Philip Hofer collection of invitations and galley proofs
Overview
Contains primarily invitations to book talks, launches, and related events, as well as galleys and proofs for books, mainly those for book covers, collected by Philip Hofer.
Dates
- Creation: 1941-1967
Conditions Governing Access
There are no restrictions on physical access to this material. Collection is open for research.
This collection is shelved offsite at the Harvard Depository. Retrieval requires advance notice. Readers should check with Houghton Public Services staff to determine what material is offsite and retrieval policies and times.
Extent
.75 linear feet (3 boxes)Contains primarily invitations to book talks, launches, and related events, as well as galleys and proofs for books, mainly those for book covers, collected by Philip Hofer. The material dates mainly from the 1950s to 1967, with some materials from the 1940s. Amongst the materials are some correspondence, unique works by artists, along with the more prevalent galleys (particularly for covers) and event invitations.
These materials were located in Philip Hofer's former office in Houghton Library prior to its renovation in 2019-2021. It is assumed given by the contents and dates that these materials were collected by Hofer during his tenure as Curator of Printed and Graphic Arts at Houghton Library, but there is no known original order or clear connection between these materials other than as part of Hofer's professional work at Houghton.
Biographical / Historical
Philip Hofer (1898-1984) was a librarian, book collector, and founder and first curator of the Department of Printing and Graphic Arts at Houghton Library at Harvard University. Hofer graduated from Harvard College and spent a few years in business. He began collecting a wide variety of printed books in 1917. By 1933 he focused on illustrated and decorated books, thus entering into a serious study of book arts. He served as curator of the Spencer Collection of the New York Public Library, and in 1934 he became the first assistant director of the Morgan Library in New York, where he worked until 1937. In 1938, the newly appointed librarian of Harvard University's library, William Jackson, asked Hofer to head the Department of Printing and Graphic Arts, the first such department in the country. Hofer spent the next forty years building the collection, which became part of the founding collection of Houghton Library, Harvard College's special collections repository. Hofer was secretary of the Fogg Art Museum at Harvard as well. In 1980 he retired emeritus. He was a trustee for the American School of Classical Studies in Athens.
Arrangement
The collection has been minimally processed. The materials were not rearranged.
Physical Location
Harvard Depository
Immediate Source of Acquisition
2022MH-8. These materials were located in Philip Hofer's former office and are believed to have been collected by him during his tenure at Houghton Library, Harvard University.
Processing Information
Processed by Betts Coup, 2021.
- Title
- Hofer, Philip, 1898-1984. Philip Hofer collection of invitations and galley proofs, 1941-1967 (MS Typ 1309): Guide.
- Status
- completed
- Author
- Houghton Library, Harvard University.
- Date
- 11/22/2021
- Description rules
- dacs
- Language of description
- eng
- EAD ID
- hou03414
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.
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