Princeton University Press Records

• Introduction
• Historical Note
• Collection Description
• Series Descriptions
• Box/Folder Listing

The Princeton University Press Records consist of the records and working papers of the Princeton University Press (1905-). The collection includes correspondence between the Press and retailers, printers and other presses; minutes from the Editorial Board and Board of Trustees; catalogs, trade lists, book listings; pamphlets describing the history of the press and miscellaneous printed material. Furthermore, there are extensive author files that document the correspondence between the Press and various authors, as well as other materials associated with each author's work.

 Range of Collection Dates:  1905-1997
 Range of Collection Bulk Dates: 1940s-1990s

 Size: 215.6 linear feet (324 archival boxes, 86 record center cartons)

 Provenance:  The former Princeton University Press director Datus C. Smith gave the correspondence in the collection, and the Press and the University Archives contributed the printed material. Large additions came directly from the Press in 1994 and 2001.

 Restrictions:  None

 Photocopying, literary rights, and citation:  Permission to publish material from the collection must be requested from the Associate University Librarian for Rare Books and Special Collections. The library has no information on the status of literary rights in the collection and researchers are responsible for determining any questions of copyright. Citations should be as follows:  Princeton University Press Records, Series #, Box #. Used by permission of the Princeton University Library.
 

Historical Note

In 1905 the Princeton University Press was organized and opened on 30 Nassau Street in Princeton, New Jersey, with a capital of $25,000. Charles Scribner, Class of 1875, was instrumental in establishing the Press and served as its first president. In 1910 the Press was reincorporated under an act providing for not-for-profit organizations "to establish, maintain, and operate a printing and publishing plant, for the promotion of education and scholarship, and to serve the University by its manufacturing and distributing publications." Its first incorporators were Charles Scribner, M. Taylor Pyne, Archibald D. Russell, Parker D. Handy, Clarence Blair Mitchell, Arthur H. Scribner, and Robert Bridges. In 1911, Mr. Scribner contributed the site for the Press at the corners of William and Charlton Streets as well as the Press building and much of the printing machinery.

Since the publication of its first book, Princeton University President John Witherspoon's Lectures in Moral Philosophy (1912), the Princeton University Press has published well over 2000 titles. Among these are such seminal works as Einstein's Theory of Relativity and von Neumann and Morgenstern's The Theory of Games and Economic Behavior. The Press has also undertaken such long-range projects as the publication of The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, edited by Julian Boyd, and The Papers of Woodrow Wilson, edited by Arthur Link. Since its 1905, the Press has printed The Princeton Alumni Weekly.

Although closely connected with the University, the Princeton University Press is a separate corporation. Nine of its fifteen trustees must be members of the faculty or administration of the University or alumni. The president of Princeton University, an ex-officio trustee, appoints four faculty members to five-year terms on the editorial board, which controls the imprint of the Press.

Collection Description

Consists of records of the Princeton University Press, founded in 1905, including correspondence of Datus C. Smith (director, 1941-1954) and others, as well as various authors whose works were published by the Press. The records also contain correspondence with retailers and printers, catalogs, trade lists, and the minutes of the Press's Editorial Board (1913-1990) and Board of Trustees (1906-1973).

Large additions to the records consist of author files for the 1940s to the 1990s, which include correspondence with authors and information on reprints and paperback editions, corrections, and permissions, as well as contracts and agreements.

There is also a sizeable portion of unprocessed materials that includes Editorial Board and Board of Trustees minutes, author files, federal tax returns, reviews, printing informational materials, assorted Walter H. Lippincott files, printing production materials and other materials.

Arrangement

 The collection has been arranged in the following series:  I. Correspondence:  1926-1956; II. Board Minutes—A. Editorial Board, B. Board of Trustees; III. Publications; IV. Miscellaneous; V. Additional Author Files; VI. Unprocessed Material.

Added Entries

 The following added entries have been assigned to this collection to highlight significant sources (other than the main entry), subjects, and forms of the collection's materials. Where possible Library of Congress Subjects Headings have been used, and the forms of names reflect international cataloging standards. As a result, all of these entries may be searched in the Department's database (MASC), in the Library's online catalog, and the public card catalog to find other related material.

    Subject Headings (in uppercase) / Form Headings (in upper and lowercase):

     Authors, American—20th century—Correspondence
     Publishers and Publishing—New Jersey—Princeton—20th century—Correspondence
     PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS
     Smith, Datus C. (Datus Clifford), 1907-1999
     University Presses—New Jersey—Princeton—20th century—Records

Series Descriptions

Box/Folder Listing