Guide to the Daniel Berkeley Updike letter, 1926
Redwood Library and Athenaeum
50 Bellevue Avenue
Newport, RI 02840
Tel: (401) 847-0292
Fax: (401) 841-5680
email: redwood@redwoodlibrary.org
Published in 2017
Collection Overview
| Title: | Daniel Berkeley Updike letter |
| Date range: | 1926 |
| Creator: | Updike, Daniel Berkeley, 1860-1941 |
| Extent: | 0.01 linear feet (1 folder) |
| Abstract: | Letter from Daniel Berkeley Updike (1860-1941), printer and founder of the Merrymount Press, to James N. Gibson (1887-1957) of Newport, Rhode Island. |
| Language of materials: | English |
| Repository: | Redwood Library and Athenaeum |
| Collection number: | RLC.Ms.579 |
Scope & content
This collection consists of one letter from Daniel Berkeley Updike, dated January 23, 1926, addressed to James N. Gibson of Newport, RI. The letter is in response to one sent earlier by Gibson to Updike and includes Updike’s regret that he is not often in Newport as he has recently bought a 200 acre farm in Vermont. Accompanying the letter is the envelope addressed to Gibson at his home in Newport.Access Points
Subject Topics Document TypesArrangement
This collection is arranged in chronological order.
Biographical note
Daniel Berkeley Updike (1860-1941) was born on February 24, 1860, to Caesar Augustus and Elizabeth Bigelow Updike of Providence, Rhode Island. While living in Providence, he volunteered at the Providence Athenaeum in his teens and, rather than attend college, he then relocated to Boston in 1880 and accepted a position working for Houghton, Mifflin & Co. at the lowest level as an errand boy. Updike remained with the company for twelve years, working his way up into positions of greater responsibility and learning the details of fine printing. From 1892 to 1893, he was at that company’s Riverside Press in Cambridge gaining further typographical experience.In 1893, Updike went into business for himself; he used other presses for his press-work, which were issued with colophons that described them as being from his own design or published under his supervision. By 1896, he had secured his own presses and types and began to publish as the Merrymount Press. Although his early work was influenced by William Morris, he developed a different purpose for his press. Instead of producing books with a purely aesthetic appeal, as Morris was known for, Updike made it his concern to see that the books he printed were readable and properly suited to the conditions under which they would be used; then he would focus on their style. The Merrymount Press gained a reputation for superior design, readability, and impressive workmanship. He also taught printing history at the Harvard Business School and his Printing Types: Their History, Forms, and Use (1922) became an authoritative text, now in its third edition. Updike died at his home in Boston on December 28, 1941 at the age of 81.
Access & Use
| Access to the collection: | Access is open to members and researchers at the Redwood Library and Athenaeum. |
| Use of the materials: | This collection is owned by the Redwood Library and Athenaeum. Permission to publish materials must be obtained in writing from the Special Collections Librarian of the Redwood Library and Athenaeum. |
| Preferred citation: | Daniel Berkeley Updike letter, RLC.Ms.579, Redwood Library and Athenaeum. |
| Contact information: | Redwood Library and Athenaeum 50 Bellevue Avenue Newport, RI 02840 Tel: (401) 847-0292 Fax: (401) 841-5680 email: redwood@redwoodlibrary.org |
Administrative Information
| ABOUT THE COLLECTION | |
| Acquisition: | Gift of the estate of James N. Gibson. |
| Processing information: | Prior to processing in 2015, this letter was found within the Steel Cabinet Collection: Drawer 7, Folder 1. |
| ABOUT THE FINDING AID | |
| Author: | Finding aid prepared by Elizabeth Delmage, 2015 March. |
| Encoding: | This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit 2017-12-26 |
| Revisions: | Finding aid revised by Michelle Farias, 2017 December. |
| Descriptive rules: | Finding aid based on Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS) |
Additional Information
| Related material: | William Sowden Sims papers, RLC.Ms.530, Redwood Library and Athenaeum. |
Inventory
| Manuscripts Box 2 | Letter to James N. Gibson w/ envelope |
1926 Jan 23 |