Tanselle Collection of American Imprints

Scope | Cataloging |  Size | Marking |  Classification | Notes |  Citations | Subjects

Scope

The Tanselle Collection of American Imprints brings together the output of more than fifty trade publishing houses operating between 1891 and 1930 in the United States that accepted innovative or socially progressive work, i.e. avant-garde, not welcomed by major, well-established firms. Representative authors include Sherwood Anderson, Theodore Dreiser, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Eugene O’Neill, and John Reed, as well as the first American publications of European authors such as James Joyce, D.H. Lawrence, Virginia Woolf, and E.M. Forster. The main collection consists of 7,750 items, both first editions and later printings, organized to illustrate the development of trends in printing and publishing styles. To further demonstrate changing styles in bookmaking over the years, an additional 4,000 items from other American publishers, dating from the eighteenth century through the end of the twentieth, are included in the collection, as well as 250 items that serve as examples of salesmen’s samples, and a collection of early dust jackets and slipcases.

Cataloging

The general cataloging policies for post-1800 monographs are followed. Each printing will have a separate bibliographic record. The month of printing, when known, will be included in the date of manufacture data. If any title duplicates a copy already held at Beinecke, a comparison will be done and differences will be noted. The existing catalog record will be brought up to current standards with appropriate local notes and provenance information. This collection has been approved to shelve in secure offsite storage.

Size

The size boundaries are:

Octavo:

up to 25 cm high

up to 23 cm wide

Quarto:

between 25 and 37 cm high

over 23 and up to 31 cm wide

Folio:

over 37 cm high

over 31 cm wide

Marking

The following guidelines are used when marking volumes for the Tanselle Collection.

1. Mark on Yale bookplate when there is one, generally in the lower left corner. The bookplate contains the printed words, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, so mark only Tanselle and the number. Write along the bottom of the bookplate on one line, separating call number elements with periods (eg. Tanselle.B53.0049)
2. Mark on verso of last page, lower right hand corner, when there is no Yale bookplate. The lower left hand corner is the alternate location when the lower right hand corner is unusable.
3. If the last page is unmarkable (e.g. too dark or shiny or filled with text or illustrations), mark the verso of the first usable page from the end.

NOTE: Do not mark call number on original wrappers.

Classification

Class as a name collection cuttered by publisher, or miscellaneous category, followed by sequential numbering. In order for the results of a call number search to display in order, each number will contain four digits, with initial zeros used as place holders (e.g. 0007). There will be individual sequential numbering sequences for each cutter, regardless of size. Serials will be classed as monographs, with serial enumeration.

Publishers Collected in Depth

Examples of American Imprints Not Collected in Depth

Related Material

Arrangement

Publishers

Items are arranged chronologically by publication date of 1st printing, then alphabetically by author’s surname. Any subsequent printings of a title available at the commencement of the cataloging project will follow the 1st printing, regardless of the year of publication. All printings collected after the start of the cataloging will be added to the end of the sequence.

Examples (Note: call numbers below are approximated, as these have not been cataloged yet)

Miscellaneous categories

The books are organized into large chronological units, with some units divided into subunits. Within each unit or subunit (each with its own Cutter number), the books are arranged alphabetically by publisher; whenever a publisher is represented by more than one book, the arrangement is chronological under the publisher, then alphabetical by author within a given year (the same arrangement as that used for the in-depth collections, A35 - W45).

MFHD examples

Notes

General

• Record printing statements.
• Note the presence and location of advertising matter.

Local

• Note the presence of dust jackets, bookseller’s labels, provenance, etc., in accordance with standard practices for monograph cataloging
• If there is no evidence of ownership, no note or tracing will be made for Tanselle provenance.

Citations

Cite the following whenever appropriate:

Blanck, Jacob. Bibliography of American Literature. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1955-1991.

CITE AS: BAL

Wright, Lyle Henry. American fiction 1876-1900. San Marino: Huntington Library, 1966.

CITE AS: Wright, L.H. Amer. fiction, 1876-1900

Andes, George M. A descriptive bibliography of the Modern library, 1917-1970. Boston: Boston Book Annex, 1989.

CITE AS: Andes, G.M. Modern library

Hoffman, Frederick John. The little magazine. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1947.

CITE AS: Hoffman, F.J. Little magazine (2nd ed.)

Lyles, William H. Dell paperbacks, 1942 to mid-1962. Westport: Greenwood Press, 1983.

CITE AS: Lyles, W.H. Dell paperbacks, 1942 to mid-1962

Reginald, R. Cumulative paperback index, 1939-1959. Detroit: Gale Research Co., 1973.

CITE AS: Reginald, R. Cumulative paperback index, 1939-1959

Additionally, cite author’s and/or other publisher’s bibiliographies when available and appropriate.

Subject, genre, and added tracings

• Make added entries for publishers, printers, editors, translators, illustrators, dust jacket designers, and other significant contributors. Use relator terms.
• Make appropriate notes and local tracings for provenance.