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The Marjorie G. and Carl W.
Book Arts and Special Collections Center houses the following research
collections: Robert Grabhorn Collection on the History of Printing and the
Development of the Book; Richard Harrison Collection of Calligraphy and
Lettering; Schmulowitz Collection of Wit & Humor and the Little Maga/Zine
Collection. Holdings also include early children's books; Sherlockiana; materials
by and about Robert Frost; works by and about writers associated with the literary
life of San Francisco and materials documenting the Panama Canal and its effect on
the West Coast. These non-circulating research collections serve bibliophiles,
calligraphers, printers and bookbinders, artists, teachers and students, humorists,
scholars and the general public. The Center contains primary and secondary materials
in a wide variety of formats, including books, periodicals, newspapers, broadsides,
ephemera, audiovisual materials and electronic resources. The Center acquires current
and retrospective titles, and retains all titles and holdings with an emphasis on
long-term preservation and conservation. Weeding rarely occurs.
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Robert Grabhorn Collection
on the History of Printing and the Development of the Book: More than 10,000
volumes, 100 journal titles, and 35,000 items of ephemera, artifacts, documentaries and
materials in electronic formats supporting the study of printing, papermaking,
bookbinding, typography, design and other areas of the traditional book arts; examples
of almost every typeface, printer, and publisher of note from Gutenberg to the present
day; early type specimens; the work of 16th century French and Italian masters; works
of over 400 fine and private presses; the Max J. Kuhl Collection, the Jane Hart
Collection on Book Design, and the Wilder Bentley/Archetype Press collection.
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Richard Harrison Collection of
Calligraphy and Lettering: More than 900 titles supporting the study and practice
of historical and contemporary calligraphy, and 1,000 examples of modern calligraphy,
including original manuscripts, broadsides, handwritten books, fine prints, limited
edition books, drawings, working layouts and photographs; medieval through 17th century
manuscript leaves and books and a selection of writing books, both in original and
facsimile. Predominantly from the 20th century, the collection provides examples of the
work of over 150 individual scribes and lettering artists from the United States and
Europe. Collection includes a selection of periodicals, journals from calligraphy
societies around the world, videos in VHS and DVD format, and the Lili Cassel Wronker
Archive.
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Schmulowitz Collection of Wit
& Humor (SCOWAH): More than 21,000 volumes and 230 periodical titles in 35
languages, plus sound recordings and ephemera, spanning 400 years of wit and humor as
represented in fairy tales, folklore, proverbs, national and ethnic humor, anecdotes,
joke books, cartoon art, comic books, political satire, biography, humorous essays,
monologues, plays, novels, popular entertainments, movable books, and humor studies.
Works of The New Yorker and Punch writers and artists; full
run of Punch (1841-2002); Debenham Comedy Recording Collection (over
17,000 recordings in these formats: 45s, 78s, LPS, CDs; cassettes); the personal
archive of Nat Schmulowitz.
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Little Maga/Zine
Collection: Documents the Little Magazine and Zine movements of the San
Francisco Bay Area. More than 1,000 titles of self-published zines, and little
magazines representing almost every literary movement from the 1940s to the present;
reference books, ephemera, and audiovisual resources supporting the study of the little
magazine and zine movements.
Additional collections:
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George M. Fox Collection of Early
Children’s Books: Nineteenth century British and American children's books
partially derived from the archives of the American publisher, McLoughlin Brothers
(1828-1978). More than 2,000 volumes, particularly strong in early color illustrations,
hand-colored, stenciled, block-printed, lithographed, and chromolithographed; small
collection of wood blocks.
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Robert Frost Collection:
More than 200 volumes of inscribed first editions, ephemera and manuscript materials by
and about the poet Robert Frost, who was born in San Francisco in 1874.
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Sherlock Holmes: More
than 275 volumes relating to Arthur Conan Doyle and Sherlock Holmes; includes biography,
criticism, first editions and foreign translations, plus a small periodical collection.
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Panama Canal Collection:
Documents the history and opening of the canal and its dramatic effect on the development
of the West Coast; more than 200 volumes plus manuscripts, newspapers, pamphlets,
presidential letters, authorizations, confidential reports and ephemera.
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James D. Phelan California
Authors Collection: More than 1,500 volumes by and about writers, playwrights,
and poets associated with the literary life of San Francisco, from its beginnings to the
present. Includes the Eric Hoffer Collection, the Pete Winslow Archive, and the Fred
Goerner Archive.
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