frigge’s Life in Marbling by Sidney E. Berger, 2004

From “Karli Frigge’s Life in Marbling”

This publication covers the life and career of Dutch artist Karli Frigge. Most of the information found in this publication came from correspondence between Frigge and the author or from books written by Frigge.

The Bird & Bull Press Commemorative 100 Coronas by Henry Morris, 1988

While many of the Bird & Bull Press publications deal with papermaking and the book arts, Morris also produced several publications on the fictional Republic of San Serriffe. The Republic of San Serriffe began as an April Fool’s joke printed in 1977 by The Guardian, a copy of which was sent to Morris by a friend.

The Republic of San Serriffe (a play on “san serif” style of type) was a fictional country whose names and places were all derived from terms connected with printing. Morris was delighted by the joke and started creating additional ephemera for the fake country, including stock certificates and publications about San Serriffean printing culture.

Morris, a numismatist as well as a papermaker and printer, issued The Bird & Bull Press Commemorative 100 Coronas with both a commemorative silver coin as well as two “twenty-five coronas” certificates.

Dard Hunter & Son, by Dard Hunter, II and Dard Hunter, III, 1988

From “Dard Hunter & Son”

Dard Hunter was a printer, papermaker and artisan born in Steubenville, Ohio in 1883. Hunter was an artist during the arts and crafts movement; he built his own paper mill, cut his own typeface and printed his own books. Hunter “produced the world’s first one man book by creating a book that was printed by him on paper that he made with a typeface he designed, cut and cast himself. At this point he was on his way to making a truly harmonious book in which all aspects were carefully considered and planned from the beginning.”

From “Dard Hunter & Son”

Hunter’s son, Dard Hunter, II followed in his father’s footsteps and became a master designer and craftsman in his own right, producing furniture, jewelry and even a pistol of his own making. After his father’s death Dard, II produced his monumental Life Work of Dard Hunter in two large folio volumes. It took twelve years and over $100,000 to complete.

Dard Hunter & Son is a synopsis of The Life Work of Dard Hunter complete with specimens, produced by Hunter’s grandson, Dard Hunter, III and Henry Morris.

Ephemera from “Forty-Four Years of Bird & Bull: A Bibliography, 1958-2002”

Forty-Four Years of Bird & Bull: A Bibliography, 1958-2002 compiled by Sidney E. Berger, 2002

This volume, with a forward by Henry Morris, covers all the publications produced by Bird & Bull Press over a forty-four year period. The bibliography is divided into three sections, books printed by and for the Bird & Bull Press; books printed by Bird & Bull Press for others, and selected ephemera. Entries for the various publications include basic publication information as well as commentary, photographs, and facsimiles.

A Conservatory for my Prospectuses and Specimen Leaves by Henry Morris, 2008

From “A Conservatory for my Prospectuses and Specimen Leaves”

Produced for the 50^thanniversary of Bird & Bull Press, Morris compiled 100 bound collections of “all the prospectuses and leaves in my possession.”  The publication is fascinating to look at, interspersed with brief running commentaries on the books are printed leaves and facsimiles from Morris’s previous publications.

From “A Conservatory for my Prospectuses and Specimen Leaves”

The overall product is a type of “permanent record of the progression and variety of works produced over a fifty-year period.”

The Walter Havighurst Special Collections is home to many additional examples of Bird & Bull Press publications. I invite you to come see the exquisite craftsmanship and artistry of these private press publications.

Ashley Jones
Preservation Librarian

Like most libraries Special Collections uses the height of books to determine the distance between our shelves. Books that are 30 centimeters (approximately 12 inches) tall or more are considered folios and we shelve these together in a separate area. Books that are 10 centimeters (around 4 inches) or less are considered miniatures and they are shelved in their own separate area. Some books need protective boxes or may be packaged with other objects and though the book itself may be smaller than 30 centimeters it can end up being shelved with our folios. It is rare, however, to find a miniature book in the folio section. It is this little book in the big box that I want to spotlight this week.

Libro de horas de los Medicis, Book of Hours (Ms. Fundacion Lazaro Galdiano. 15512) is a full color 1994 facsimile of a codex given by Pope Leo X (the uncle of Lorenzo II) to Lorenzo de’Medici and Madeleine de La Tour d’Auvergne on the occasion of their wedding in 1518. This volume is 2 and 5/8 inches tall by 2 inches wide. It was issued in a blue velvet case that also contains a magnifying glass and a commentary volume. The title is taken from the accompanying commentary by Juana Hidalgo Ogáyar.

A book of hours is a prayer book and it was customary to present this kind of book to newlyweds. The text is written in Latin in red and black ink. There are eleven full page miniatures. Other pages have ornamental borders detailed with cherubs, monsters, cameos and masks. Initial letters are decorated. The board binding is covered in leather and it closes with a silver clasp.

The process of creating a book of hours was a serious undertaking. Once the parchment was ready, the scribe would write the text. The book would then go to the illuminator who detailed the borders and initial letters, and then it would go to the artist who would paint the miniatures. Every book of hours is unique. The coat of arms of Leo X and the family shields of Lorenzo and Madeleine are all present in this volume indicating that Leo X was the commissioning party and Lorenzo and Madeleine were the recipients and first owners of the book.

Special Collections also has facsimiles of other books of hours. These include: The Grandes heures of Jean, Duke of Berry; Le Livre d’heures de la reine Anne de Bretagne; The Hours of Catherine of Cleves; the Hours of Etienne Chevalier; and the Hours of Jeanne d’Evreux, Queen of France, to mention a few. Several of the books are actual folios, and a couple of volumes are quite large, an interesting contrast to the Medicis’ book of hours. We invite you to come see these beautiful devotional texts.

Jim Bricker
Senior Library Technician

Miami’s Walter Havighurst Special Collections is happy to announce the recent acquisition of one of the most famous private press books ever printed.  Issued in 1896 by William Morris’s Kelmscott Press, The Works of Geoffrey Chaucer is considered the crowning achievement of Morris’s press and is arguably one of the most beautifully designed books in the history of printing.  William Morris was a leading figure in the Arts and Crafts Movement of the late 19th century when he founded the Kelmscott Press in 1891.  Seeking to return to traditional forms of craftsmanship and inspired by folklore and medieval literature, Morris’s book design choices, including his typeface design, placement of the text, and choice of ink color, were heavily influenced by the aesthetics of medieval manuscripts and early printed books.

Though Morris’s trademark heavily decorated borders and elegant illuminations are found throughout the text, the gorgeous eighty-seven illustrations were contributed by the Pre-Raphaelite artist Edward Burne-Jones.  The text of the collected works of the 14th century “father of English literature” was drawn from the 1894 Clarendon Press edition edited by Walter Skeat.  Morris did not seek to compete with this new edition, but instead used the text as the basis for his own work of art.  His original plan only called for 325 paper copies, but, due to demand, the printing run was extended to 425 copies.  There were also an additional 13 copies printed on vellum.

Miami’s copy is, as a bookseller describes it, “a remarkably well-preserved copy” with the leaves in pristine condition.  Though many copies of the Kelmscott Chaucer have elaborate bindings, our copy has the more modest original holland-backed blue paper boards, with paper spine label.

We’re very excited to add this landmark volume to our collection and look forward to showcasing it in future class visits and exhibits.  Special Collections already has some Kelmscott Press titles in our collection, but this acquisition certainly enhances our collection of private press titles.  It’s a true treasure!

Kimberly Tully
Special Collections Librarian