A printer with my hands: the life work of Carl P. Rollins

Abstract

"As a member of a network of printers, designers, and bibliophiles, Carl Purington Rollins (1880-1960) helped transform graphic design and bibliographic studies in the United States. During his career, Rollins designed over 2,000 books and 8,000 pieces of ephemera. By applying the ideals of the Arts and Crafts Movement and design principles based on historical precedents to contemporary books and ephemera, he influenced the appearance of printed materials in twentieth-century America. This survey of the life and work of Rollins tells the story of the presses and collaborations with which he was involved. In addition to his printing and design output, he helped Yale University become an internationally renowned center for printing and the graphic arts, and his teaching at the Bibliographical Press, affiliated with the university's library, established design standards for scholarly publishing and for the teaching of hands-on bookmaking processes within academia. Through consulting, lecturing, and teaching, Rollins shared teaching practices he developed at the Bibliographical Press with faculty members and librarians at a number of colleges and universities. A Printer with My Hands, which draws extensively on archival sources and is illustrated with images of Rollins' work, documents his distinguished career and explores his collaborations with his wife Margaret Dickey Rollins and his colleagues William Addison Dwiggins, Bruce Rogers, and Hannah Dustin French. Offering a fresh perspective into printing history and new insight into the origins of the bibliographical-press movement, this eminently readable book will appeal to bibliophiles of all types"--Dust jacket.

Contents

Introduction: "Every job is a fresh opportunity" -- The apprentice: an education in printing -- The journeyman: Wanderjahre -- The journeyman's masterpiece: a press of his own -- The master designs: the Yale University Press -- The master prints: a private press at home -- The master teaches: the Bibliographical Press -- The master's influence: the bibliographic press movement -- The master retires: Rollins' legacy -- Conclusion: "Work at the job" -- Timeline -- Acknowledgments -- Credits -- Archival sources -- Bibliography -- Index -- About the author.