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COLLECTION Identifier: MS Typ 1235

Publications by Philip Hofer with related papers

Overview

Collection of published works by American book collector and curator Philip Hofer, with related papers.

Dates

  • Creation: 1921-1984

Language of Materials

English, with some Latin and other languages

Conditions Governing Access

Open for research.

Extent

9.5 linear feet (11 boxes)

Collection includes copies of published works by Philip Hofer, with proofs, layouts, designs, special copies of publications (and duplicate copies), correspondence, compositions, and personal notes. The subject matter of Hofer's publications align with the range of materials collected by the Department of Printing and Graphic Arts as well as with his personal interests; these include major works on Edward Lear and Francisco Goya. Also with material for the Cygnet Press and the Hollis Club.

Scope and Contents

Collection includes copies of published works by Philip Hofer, with proofs, layouts, designs, special copies of publications (and duplicate copies), correspondence, compositions, and personal notes. Publications represent the range of materials collected by the Department of Printing and Graphic Arts in the Houghton Library as well as Hofer's personal interests; there is also material for the Cygnet Press and the Hollis Club.

Biographical / Historical

Philip Hofer was an American book collector, art historian, and curator; he founded in 1938 and was the first curator of Harvard's Printing & Graphic Arts department (now part of the Houghton Library). He was a member of the Harvard class of 1921.

Philip Hofer and George Parker Winship co-managed the Cygnet Press in Cambridge (Mass.); the press was in operation in the 1920s.

The Hollis Club of Harvard was founded in 1962 for undergraduates with an interest in book collecting and printing.

Arrangement

Most of the collection is arranged approximately chronologically.

Physical Location

Harvard Depository

Immediate Source of Acquisition

2019MH-20. Transfer from the Department of Printing and Graphic Arts.

Processing Information

Processed by Melanie Wisner, 2019.

Title
Publications by Philip Hofer with related papers, 1921-1984 (MS Typ 1235): Guide
Status
completed
Author
Houghton Library, Harvard University
Date
2019 January 24
Description rules
dacs
Language of description
und
EAD ID
hou03085

Repository Details

Part of the Houghton Library Repository

Houghton Library is Harvard College's principal repository for rare books and manuscripts, archives, and more. Houghton Library's collections represent the scope of human experience from ancient Egypt to twenty-first century Cambridge. With strengths primarily in North American and European history, literature, and culture, collections range in media from printed books and handwritten manuscripts to maps, drawings and paintings, prints, posters, photographs, film and audio recordings, and digital media, as well as costumes, theater props, and a wide range of other objects. Houghton Library has historically focused on collecting the written record of European and Eurocentric North American culture, yet it holds a large and diverse number of primary sources valuable for research on the languages, culture and history of indigenous peoples of the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania.

Houghton Library’s Reading Room is free and open to all who wish to use the library’s collections.

Contact:
Harvard Yard
Harvard University
Cambridge MA 02138 USA
(617) 495-2440