Special Collections Department
Fridolf Johnson
Papers
1950-1985
(bulk dates 1960-1985)
Manuscript Collection Number: 298
Accessioned: Purchase, November
1990
Extent: 10 linear ft.
Content: Correspondence, photographs,
greeting cards, broadsides, prospectuses, printing ephemera, books,
serials, clippings, articles, pamphlets, programs, keepsakes, exhibition announcements,
catalogs, and bookplates
Access: The collection is open for research.
Processed: April 1994 by Kelly
Baum
Special Collections, University of Delaware Library
Newark, Delaware 19717-5267
(302) 831-2229
Table of Contents
Biographical Note
Author, illustrator and calligrapher Fridolf Johnson (1905-1988) studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and then remained in Illinois for nine years as art director for the Frankel-Rose Agency. He moved to California in 1942, free- lancing in San Francisco and operating Contempo Art Service in Hollywood. After ten years on the West Coast, Johnson left for New York in 1952 where he worked as a designer and professional calligrapher. From the 1950s into the 1960s, Johnson became increasingly interested in printing and typography. He established his own private press, the Mermaid Press, and became an active member of the Typophiles, Junkateers, Zamorano Club, and New York Chappel of Private Presses. From 1962 until 1970 Johnson was the executive editor of American Artist and contributed myriad book reviews and articles for the periodical. He wrote on topics ranging from contemporary graphic art, lithography, and printmaking to book illustrations, bookplates, and the artists Rockwell Kent and William Morris. Johnson also wrote A Treasury of Bookplates from the Renaissance to the Present, co-authored 200 Years of American Graphic Art, and edited Rockwell Kent: An Anthology of His Work. Examples of his calligraphy and print specimens can be found in the collections of several museums, galleries, and public libraries, including the New York Public Library and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Johnson resided in Woodstock, New York, until his death in July 1988.Sources:
Obituary, The New York Times, 27 July 1988.
“Obituary.” American Artist. 52 (Oct 1988): 6.
Scope and Content Note
The Fridolf Johnson Papers consist of ten linear feet of material related to Johnson’s career as a printer, calligrapher, and writer, spanning the dates 1950 to 1985, reflecting Johnson’s interest in lettering, italic handwriting, and the fine and graphic arts. It includes prolific correspondence, photographs, greeting cards, broadsides, prospectuses, printing ephemera, keepsakes, books, serials, clippings, articles, pamphlets, programs, exhibition announcements, catalogs, and bookplates.
The collection is organized in three series: Series I Subject Files, Series II Miscellaneous, and Series III Printed Ephemera. The first series, a compilation of subject files created by Johnson and arranged in alphabetical order, consists of information on particular people and topics. This series represents one of the collection’s strengths, as it contains a vast amount of material on prominent graphic artists, printers, and typographers with whom Johnson worked or corresponded. Included in his archive are the names Albert Schiller, Eric Gill, John Lehman, Rudolph Ruzicka, Paul Bennett, Warren Chappell, Frederick Goudy, and Joseph Weiler. Johnson also accumulated extensive material on private presses and their operators, such as Charles Antin of Serendipity Press, John Anderson of Pickering Press, and John Lehman of Katydid Press. These folders contain correspondence to and from Johnson offering business advice or aesthetic opinions, suggestions for projects, clippings and articles, photographs, broadsides, prospectuses, and print specimens.
While active in the printing community, Johnson preserved profuse records on the Typophiles, Junkateers, New York Chappel, and Zamorano Club. (These include three files of photographs documenting Junkateer field trips.) Johnson also amassed a wealth of information while researching his articles; he preserved this material in his archives, frequently along with copies of the essays he wrote. These topics range from the artists William Morris, Donald Jackson, Roy Lindstrom, and Rockwell Kent to the history of bookplates. (The William Morris file includes a holograph signature by Jane Morris.) This first series also contains material on artists Walter Kuhn and Frank DeGioia, wood engraver Paul Forster, and illustrator Tom Cleland. Many of these files include photographs of the artist’s work or, in the case of Forster, actual prints. Johnson maintained several folders related to calligraphy and calligraphic organizations as well. These consist of newsletters, exhibition announcements, requests for Johnson’s own work, examples of calligraphy, and material on Jim Hayes and Oscar Ogg.
The second series is Johnson’s miscellaneous compilation of printed material. These folders contain catalogs, exhibition announcements, invitations, keepsakes, serials, and some of Johnson’s personal correspondence. The last series is composed of three subsections devoted exclusively to printed ephemera. The first subseries is a large collection of private press ephemera such as keepsakes, print specimens, advertisements, and prospectuses which Johnson acquired throughout the years. The second subseries contains keepsakes from Oxford University Press and the third contains several issues of The Minotaur, a serial published in California in the 1960s.
Related Collections:
Mss 209 Goudy, Frederic W., collectionMss 297 De Pol, John, collection
Mss 304 Kent, Rockwell, letters to David Wesley
Mss 338 Feinberg, Sidney, and George Grady, letters from calligraphers to
Mss 358 A. Colish, Press of, archives
Mss 412 Hood, W. Russell, collection related to typography and graphic design
See also this guide to selected primary resources:
Series List
I. Subject Files
II. Miscellaneous
1. Catalogs
2. Exhibition announcements
3. Invitations
4. Keepsakes
5. Keepsakes
6. Personal correspondence
7. Print specimens
8. Print specimens
III. Printed Ephemera
1. Private Presses
2. Oxford University Press
3. The Minotaur
Appendix
Bibliography of books from the library of Fridolf Johnson
Contents List
Box -- Folder -- Contents
Series I. Subject Files, 1950-1985
1 F1 Abrahms, George F2 Adams, Henry F3 Advertising Typographers of America F4 American papermaking F5 Antin, Charles Antin, Charles – Serendipity Press F6 (a) F7 (b) Anderson, John – Pickering Press F8 (a) F9 (b) F10 Angelo, Valenti F11 Archer, H. Richard F12 Archer, H. Richard – Hippogryph Press F13 Arellanes, Audrey F14 Aronin, Ben F15 Bahr, Leonard F16 Bank, Arnold F17 Barnes & Noble Bennett, Paul A. F18 Keepsake F19 (a) F20 (b) F21 Benson, John Howard 1 Bookplates F22 (a) F23 (b) F24 Bookplate art F25 Bookplate artists F26 Bookplate books F27 British F28 Bookplate history 2 F29 Bookplate Society F30 U.S.A. F31 Brussel-Smith, Bernard F32 California presses Calligraphers F33 Chicago F34 Society of Calligraphers (1950s) F35 Christmas cards Calligraphy F36 (a) F37 (b) F38 (c) F39 Exhibition F40 Jim Hayes F41 Oscar Ogg F42 Society for Calligraphy F43 Carnes, Burton F44 Carter, Will F45 Chappell, Warren Christmas cards F46 (a) F47 (b) Christmas ephemera F48 (a) F49 (b) F50 (c) Series I. Subject Files (cont’d) Cleland, Tom 2 F51 (a) F52 (b) F53 (c) F54 Dahlstrom, Grant – The Castle Press F55 Decorative line work F56 Dickman, Alfred O. Di Gioia, Frank F57 (a) F58 (b) F59 Early presses F60 European writings F61 Farrier, Herbert 3 F62 Filby, Bill F63 Firmback, Clifford F64 Fitterer, Jack F65 Forster, Paul F66 Gill, Eric F67 Giusti, George F68 Glasser, Howard F69 Gonzalez, Amado Goudy, Frederic W., ephemera F70 (a) F71 (b) F72 (c) F73 (d) F74 (e) 3 F75 Grabhorn Press F76 Hayes, James F77 Holtan, Gene F78 Italic handwriting F79 Jackson, David Jones, Robert – Gladhand Press F80 (a) F81 (b) F82 Jones, Theo F83 Junkateers Junkateer photographs F84 (a) F85 (b) F86 (c) F87 Keenan, J.P. Kent, Rockwell F88 General F89 Paintings F90 Prints F91 Klingspor Museum F92 Knopf, Alfred – Keepsake F93 Koch, Rudolf F94 Korean type Kuhn, Walter F95 (a) F96 (b) Lehman, John – Katydid Press 3 F97 (a) 4 F98 (b) F99 (c) F100 (d)
Series I. Subject Files (cont’d) F101 Lettering F102 Limited Editions Club F103 Lindstrom, Roy F104 Lippoczy, N. F105 Low, Joseph F106 Mermaid Press F107 Metzger, Phil F108 Miller, Edgar F109 Miniature books F110 Morgan, Willard F111 Morris, Henry Morris, William F112 (a) F113 (b) F114 Nemoy, Maurey New York Chappel F115 Keepsake (a) F116 Keepsake (b) F117 Keepsake (c) F118 Keepsake (d) F119 Meetings 5 F120 Rosters Nonesuch Press F121 (a) F122 (b) F123 (c) F124 Paper currency F125 Petty, G.H. F126 Press exhibitions Private presses F127 (a) F128 (b) F129 Prospectuses and broadsides F130 Prospectuses F131 Rike, George – Banter University Press Ruzicka, Rudolph F132 (a) F133 (b) F134 Ryder, John – Miniature Press F135 Salome Schiller, Albert – Advertising Agencies’ Service Co. F136 (a) F137 (b) F138 (c) Script F139 General F140 Early American F141 Print F142 Silver, Rollo F143 Simpson, Herbert 5 F144 Small prints F145 Society of Printer, Boston F146 Standard, Paul Stationery F147 1890 F148 Chicago F149 Stinehour Press F150 Tideline Press Series I. Subject Files (cont'd) 6 F151 Tomkins, Willis – Ogham Press F152 Torre, Vincent F153 Trajan Letter F154 Type ornament F155 Type – typographers Typophiles F156 (a) F157 (b) F158 Chapbooks F159 Keepsakes (a) F160 Keepsakes (b) F161 Monograph Series (a) F162 Monograph Series (b) F163 Watermarks F164 Watts, Steve F165 Weiler, Joseph F166 West Coast calligraphy F167 Wheelwright, Thea 6 F168 White, Lewis F169 Wirth, Robert Zamorano Club F170 (a) F171 (b) Series II. Miscellaneous Material 7 F1 Catalogs F2 Exhibition announcements F3 Invitations Keepsakes F4 (a) F5 (b) F6 Personal correspondence Print specimens F7 (a) F8 (b) F9 Serials F10 Unidentified negative Series III. Printed Ephemera Series III.1. Private Press Ephemera 7 F11 Lakeside Press, Marchbanks Press, Ogham Press F12 Golden Hind Press, Spiral Press, Stinehour Press Miscellaneous F13 (a) F14 (b) F15 (c) F16 (d) F17 (e) F18 (f) F19 (g) F20 (h) Series III.2. Oxford University Press Keepsakes F21 (a) F22 (b) 8 F23 (c) F24 (d) F25 (e) Series III.3. The Minotaur F26 Jan 1962-Jun 1965
Archer, H. Richard and Ward Ritchie. Modern Fine Printing:
Papers Read at a Clark Library Seminar. Los Angeles:
William Andrews Clark Memorial Library, University of
California, 1968. Morris Library Z231.5 .P7 M6 1968
Baatz, Ronald. Afternoon Plums Rising. Tannersville, NY:
Tideline Press, 1982. Spec PS3552 .A154 A68x 1982
___________. All The Days Are. Tannersville, NY: Tideline
Press, 1974. Special Collections PS3552 .A154 A45x
1974
Bacmeister, Ernst. The Christmas Tree Auction. Wood
engravings by John De Pol. Madison, NJ: Golden Hind
Press, 1954. Spec PT2603 .A237 C5713 1954
Beye, Holly. Stairwells and Marriages. San Francisco: The
Print Workshop, 1955. Spec PS3503 .E94 S73x 1955
Billias, Chris and Athena Billias. Weak. Drawings by
Athena Billias. Tannersville, NY: Tideline Press,
1979. Spec folio NC139 .B49 A4 1979
Bishop, Wendy. Second Nature: 7 Poems by Wendy Bishop.
Tannersville, NY: Tideline Press, 1980. Spec PS3552
.I7724 S4 1980
Blake, William. Proverbs of Hell. Harper Woods, MI: Adagio
Press, 1982. Spec PR4144 .P73 1982
Blaser, Robin. Cups. San Francisco: Four Seasons
Foundation, 1968. Spec PS3552 .L37 C8 1968
Byrne, Seamus. Design for a Headstone: A Play. Dublin:
Progress House, 1956. Spec PR6003 .Y48 D4
Claire, William F. The Strange Coherence of Our Dream:
Poems. Riverside, CT: Magic Circle Press, 1973. Spec
PS3553 .L2252 S77x 1973
De Balzac, Honoré. Jésus Christ en Flandre. Strawberry
Hill Press, 1928. Spec PQ2167 .J413x 1928
Drachler, Rose. Amulet Against Drought. Tannersville, NY:
Tideline Press, 1978. Spec PS3554 . R16 A8 1978
Dreier, Thomas. The Power of Print – and Men. Brooklyn,
NY: Mergenthaler Linotype Company, [1936]. Morris
Library Z253 .D77
Bibliography of books from Fridolf Johnson
Edwards, Hilton. Elephant in Flight. Dublin: Dolmen Press,
1967. Spec PR6009 .D733 E4x 1967
Eigner, Larry. Earth Birds. Guildford, England: Circle
Press, 1981. Spec folio PS3509 .I47 E37 1981
Franklin, Benjamin. “He Snatched the Lightening from
Heaven, and the Sceptre from Tyrants.” Illustrated by
John De Pol. NY, 1956. Spec PS746 1956
_______________. A Quart of Oysters and other Bon Mots of
Bon Homme Richard. Wood engravings by John De Pol.
NY, 1972. Spec PS746 1972
_______________. On True Happiness and Other Essays. Wood
engravings by John De Pol. NY, 1958. Spec PS745 .A2
1958
Gorman, Leroy. Only Shadflies Have Come. [Oneonta, NY]:
Swamp Press, [1979]. Spec PR9199.3 .G635 O55x 1979
How, Louis. Narcissus and Two Other Poems. NY: Harbor
Press, 1928. Spec PS3515 .O814 N3 1928
Kage. Only the Ashes. Santa Fe, NM: Tooth of Time Books,
Amaranth Press, 1981. Spec PL832 .A44 O513x 1981
King, Edith Morgan. Harriet Hosmer, Yankee Sculptor.
Stamford, CT: Overbrook Press, [1968]. Morris Library
NB237 .H6 K5
Lehman, Barbara Shaw. Poems with Titles. Bainbridge, PA:
The Katydid Press, 1962. Spec PS 3562 .E427 P64x 1962
___________________. Ten Poems. Bainbridge, PA: The
Katydid Press, 1957. Spec PS3562 .E427 T46x 1957
Levy, Robert E. Log: Five Days aboard the Schooner “Stephen
Taber.” Wood engravings by John De Pol. Oyster Bay,
NY: The Binnacle Press, 1962. Spec VK211 .L48x 1962
Lifshin, Lyn. Shaker House Poems. Tannersville, NY:
Tideline Press, 1975. Spec PS3562 .I4537 S5x 1975
Lydenberg, Harry Miller, intro. Peter Piper’s Practical
Principles of Plain and Perfect Pronunciation.
Brooklyn, NY: Mergenthaler Linotype Company, 1936.
Spec GR486 .P47x 1936
Bibliography of books from Fridolf Johnson
MacLeish, Archibald. A Free Man’s Books: An Address. Mount
Vernon, NY: The Peter Pauper Press, [1942]. Spec
PS3525 .A27 F65
________________. Nobodaddy: A Play. Cambridge, MA:
Dunster House, 1926. Spec PS3525 .A27 N6 1926
McPherson, Sandra. Floralia. Portland, OR: Trace Editions;
West Burke, VT: Janus Press, 1985. Spec PS3563 .A326
F5 1985
Middleton, Richard. The Ghost Ship. Wood engravings by
John De Pol. Madison, NJ: Golden Hind Press, 1953.
Spec PR6025 .I3 G4x 1953
Olson, Toby. Two Standards. Madison, Wisc: Salient
Seedling Press, 1982. Spec PS3565 .L84 T86 1982
The Pied Piper’s Primrose Path: A Typographical Nonsense
Book. Stamford, CT: The Overbrook Press, 1940. Spec
Z116 .P65x 1940
Platov, Mariquita. 17 Sonnets. Tannersville, NY: Tideline
Press, 1975. Spec PS3566 .L28 S48x 1975
Reiner-Bauer, Imre and Hedwig. Alphabets by Imre and Hedwig
Reiner. St. Gall, Switzerland: Verglag Xollikofer&
Co., 1947. Spec NK3630 .R45 A47x 1947
The Revival of Art in Craft. Wynkyn de Worde Society;
William Morris Society, [1968]. Spec Z151.5 .R48x 1968
Root, Judith. Weaving the Sheets. [Omaha]: University of
Nebraska; Abbatoir Editions, 1985. Spec PS3568 .O65 W4
1985
Snider, Karen A. Dorothy During Wounded Knee (A Portrait at
Sixteen). Madison, WI; Salient Seeling Press, 1984.
Spec PS3569 .N485 D6 1984
Stevenson, Robert Louis. An Apology for Idlers. Oakland:
B. Kennedy, 1931. Spec PR5488 .A7x 1931
Strong, Rupert. Poems of the Ordinary. [Dublin]: Dolmen
Press, [1967]. Spec PR6037 .T856 A18 1967
Strouse, Norman H. How to Build a Poor Man’s Morgan
Library. [Detroit]: The Book Club of Detroit, 1959.
Spec Z987 . S77x 1959
A Swamp Press Primer. Oneonta, NY: Swamp Press, 1977. Spec
PS615 .S93x 1977
Bibliography of books from Fridolf Johnson
Toller, Ernst. Brokenbrow. London: Nonesuch Press, [1926].
Spec PT2642 .O65 H53 1926
Torre, Vincent, ed. Aesop’s Fables. NY: The Inkwell Press,
1969. Morris Library PZ813 .T689a 1969
______________. The Poetry of William Blake. NY: The
Inkwell Press, 1952. Spec PR4142 .T67x 1952
______________. 20 Poems for Children. NY: The Inkwell
Press, [n.d.] Spec PS3570 .O69 T94x 1960z
______________. Wander-wood and Other Poems for Children.
NY: The Inkwell Press, 1967. Spec PS3570 .O69 W36x
1967
WAD: The Work of W.A. Dwiggins. NY: The American Institute
of Graphic Arts at the Gallery of the Architectural
League, 1937. Spec Z276 .D91x 1937
Wesling, Donald. American Sentences: The History of West
Seneca, New York. Black Mesa Press, 1981. Spec folio
F129 .W4 W46x 1981
Wild, Peter. Pioneers. Tannersville, NY: Tideline Press,
1976. Spec PS3573 .I42 I85x 1976
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