College Press Publications
A small collection of material from the College Press, which was set up in 1963 by Philip Gaskell (1926-2001), who then held posts jointly in the English Department and the Library of Glasgow University. This small collection of material does not contain the entire output of the College Press, but is rather a representative sample of the work it produced.
The author of the seminal work A new introduction to bibliography, Gaskell's aim was to demonstrate the setting of type by hand to senior and junior members of the English Department. This was part of a broader movement in the late 1950s and 1960s to establish bibliographical presses with the express purpose of teaching the techniques of the hand-press period to students of literature.
Using a Columbian iron press, dating from c.1830, this amateur private press printed a range of short texts, pamphlets and cards. Some of these publications drew upon unique material held in the Library's Special Collections Department.
Following Gaskell's appointment as Librarian of Trinity College, Cambridge in 1967, the press continued in use until the early 1980s. The Columbian press was transferred to Glasgow School of Art in 1997.
How to find material in the College Press collection
- For a list of titles held, see Sp Coll College Press
- There is a small amount of manuscript material relating to the administration and deposit of publications, dating from the early 1970s when John Morris was in charge of the press. Presently uncatalogued, please contact Special Collections for further details.
