AMPERSAND CLUB:
An Inventory of Its Records at the Minnesota Historical Society
Manuscripts Collection
| | |
| Creator: |
Ampersand Club, creator.
|
| Title: | Ampersand Club records. |
| Dates: | 1930-2016. |
| Abstract: | Correspondence, meeting and event announcements, minutes,
membership lists, annual reports, publications, and printed material collected by a
Twin Cities bibliophile group, organized in 1930 for the purpose of bringing
together people interested in all phases of the book and the book arts. |
| Quantity: | 2.7 cubic feet (3 boxes and 1 oversize
folder in partial box). |
| Location: | See Detailed Description for shelf
locations. |
The Ampersand club was formed in November 1930 on the initiative of Frank K. Walter
and Arnett L. Leslie for the purpose of bringing together informally men interested
in all phases of the book and the book arts. For its first several years of
existence, the club was known only as "The Unnamed Book Club." It was not until 1935
that the name Ampersand Club was adopted at the suggestion of writer and Saturday Review of Literature editor Christopher
Morley.
Membership in the club was initially limited to 16 men but was soon increased to 35.
Members included printers, publishers, typographers, artists, booksellers,
educators, librarians, book collectors, and others interested in aspects of the book
arts and book trade. The structure established for the organization was simple, with
a secretary as its only officer and no dues required. Meetings featured papers or
talks by members or visitors concerning bookish or typographical specialities and
visits to public and private libraries, typographical exhibits, printing and
publishing houses, and bookstores. The group remained all male until sometime in the
1980s. By 1989 the membership rolls listed over 100 men and women.
Historical information was taken from the collection.
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Correspondence, meeting and event announcements, minutes, membership lists, annual
reports, and publications printed by the club, as well as selected printed material
collected by the group for its library. The collection includes copies of several
books and other items published by the club and samples of publications by local
presses and organizations involved in the local book trade.
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Availability:
The collection is open for research use.
Preferred Citation:
[Indicate the cited item and/or series here].
Ampersand Club Records. Minnesota Historical Society.
See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional
examples.
Accession Information:
Accession number: 15,623; 17,709
Processing Information:
Processed by: Lara D. Friedman~Shedlov, July 2001; Leif Kopietz, August 2019
Catalog ID number: 990017371940104294
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| Location | Box |
| 152.C.19.2F | 1 | Membership lists, nominations, forms, and directories, 1931-1932, 1987, 1940, 1979, 1987-1989,
1995-1998. 2 folders. |
| | | Includes a 1940 booklet published by the club with a membership list and a
brief history of the first ten years of the club written by Paul Hillestad
(then the club secretary). |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Governance, 1930s, 1979-1980, 1987. |
| | | Includes constitution and bylaws (1930, 1979); membership lists, secretary
reports, financial summuraies, and member correspondence (1930s); articles
of incorporation (1980); and employer identification number (EIN)
information (1987). |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Annual reports, 1935-1936, 1938-1939. |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Meeting announcements, 1938-1949. |
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| | Correspondence: |
| | | Paul Bennett and "Waybill for a Way Goose," 1947. |
| | | | Correspondence with typographer Paul Bennett, who was the guest at a
goose dinner given in his honor by the Ampersand Club in 1947. Also
included are the script of a presentation given at the dinner ("Waybill
for a Way Goose"), biographical information on Bennett, and news
clippings. Also included is a 1967 reprint of the keepsake that was
originally printed for the occasion. |
| | | James Mason Brown and Beyond the
Present, 1947-1950. |
| | | | Correspondence with Brown concerning his 1942 Montana State University
commencement address, "Beyond the Present," which was published in book
form by the Ampersand Club in 1948. Also includes press clippings. |
| | | Friends, Romans . . ., 1939-1941. |
| | | | Correspondence, press clippings, and other records related to the
publication of Friends, Romans . . ., a
talk given by Christopher Morley on the occasion of the fiftieth
anniversary of the Minneapolis Public Library (1939) and published in
book form by the Ampersand Club in 1940. |
| | | Daniel Wallace, 1941-1947. |
| | | | Personal correspondence between club secretary Paul Hillestad and his
uncle, Daniel Wallace, concerning family news and publishing matters.
|
| | | Miscellaneous correspondence, 1939-1945, 1954, 1950. |
| | | | Primarily letters to and from Paul Hillestad, who served as club
secretary from 1938 to 1940. |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Fifty Books Exhibit, May 1939. |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Publications: |
| | | Ampersander (newsletter), 1970, 1972-1973. |
| | | | Includes the first three (the only three?) issues of this occasional
newsletter of the club. |
| | | Friends, Romans . . . by Christopher
Morley (1940); Life in a London Bookshop by
Anthony Rota (1989). 2 volumes. |
| | | "Pestalozzi" (1931); "Waybill for a Way Goose" (1967 reprint of
original 1947 publication); Beyond the
Present by John Mason Brown (1948); The
Ampersand Club: Retrospect and Prospect, 1965; "Ampersanders
of Modern Minneapolis," (undated). |
| | | Miscellaneous printed material, undated and 1977, 1988, 1998. |
| | | | Includes event announcements and keepsakes printed on the occasion of
various club outings. |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Publications Collected by the Club: |
| | | Sumac Press, 1950-1977. 7 volumes. |
| | | | Includes the following items published by Sumac Press (La Crosse,
Wis.): |
| | | | "Of the Craft of Poynting," [und]. Passage attributed to Wynkyn de Worde
reprinted by Emerson G. Wulling. |
| | | | Why Capital and Lower Case Forms? Questions About
the Shape of Roman Letters Asked by Emerson G. Wulling,
1950. |
| | | | "My Favorite Type," 1965. Printed by Emerson G. Wulling to celebrate the
fiftieth anniversary of Sumac Press. |
| | | | J.Johnson, Typ.: Oddments from his Typographia, or
the Printers' Instructor: With an Original Leaf Therefrom,
1967. By Emerson G. Wulling. |
| | | | The Case of the Conan Doyle Crime Library,
1968. By Walter Klinefelter. |
| | | | Again the Kensington Stone, 1969. By Carl
Christian Jensen. |
| | | | A Comp's-Eye View of Paper, 1971. By
Emerson G. Wulling. |
| | | | Check List of Private Printings by Fred Totten
Phelps, 1977. Compiled by Sumac Press. |
| | | Leslie Paper Company, undated. 8 items. |
| | | | Promotional publications printed by the John Leslie Paper Company (later
known as Leslie Paper). |
| | | Promotional material of the local book trade, undated and 1985-1986. 2 folders including 10 items. |
| | | | Includes promotional material from Webb Publishing Company (St. Paul,
Minn.), Miller Publishing Company (Minneapolis, Minn.), Foss Printing
and Lithography (Minneapolis, Minn.), Tension Envelope Corporation
(Minneapolis, Minn.), Jensen Printing Company (Minneapolis, Minn.),
Campbell-Logan Bindery (Minneapolis, Minn.), and the Bieler Press
(Minneapolis, Minn.). |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Programs and expenses, 1982-1995. 4 folders. |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| Location | Box |
| 152.B.16.1B | 2 | Programs and expenses, 1996-2011. 7 folders. |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| | List of Ampersand events, 1985-2003. |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Events and invitations, undated and 1939-2016. 8 folders. |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Publications, Eckman-Cleland, 1991. |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Letters, undated and 1995-2001. |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| | May 99 Dinner-Cathy Baker, April-May 1999. |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Invitation information, undated and 1998-2001. |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Oscar Wilde Society of America and Broadside, February-March 2002. |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Slide talk with Betty Bright, February 10, 2003. |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Robin Price, March-November 2002. |
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| | Ampersand Benefit Auction, September 1998. |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Archive documents, undated, 1951, 1988-2003. |
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| | Midwest Bookhunters Book Fair, July 1991, July 1992. 2 folders. |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Ampersand board meeting minutes, December 19, 1990-April 28, 1992. 14 folders. |
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| Location | Box |
| 152.B.16.2F | 3 | Ampersand photographs, May 20, 1992. |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Ampersand meeting, May 20, 1992. |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Ampersand meeting, Elmer L. Anderson loans for exhibit, May 20, 1992. |
| | | Correspondence regarding the loan of rare chapbooks to Elmer Anderson from
the New York Public Library for exhibition at the Wilson Library at the
University of Minnesota. |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Ampersand meeting, New York Public Library, May 20, 1992. |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Ampersand meeting, publication party, September-October 1992. |
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| | Ampersand meeting, George Cruikshank exhibit, October 1, 1992. |
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| | Ampersand meeting, November 7, 1992. |
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| | Ampersand board meeting minutes, 1993-1997. 4 folders. |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Ampersand members, February-March 1992. |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Ampersand publications: |
| | |
Emerson G. Wulling, 75 Years a Printer,
Sumac Press, 1991. |
| | | "In Fair Dehiscence" the Correspondence of
James R. Eckman & T.M. Cleland, 1991-1992. 7 folders. |
| | | | Includes original transcript, drafts, and proofs. |
| | | Possible Ampersand publications, August 1992. |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Emerson Wulling Artist Exchange, 1992. |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Logo markup, August-September 2001. |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Newsletters, 1970-1973, 2004-2005. |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Ruminations after the Event chapbook, 1992. |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Retrospect and Prospect chapbook, 1965. |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Miscellaneous materials, 1991-1994. 2 folders. |
| | | Diassembled binder containing meeting minutes, program information,
publications, miscellaneous correspondence, and information on the Club's
membership drive and annual dinner. |
| | | [0.4 cubic feet empty, letter sized] |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| Location | Box |
| 108.D.10.3B-2 | 4 | Oversized letter press and posters, 1973-2001. |
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the
Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics,
persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.
- Topics:
- Bibliomania.
- Book clubs (Bookselling) -- Minnesota.
- Book clubs (Discussion groups) -- Minnesota.
- Book collecting -- Minnesota -- Societies,
etc.
- Authors and publishers -- Minnesota.
- Publishers and publishing.
- Printing -- Societies, etc.
- Literature -- Societies, etc.
- Antiquarian booksellers -- Middle West.
- Persons:
- Bennett, Paul A.,
1897-1966.
- Brown, John Mason, 1900-1969,
author.
- Hillestad, Paul C., author.
- Morley, Christopher,
1890-1957.
- Rota, Anthony, author.
- Kent, Rockwell, 1882-1971,
author.
- Wallace, Daniel A., author.
- Wulling, Emerson G., author.
- Andersen, Elmer L., 1909-2004,
author.
- Organizations:
- John Leslie Paper Company
(Minneapolis, Minn.).
- Leslie Paper (Firm : Minneapolis,
Minn.).
- Sumac Press.
- Unnamed Book Club (Minneapolis,
Minn.).
- Midwest Bookhunters.
- Document Types:
- Photographs.
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