Gift of Frank W. Tober estate, 1995.
The collection is open for research.
Use of materials from this collection beyond the
exceptions provided for in the Fair Use and Educational Use clauses of the U.S.
Copyright Law may violate federal law. Permission to publish or reproduce is
required from the copyright holder. Please contact Special Collections
Department, University of Delaware Library,
MSS 600, Frank W. Tober papermaking and paper samples collection, Special Collections, University of Delaware Library, Newark, Delaware.
Processed by Timothy D. Murray and Teresa K. Nevins, 2008-2009.
Encoded by Teresa K. Nevins, July 2009.
Frank W. Tober was born in Detroit, Michigan, in 1919. As a youth, he was an avid reader who enjoyed history and literature, but he was particularly interested in the sciences. Following his graduation from high school in 1937, he enrolled at Michigan Technological University where he earned his bachelor's degree in chemistry in 1941. He subsequently received a master's degree in chemical engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute in 1941 and a doctorate in physical chemistry from Yale University in 1948. Tober went on to have a long, successful career with the Du Pont Company.
Dr. Tober maintained a wide range of book collecting interests, including the history of printing and publishing, the history of papermaking and the manufacture of paper, the era of Napoleon and the French Revolution, and contemporary fine printing and book arts. However, the cornerstone of Dr. Tober's personal library was his collection on literary forgery, which includes examples of forgeries from all periods.
Dr. Tober bequeathed his collection to the University of Delaware Library following his death on June 24, 1995. The Frank W. Tober collection comprises nearly four thousand books and periodicals, hundreds of manuscripts and papers, and a variety of other materials, including artwork and ephemera.
Frank W. Tober collected this wide variety of paper specimens and samples from around the world, including manufacturer's paper sample books, catalogs, individual paper specimens, and a portion of St. Louis collector and bookbinder Francis T. Guelker's collection on the history and craft of bookbinding and papermaking. It also includes a variety of books, articles, pamphlets, brochures, and other printed ephemera relating to all aspects of papermaking and the book arts.
Francis T. Guelker was a St. Louis bookbinder and collector of the history and craft of bookbinding and papermaking.
Many of the volumes of paper and bookbinding cloth samples were likely made and/or assembled by Guelker (see F1, F3, F7-9, F12, F14)
Bookbinding cloth samples tipped into pages of handmade handbound booklet. Label from "Johnson Bookbinding Supply Company" tipped in as titlepage
Includes correspondence and illustrated leaflet
Brochures and specimens of marbled and decorated papers from various manufacturers, assembled by Guelker into decorated book box with initial "G" on cover
Sample book in slipcase from Fuji Paper Mills Cooperative, Tokushima, Japan. Includes letter and price list.
One bound volume in slipcase containing tipped-in paper specimens; index of paper types in front, and price lists from Falkiner Fine Papers Ltd (London) bound at back
Catalogs and specimens of Fioravese Paper; also includes correspondence and price lists
Vol. 1 of three-volume set containing tipped-in samples of marbled papers with indexes identifying all manufacturers.
Vol. 2 of three-volume set containing tipped-in samples of marbled papers with indexes identifying all manufacturers.
Vol. 3 of three-volume set containing tipped-in samples of marbled papers with indexes identifying all manufacturers. Also includes laid-in correspondence and prospectuses.
Specimens of handmade Japanese papers laid into blue handmade folder
Seven large samples of Japanese handmade paper sent to Guelker by Katsui Inaba, removed to oversize.
Leather loose-leaf portfolio containing tipped-in specimens of decorative papers from many different sources. Includes designs by William Morris and Raoul Dufy. Also includes a secion on handpainted pastepapers by Claire Maziarczyk
Includes brochure, letter to Francis Guelker, mailing envelope, and six paper samples with labels.
Fifteen samples of Chiyogami papers laid into handmade container
One handmade, handbound volume in slipcase containing tipped-in parchment specimens. Laid in photocopy of letter to Guelker from Z. H. de Groot, a parchment/vellum maker and supplier from Rotterdam. Also laid in was a price list.
Custom-made box containing numerous samples of Japanese handmade paper from Aiko's Art Materials Import (Chicago, IL) and Yasutomo & Company (Brisbane, CA). Includes price lists.
Two book covers in handmade container
Untitled volume of handmade papers from Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry, India
Includes correspondence, brochure, price list, and 8 paper samples.
Includes brochures and illustrated booklet with samples and description (in Japanese) of papermaking.
Includes various brochures, prospectuses, exhibition and promotional materials, articles, offprints, essays, reviews, and other items Guelker collected that relate to the art of papermaking
Samples, brochures, and correspondence from several American sources. Includes June 27, 1983 letter from Guelker to Bob Fleck with photo and brief biographical sketch.
Includes samples, correspondence, brochures, and other materials from several Japanese papermakers.
Includes samples, brochures, prospectuses, publications, correspondence and other materials from Australian, British, and Swiss sources. Also includes photocopied article on early Indian marbling techniques, and a group of articles on paper marbling bound by Guelker in marbled paper.
The Dard Hunter Paper Museum currently resides at the Institute of Paper Chemistry, who acquired it from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1954.
Includes correspondence with the Dard Hunter Paper Museum, a portfolio containing brochures, pamphlets, prospectuses, and bibliographies from the museum. Also included is a prospectus sent to Guelker by Dard Hunter II, and correspondence between Guelker, Dard Hunter II, and Douglas Stone.
Includes a collection of brochures and articles on marbling paper. Also includes an unidentified volume of 91 decorative paper patterns.
Five-volume set in slipcase issued by Beckett Paper Company of Hamilton, Ohio
Portfolio containing a variety of paper samples
Includes
Nine small sample books. Also includes sample marbled fabric over board with autograph note on Douglas Cockerell & Son letterhead and a small marbled paper Christmas card from "The Sandy Cockerells Letchworth 1959."
Seven small sample books
One small swatchbook
One spiral-bound sample book of papers for fine printing (cover is white with polka dots)
One spiral-bound sample book of papers for fine printing (cover is orange with illustrations)
Blue Curtis folder containing paper samples, sample books, pamphlets, and other information provided to Delaware Bibliophiles during tour of February 17, 1979.
One small group of paper samples stapled together at corner.
Two paper sample books (Musterheft No. 1 and 3)
Two paper sample books (Musterheft No. 4 and 6)
Sample book entitled
Label with "Hayle Mill Hand Made Rough Edged", two labeled folded samples, and two paper samples
Seven small sample books of various types of paper
Paper samples and price lists for various types of papers made by J. Barcham Green Ltd.
Unbound collection of handmade paper samples with labels
Includes note, "Kisshoin Nishinosho Nichiura-cho", and price list.
Includes note from Oak Knoll Books identifying as "sliding door paper samples"
Small sample book of marbled paper (Buchschnitt-Abziehmarmor)
Small block of sample papers with handwritten date of "May 1976"
Sample book of solid tag foils
Handbound, handmade paper sample book,
Promotional folder with letter, brochures, and samples
Book of paper samples
Three sample books of decorative papers for bookbinding (Les Papiers pour Reliure)
Three sample books of Japanese handmade paper; one is labeled "Yanagi-Shibori Swatch Book" and one is labeled "Color Washi." Includes correspondence, price list, invoice, and mailing envelopes.
Three sample books of Japanese handmade paper. Includes "Crinkled & Dyed Paper," "Washi," and "Kyosei Washi."
Paper samples in fold-out case
Cat. No. 682-Sampler, Japanese & European paper sampler.
Paper samples from other sources, including loose samples and those from unidentified sources
22 paper samples from plant material. Includes Oak Knoll Books description
Letter from Hunter to Elbert Lenrow, November 21, 1946, and four original prospectuses for Dard Hunter's publications. One large sample of paper made by Dard Hunter at his private mill was removed to oversize.
Four samples of handmade paper by Douglass Howell. One of these has imprint "From the Hand Press of Douglass Howell on Howell Handmade Paper, 1951"
Four examples printed on handmade paper by Elmer Garrett, contained in folder marked "Elmer Garrett's Paper"
One block of Capri Watercolor paper, removed to oversize.
Four small paper sample catalogs
Variety of large printed samples of papers produced by Japan Paper Company
Nine samples of paper handmade by John Mason, with various printed texts and illustrations.
Approximately 91 paper samples with identification labels stapled to each sample
Small sample book of marbled papers with "700/26.6.76/235" printed in gold on the cover
Includes three sheets of European decorative handmade paper with Tober's notes, and six sheets of Japanese handmade paper. These nine items have been removed to oversize.
One package of ruled notepaper still in original wrapper.
One piece of original William Morris wallpaper, "Diaper" pattern, printed pale green on white (removed to oversize). Includes correspondence with Wilder Books and dealer's description.
Five sheets of paper with envelopes, secured by illustrated wrap-around band.
Seven loose printed paper samples
Individual sheets of Japanese handmade papers from different regions in Japan. The labels and arrangement preserves Tober's original organization of these materials
Folder of autograph documents accompanied by Tober's notations about the watermarks
well-known paper historian
bound volume of paper samples with detailed descriptive information on individual samples. Includes autograph ownership signature of Howard Wallingford inside front cover
Contains handmade Japanese paper
Brochure about papermaking at Carta Lafranca Mill in Valle Maggia, Italy
Book containing samples of different paperfolding techniques.
Large Japanese broadside with Japanese text on handmade decorative paper (removed to oversize)
Packet of educational materials from classroom project for the study of papermaking.
In original box, printed on handmade paper.
Notebook containing mounted photographs and paper specimens, with descriptions and diagrams of chemical properties of various types of paper. Removed to oversize.
Removed from three-ring binder labeled "Volume 1" containing specimens of heavyweight papers from different manufacturers. Each sample has identifying label, and many are dated.
Removed from three-ring binder labeled "Volume 2" containing specimens of heavyweight papers from different manufacturers. Each sample has identifying label, and many are dated.
Letter to Fred Siegenthaler dated October 15, 1984, with paper samples
One sheet of stenciled paper, described by bookseller as "a fragment of late-18th or early-19th century French or Italian roller-printed and stenciled paper." Removed to oversize.
Three of these samples are marked "Rycraft" on the back
Includes two bark paper figures, description and history from dealer
Individual samples of marbled papers and Japanese handmade papers
Brochure with samples of Interlaken Art Buckram
Trifold hardback sample book with "Texalyn C & C-1" and "Columbia Mills" stamped in gold.
Brochure containing bookcover material samples
Specimens of Japanese bookbinding cloth, along with disassembled covers. Includes price list.
Emery, O.
Vol. 18, no. 1 (1979–1980). Special issue devoted to decorated paper with tipped-in examples.
Vol. 146, no. 52 (24 December 1962).
Washington: GPO, 1948. GPO-PIA Joint Research Bulletin. Bindery Series No. 1.
vol. 151, no 17 (26 April 1947). Includes article and laid-in ephemera pertaining to the Grolier Club List of 100 Influential American Books.
Vol. 24, no. 1 (Winter 1958). Includes "Twelve by Eight" by John Mason.
Washington: GPO, 1924. Technologic Papers of the Bureau of Standards, No. 262.
Washington: GPO, 1923. Technologic Papers of the Bureau of Standards, No. 301.
Offprint, Sonderdruck aus dem Basler Stadtbuch, 1980 (Bookplate of Fred Siegenthaler)
New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Books, 1983. Mimeographed typescript marked "draft" on title page; contains numerous corrections.
Includes several prospectuses and announcements from Oak Knoll Press and John Mason (Twelve by Eight Press).
Includes items related to the Republic of San Seriffe, and several items related to the Delaware Bibliophiles. One broadside, "Adlai Stevenson's Cat Bill Veto", and two prints (C. & I. Honig) were removed to oversize.
Includes variety of bookmarks, cards, broadsides, and prospectuses. Most of the materials are undated. One broadside for Paul Cadwell, Banjoist, and one broadside for Dick Ansell removed to oversize.
Includes material from Peter Koch, Black Stone Press, Tinicum Press, and Strathmore Press.