Main content

P. J. Conkwright Collection

Notifications

Held at: Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division [Contact Us]

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.

Overview and metadata sections

Call Number:
C0665
Repository:
Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division
Extent:
  • 21 boxes
  • 8.8 linear feet
Language:
English
Preferred Citation:
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); P. J. Conkwright Collection, Box and Folder Number; Special Collections, Princeton University Library.
Date:
1936-1985 (inclusive)
Creator:
Princeton University. Library. Special Collections and Conkwright, P. J. (P. Jefferson)
Form:
Correspondence and Files.
Abstract:
Designer and Typographer, P.J. Conkwright worked at the Princeton University Press from 1939 to 1970. His collection includes biographical material, correspondence, calendars, and other printed material about the Princeton University Press.

Conkwright, P. J. (P. Jefferson)

P. J. Conkwright came to the Princeton University Press in 1939 from the University of Oklahoma, from which he had received a masters degree and at whose press he had worked as a book designer. In the following decades, his work as a typographer and book designer became nationally known, particularly in the annual exhibitions of the best fifty books produced in the U.S. held by the American Institute of Graphic Art. Many of the books he designed were honored there, and in 1955 the AIGA awarded him its gold medal. Perhaps the best known work credited to his skills is the multi-volume set of the Jefferson papers, which the Press began issuing in 1950.

The collection consists of Conkwright biographical material, correspondence (1939-1985), appointment calendars, files regarding some of the books he designed and printed, and other material, most of it related to his work at the Princeton University Press.

Most of the material in the collection came from the Design Department of the Princeton University Press.

For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.

This collection was processed in 1995. Finding aid written in 1995.

No appraisal information is available.

Organization
Subject
Occupation

Publisher
Manuscripts Division
Finding Aid Date
2002
Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research use.

Use Restrictions

Single copies may be made for research purposes. To cite or publish quotations that fall within Fair Use, as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission is required. For instances beyond Fair Use, it is the responsibility of the researcher to determine whether any permissions related to copyright, privacy, publicity, or any other rights are necessary for their intended use of the Library's materials, and to obtain all required permissions from any existing rights holders, if they have not already done so. Princeton University Library's Special Collections does not charge any permission or use fees for the publication of images of materials from our collections, nor does it require researchers to obtain its permission for said use. The department does request that its collections be properly cited and images credited. More detailed information can be found on the Copyright, Credit and Citations Guidelines page on our website. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us through the Ask Us! form.

Collection Inventory

Scope and Contents

Consists of the MA Thesis: "A History of American Printing Since 1850," documents and photographs of P. J. Conkwright.

Arrangement

Arranged by genre of material.

Physical Description

1 box

MA Thesis: "A History of American Printing Since 1850" (TMs, carbon, 14 pp.), dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Documents, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Photographs, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Memorabilia: P.J. Conkwright Exhibition (Princeton University Library, ), 1963. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Scope and Contents

Consists of correspondence of P. J. Conkwright, arranged in chronological order.

Arrangement

Arranged chronologically.

Physical Description

9 boxes

Undated correspondence, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Dwiggins' Letters, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

1938, 1938. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

1939-1940, 1939-1940. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

1941-1942, 1941-1942. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

1943-1945, 1943-1945. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

1946, 1946. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

1947 January - June, 1947 January - June. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

1947 July - December, 1947 July - December. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

1948 January - June, 1948 January - June. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

1948 July - December, 1948 July - December. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

1949 January - June, 1949 January - June. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

1949 July - December, 1949 July - December. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

1949 (Binny & Ronaldson - related), dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

1950, 1950. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

1951, 1951. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

1952, 1952. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

1953, 1953. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

1954, 1954. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

1955, 1955. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

1955 (American Institute of Graphics Arts Award), dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

1956, 1956. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

1956 (Guggenheim Award), dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

1957, 1957. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

1958, 1958. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

1959, 1959. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

1960, 1960. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

1961, 1961. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

1962, 1962. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

1963 January - June, 1963 January - June. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

1963 July - December, 1963 July - December. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

1963 (Twenty-five year Exhibition by P.J Conkwright), dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

1964 January - June, 1964 January - June. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

1964 July - December, 1964 July - December. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

1964 (Ninth Annual Midwestern Books Competiton), dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

1965 January - June, 1965 January - June. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

1965 July - December, 1965 July - December. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

1966, 1966. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

1967, 1967. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

1968, 1968. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

1969, 1969. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

1970, 1970. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

1971, 1971. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

1972, 1972. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

1973, 1973. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

1974, 1974. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

1974 (The Frederick W. Goudy Award), dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

1975, 1975. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

1976, 1976. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

1977, 1977. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

1978, 1978. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

1979-1985, 1979-1985. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Scope and Contents

Consists of printing jobs such as Abraham Lincoln and the Illinois Central Railroad, by Edwin S. S. Sunderland, American Scientist, edited by Hugh S. Taylor, Domestic Manners of the Americans, by Mrs. Frances Trollope, as well as others.

Arrangement

Arranged by job or subject title.

Physical Description

6 boxes

Abraham Lincoln and the Illinois Central Railroad, by Edwin S. S. Sunderland, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Alexander Hamilton (New York: Columbia University Press, ), 1960. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

The American Scandinavian Review (Princeton: Princeton University Press, ), circa 1953. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

American Scientist, edited by Hugh S. Taylor, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Analysis by C. William Miller of colonial type holdings, focusing on Benjamin Franklin, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

The Baker and Taylor Company, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Papers concerning George Carson Rike, Associate Director of Banter University Press. Includes correspondence with Herbert S. Bailey, Jr. of the Princeton University Press and Savoie Lottinville, University of Oklahoma Press, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Bear Lake Congress projects, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Been Here and Gone, by Frederick Ramsey, Jr. (New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, ), 1960. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Bookplate for Princeton University Library by Reynolds Stone, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Boston: A Series of Engravings on Wood, by Rudolph Ruzicka, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Chester County Cookery, by Virginia Penrose, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Christmas cards for the Princeton Art Museum, 1968. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

College of the Atlantic, by Russell Wiggins, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Collier's Encyclopedia, edited by Louis Shores, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Concerning Famous Women, by Boccaccio (New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, ), 1963. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

The Adams Papers, series, edited by Lyman H. Butterfield (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, ), 1960. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Domestic Manners of the Americans, by Mrs. Frances Trollope, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Dr. Panofsky and Mr. Tarkington, edited by Richard Ludwig, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Early American Book Illustrators and Wood Engravers, by Sinclair Hamilton, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Early Books and Manuscripts: Forty Years of Research, by Curt F. Buhler, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Elmer Adler in the World of Books, edited by Paul A. Bennet, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Emma, by Jane Austin and illustrated by Fritz Kredel, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

The Praise of Folly, by Erasmus (Princeton University Press), dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Family Letters of Robert and Elinor Frost, edited by Arnold Grade, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

The First Presbyterian Church of Princeton: Two Centuries of History, edited by Arthur S. Link (Princeton: ), 1967. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

The Folger Shakespeare Library Prints, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

For Whom the Bell Tolls, by Ernest Hemingway (Princeton: Princeton University Press, ), 1942. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Guest book for the Glades Congress in honor of Walter Muir Whitehill, 1958. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

This Glorious Cause, by Herbert T. Wade and Robert A. Lively, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Gottwald Family History: The First Century of the Gottwalds and the Frefogles in Richmond, Virginia 1822-1922, by Joseph C. Robert, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

A Guide to the Manuscript Collections in the Rutgers University Library, 1962. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Projects for the University of Kentucky, including Hail Kentucky!: A Pictorial History of the University of Kentucky, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

The First Fifty Years: A History of Princeton Hospital 1919-1969, by Harvey Rothberg and Don Evans, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

The House on College Avenue: The Comptons at Wooster 1891-1913, by James R. Blackwood, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

"If" by Rudyard Kipling, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Projects with the Curtis Institute of Music, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Correspondence with Savoie Lottinville, University of Oklahoma Press, including a discussion about jacket designs, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Jacob Eichholtz 1776-1842: Portrait Painter of Pennsylvania, by Rebecca J. Beal, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Work on Joseph Brandt, entitled variously: J.A.B.; Joe Brandt...; From Pulp to Pomp or How Joe Gets Away With It: A Book to End All Books; Joe Brandt, Pres.: A Pipe Dream, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Robert Frost: The Early Years, 1874-1915 and Robert Frost: The Years of Triumph, 1915-1938, by Lawrance Thompson, and Robert Frost: The Later Years, 1938-1963, by Thompson and R. H. Winnick, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

A Letter from Mr Justice Holmes, by O. W. Holmes, a project of Conkwright's "basement" press, 1948. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Letters of Louis D. Brandeis, series, edited by Melvin I. Urofsky and David W. Levy, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

The Literary Career of William Faulkner: A Bibliographical Study, by James B. Meriwether, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Lullabies of the World, by Dorothy Berliner Commins, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Hints to Lyman on Going to Europe for the Tribe of Adams, by Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin, a journal for Lyman H. Butterfield, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Maps of Princeton campus and environs 1936, Dartmouth College 1950, Haverford College 1947, Williamsburg guides 1939, 1945, outline map of the world (1937), 1936. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Memorial Collection: Lawrance Thompson, (Princeton, Princeton University Press, ), circa 1974. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Various Princeton University departmental projects and personal work in conjunction with Julian P. Boyd, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

My Ántonia, by Willa Cather, for the Franklin Library's "100 Greatest Masterpieces of American Literature," a limited edition collection, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

The Mythic Image by Joseph Campbell, Bollingen Series C (PUP), dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

New Hampshire's Child: The Derry Journals of Lesley Frost, with notes and index by Lawrance Thompson and Arnold Grade, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

New Jersey Archives, the third series, beginning with Volume I: Minutes of the Governor's Privy Council 1777-1789, edited by David A. Bernstein, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Nomination, Hearing before the Committee on Labor and Public Welfare, United States Senate, on Henry Allen Moe to be Chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities, 1966. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Prospective projects for the "Pleasant Jefferson Press", dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

The Papers of George Washington, series, edited by Donald Jackson, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, series, edited by Julian P. Boyd, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Poems of John Donne, edited by Sir Herbert Grierson, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

The Power of Freedom in Human Affairs, by Henry Allen Moe, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Princeton History, catalogue, edited by Alfred L. Bush, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Letterhead for Princeton Scientific Instruments, Inc. and bookplate for Robert H. Taylor, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Princeton University presentation medallions, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

"Some type specimens of Justus Fox, Alexander Wilson, and Edmund Fry submitted to Congress in 1785 by four American printers who were competing for a printing job", dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Maps, "Robert Frost's Thirty Acre Farm in Derry, New Hampshire" and "Derry, N.H.: The Site of Travels in the Vicinity of Robert Frost's Farm", dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Records of design specifications for books worked on, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Remarks at a White House Luncheon June 17, 1963, pamphlet, by Julian P. Boyd, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Salmagundi: Byron, Allegra, and the Trollope Family, by John N. Hall, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Selected Letters of Robert Frost, edited by Lawrance Thompson, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Scholarly Books in America: A Quarterly Bibliography of University Press Publications, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Letterheads for the School Services Programs, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Some Impressions of Bruce F. Denbo, Director of the University of Kentucky Press and the University Press of Kentucky 1950-1978, re: Denbo's retirement, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Ben Spruance's portfolio of lithographs inspired by Moby Dick, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Projects for Jane des Grange, director of Suffolk Museum and Carriage House at Stony Brook, Long Island, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

In appreciation to Thomas D. Clark, presentation of the University of Kentucky (Lexington: University of Kentucky Press, ), 1968. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

An excerpt from The Trial by Franz Kafka for the Hammermill Paper Company's memorial to George Salter, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

A Tribute to Oliver W. Holmes, 1972. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Projects for the University of Kentucky Centennial, 1965. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Valley Views of Northeastern Pennsylvania, by Gilbert S. McClintock, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Walden, by Henry David Thoreau and edited by J. Lyndon Shanley, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Various sketches with the caption: "We have designs on you -- so hurry back!", dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Scope and Contents

Consists of subject files for Archibald Binny, Art 407 (a seminar taught by P.J Conkwright), and International Walkers Association of America, Inc., as well as others.

Arrangement

Arranged alphabetically by subject.

Physical Description

2 boxes

Art 407 (seminar taught by P.J Conkwright in Spring, ), 1968. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Baine Printing Types, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Binny, Archibald, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Binny & Ronaldson (1), dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Binny & Ronaldson (2), dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Binny & Ronaldson (3): ledger, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Eastern Corporation Type Specimen Sheets, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

International Walkers Association of America, Inc., dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Journals of Congress etc, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Typefaces, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Scope and Contents

Consists of appointment calendars of P. J. Conkwright from 1962-1975 and 1977.

Arrangement

Not arranged according to any arrangement scheme.

Physical Description

1 box

Appointment Calendars of P. J. Conkwright from 1962-1975 and 1977, 1962-1975. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

Scope and Contents

Consists of printed matter, clippings, and additional papers.

Arrangement

Arranged by genre of material.

Physical Description

3 boxes

Miscellaneous Hornbook of Print 1934 by P. J. Conkwright, dates not examined. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

The Publishers ' Weekly, The American Book Trade Journal, dates not examined. 1 box.
Physical Description

1 box

Newspaper and magazine clippings, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Printed matter, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Princeton University Library Chronicle, P. J. Conkwright issue, Vol. LVI, no. 2, 1995 winter with 49 negatives for the illustrations, 1995 winter. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Additional Papers (AM 2010-130), 1936-1971. 2 boxes.
Physical Description

2 boxes

Print, Suggest