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COLLECTION Identifier: Typ 9000

Howard Guild collection of subscription publishing prospectuses

Overview

Book sample specimens used by publishers and salesmen showing the various limited editions, bindings, images, and examples the final product for subscribers.

Dates

  • Creation: circa 1860-1912

Language of Materials

Collection is in English with English translations of literature from various foreign languages.

Conditions Governing Access

No restrictions. This collection is shelved offsite at the Harvard Depository. Retrieval requires advance notice.

Extent

8 linear feet (171 volumes in 8 boxes)

Prospectuses, or dummies, that are sample books of titles offered for sale through subscription. The volumes represent titles offered by United States publishers during the late 19th century to early 20th century. Most initial pages have manuscript notes with the various pricing levels for special editions and bindings. Available choices for binding samples are often glued to the inside covers for display. All books have illustrations ranging from engravings and etchings to fully colored maps and photographs (See individual item notes for details). Some volumes contain facsimiles of rare manuscripts and prints. One book dummy usually represented a compilation of many volumes

Arrangement

Organized alphabetically by author's name or pseudonym; title of series or its commonly known title; or name of the association responsible for the particular publication. Order determined by earlier shelfmark.

Physical Location

Harvard Depository

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of Howard R. Guild, 1936 June 6.

Processing Information

Processed by Alice Iu, 2017 October.

Title
Howard Guild collection of subscription publishing prospectuses, circa 1860-1912 (Typ 9000): Guide
Status
in_progress
Author
Alice Iu
Date
09/29/2017
Description rules
dacs
Language of description
und
EAD ID
hou02848

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