Call Number:

C0262

Repository:

Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division

Extent:

464 boxes

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Elmer Adler papers; Box and Folder Number; Special Collections, Princeton University Library.

Date:

1651-1961 (inclusive) and 1925-1955 (bulk)

Creator:

Princeton University. Library. Special Collections and Adler, Elmer, 1884-1962 (1884-1962)

Form:

Correspondence, Ledgers. United States -- 19th century -- Collections., Vouchers., and Deeds.

Abstract:

Elmer Adler was a printer, publisher, editor, and author. This collection consists of the personal papers of Adler as well as the business archives of the Pynson Printers and The Colophon.

Elmer Adler was a printer, publisher, editor, and author. Born in 1884 in Rochester, New York, Adler attended Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, and took special courses at the University of Rochester and Harvard University. He founded The Pynson Printers (New York) in 1922, helped found Random House in 1927, and founded Colophon: A Book Collector's Quarterly in 1930 and the New Colophon in 1947. An avid collector of books and fine prints, Adler moved his collection to Princeton University in 1940, where he also established a department of graphic arts, served as a professor, and was a curator for the Princeton library. Adler died in 1962.

Consists of the personal papers of Adler as well as the business archives of two of his adventures in graphic arts, the Pynson Printers and The Colophon. Included is correspondence relating to his early interest in graphic arts through L. Adler Brothers & Co., a family-owned clothing manufacturer, and the Memorial Art Gallery, both of Rochester, N.Y. Subsequent career developments, outside of New York, are also documented, including Adler's tenure as Curator of Graphic Arts at Princeton (1940-1952), a department which he was instrumental in creating, his educational lecture tours, and the establishment of La Casa del Libro, a typographical museum in San Juan, Puerto Rico. There is also an autograph collection of 18th and 19th-century material, including New York and Massachusetts deeds.

The business archives of Pynson Printers, Adler's printing enterprise, consist primarily of press jobs. These jobs range from simple advertisements to complete publication and production of books and are all examples of fine printing. The progression of many of these productions, especially The Colophon, is documented through correspondence; the finances of this press is revealed through voucher files, check stubs, and numerous ledgers. The Colophon archives consist primarily of correspondence from readers, contributors, and the presses that printed many of the signatures for the earlier editions. A large part of this reflects the economic situation of the 1930s. There are also several boxes of original manuscripts and financial statements.

Adler's great personal involvement in all of his undertakings prevents a clear-cut division between his private life and business endeavors. He maintained both personal and professional relationships with important figures in the graphic arts and publishing fields, including Alfred A. Knopf, Bennett Cerf, Dard Hunter, Rockwell Kent, John T. Winterich, Al Stanford, and Arthur Sulzberger. His work, especially Breaking into Print, brought him in contact with many well-known authors, such as Willa Cather, Robert Benchley, H. L. Mencken, Christopher Morley, and Franklin D. Roosevelt. Throughout the collection there is correspondence representing many private and commercial presses and book clubs, most notably, the New York Times, Random House, the Carteret Book Club, the Grolier Club, and the Limited Editions Club.