University of Pennsylvania Finding Aids

This collection (1880-1924) contains documents that relate to the business dealings of A. & W. MacKinlay, Limited, a bookselling company founded by Andrew and William MacKinlay in 1827, and based in Halifax, Nova Scotia.The bulk of the collection consists of invoices charged by A. & W. MacKinlay to H & A. Locke or to D. Y. Stewart and Son, two regional businesses. A few pieces of business correspondence are also included, along with a pair of ledger books which were printed and sold by A. & W. MacKinlay, but which contain the handwritten financial accounts of two unidentified businesses.

Atha Tehon (1926-2012) was a children's book designer and art director at Dial Books for Young Readers for thirty years and a freelance designer. This collection documents Tehon's life and career in the field of children's book publishing through correspondence, professional papers, project files on children's books, artwork, and awards.

Charles W. Frost (1848-1939) was an advertising agent in Philadelphia who published a Comprehensive Calendar (a 250-year calendar beginning in 1753 and ending in 2002). This collection contains letters largely addressed to Frost relating almost exclusively to the perpetual calendar.

Edwin William Pugh (1874-1930), an author known for his works in the style of "the British Cockney School," frequently corresponded with his literary agent, Charles Francis Cazenove (1870-1915). These letters, dating between 1903 and 1915, represent a period of decline in Pugh’s literary career; and the letters, postcards, telegraphs, and telegrams in the collection relate not only to the logistics behind the creation and publication of Pugh’s fiction, but also to the author’s personal struggles, including poverty and poor health.

This collection contains materials related to the study and practice of phrenology, specifically as espoused by American phrenologists Orson Squire Fowler, Lorenzo Niles Fowler, Charlotte Fowler Wells, Lydia Folger Fowler, and Samuel Roberts Wells, who together make up the company Fowler and Wells. Fowler and Wells was the most prolific disseminator of phrenological materials throughout the nineteenth century. The materials in this collection range from extended, personal analyses of individuals, to advertisements and ephemera about phrenological publications, to original editions of the American Phrenological Journal.

The Gotham Book Mart (1920-2006) was one of New York City’s most iconic bookstores during the 20th century. Founded by Frances Steloff (1887-1989), the daughter of poor Russian-Jewish immigrants, the Book Mart became a social center for the New York literati and a focal point for literary modernism in the United States. Steloff’s successor, independent literary manuscript dealer Andreas Brown (1933-), maintained the store’s focus on avant garde and small press publications while incorporating his own interests in postcards and genealogy. This collection contains 91 boxes of material relating to the daily operation of the Book Mart; correspondence, biographical, and legal material from both Brown and Steloff; postcard and genealogical material collected by Brown; photographs of the store, its employees, and events which took place there; and manuscripts and ephemera offered for sale.

Harold Dies (1914-2012) was a trustee of the Dreiser Trust from its establishment following Helen Dreiser's death in 1955 to his own death in 2012. The Dreiser Trust managed the income and approved contracts for sale of Theodore Dreiser's published works. This collection documents Harold Dies' work with the Dreiser trust and includes financial information; agreements, copyright, correspondence, and royalty statements relating to the works of Helen Dreiser, Theodore Dreiser (bulk), and Paul Dresser; correspondence relating to the Trust and the estates of family members; legal and court records relating to estates of family members; some personal material of Harold Dies and members of the Dreiser family (including Gertrude A. Hopkins Dorn (niece of Theodore Dreiser), Helen Dreiser, Theodore Dreiser, Vera Dreiser, and Paul Dresser (brother of Theodore Dreiser)); and publications using Dreiser material or Dreiser-inspired content.

Born to a working class family in Chicago, James T. Farrell (1904-1979) rose quickly to be a leading figure for 20th century naturalism in American literature. An exceptionally prolific writer, Farrell published works spanning over five decades; however, his critics expressed that his output led to poor craftsmanship and editorial discretion throughout his later works. In addition to his professional works, Farrell produced a seemingly inexhaustible amount of correspondence, diaries, articles, and musings which covered a wide range of topics from politics to baseball. The currently available portion of this collection consists of over one hundred linear feet of personal and professional correspondence. Having kept many copies of his own drafts and letters as well, the correspondence provides a nearly complete view into Farrell’s conversations with publishers, politicians, family, fans and critics. Perhaps most importantly, this collection represents Farrell's legacy — an insatiable writer who fought to leave his mark on the world.

Jay A. Gertzman, professor emeritus of English at Mansfield University, is the author of four books: Fantasy, Fashion, and Affection: Illustrated and Decorated Editions of Robert Herrick’s Poetry, Bookleggers and Smuthounds: The Trade in Erotica, 1920-1940; Samuel Roth, Infamous Modernist; and A Descriptive Bibliography of Lady Chatterley's Lover: With Essays Toward a Publishing History of the Novel. This collection focuses on Gertzman's research on Samuel Roth (1893-1974), writer, publisher, and entrepreneur, who is best known for publishing unauthorized excerpts of James Joyce's Ulysses in the United States, and for being the plaintiff in a landmark case before the United States Supreme Court that redefined what constitutes obscene material unprotected by the First Amendment. Researchers will find notes associated with Gertzman's book, Samuel Roth, Infamous Modernist, which was published in 2013 by University Press of Florida, as well as various research notes on Samuel Roth's publishing and writing career.

Isaac Leeser (1806-1868) was a rabbi, educator, writer, translator, editor and publisher; and proposed, founded, or led many significant civic, religious, and charitable institutions. This collection consists of letters, largely written to or from Isacc Leeser, that bear witness to Leeser's efforts to build the infrastructure of organized Jewish life in an English-speaking environment.

This is a collection of business records of two Philadelphia publishing firms, J.P. Horn & Co. and Campion & Company, during the early portion of the 20th century. Materials include account books, invoice books, order books and miscellaneous correspondence regarding finances.

The Philosophical Magazine, which began in 1798, is one of the longest-running scientific journals in the English language. The British journal presents papers on materials science and condensed matter physics, primarily, and is published by Taylor & Francis. This collection consists of galley proofs for scientific articles published in the journal between 1920 and 1921, along with some accompanying manuscripts, typescripts, and illustrations.

The Running Press Records are the institutional records of the Philadelphia based publisher which follow the growth and development of the company from its establishment in the early 1970s to 2008, six years after the company’s acquisition by the Perseus Book Group.

The collection comprises correspondence (485 folders in 20 boxes) and production materials related to Paper Air (23 folders in one box). The correspondence includes solicitations for poetry from Gil Ott and the responses that he received. The poets’ works were either published as books by Singing Horse Press or in the magazine Paper Air.

The collection comprises correspondence and publication materials for works of poetry published by Singing Horse Press.

This collection, dating from 1866 to 2013, contains published works, personal papers, business records and ephemera assembled by Stuart “Buz” Teacher, who founded Running Press with his brother, Lawrence “Larry” Teacher in 1972. Published works that inspired Running Press in its early years are included herein, along with documents that pertain to the publishing house's subsequent growth and sale to the Perseus Books Group in 2002. Around 1983, the Teacher brothers began restoring a townhouse at 125 South 22nd Street in Philadelphia; the documentation of this process is also included in the collection.

This 46-item collection (1972-2017, undated) consists of documents and artifacts identified by Stuart Teacher as significant to the history of Running Press. Founded by brothers Stuart and Lawrence Teacher in Philadelphia in 1972, Running Press grew to be one of the most successful independent publishers in the nation by the mid-1980s. This collection represents, in the words of Stuart Teacher, "two parallel themes" in the company's history: a creativity-centric publishing philosophy and a strong, collaborative employee culture.

Telegraph Books (circa 1970-1972) was a publishing company founded by Victor Bockris, a poet, editor, and biographer of artists, authors, and musicians, poet Aram Saroyan, and literary agent Andrew Wylie. The Telegraph Books collection, dating from 1970 through 1972, documents the activities and functions of Telegraph Books publications in addition to the activities of Victor Bockris at that time, including audio recordings of interviews and conversations with colleagues and workshop materials.

Thomas Lask was the poetry editor at the New York Times. This collection consists of personal correspondence addressed to Lask and other individuals at the New York Times, as well as publications and printed material that Lask saved.