Unseen Hands: Women Printers, Binders, and Book Designers

This exhibition and accompanying catalog were inspired by the discovery that Princeton University Library is a rich, if heretofore little-known, repository of examples of women’s contributions to the arts of the book. A sense that recognition and celebration of the legacy of women in printing – particularly as revealed in these materials – was long overdue resulted in an exhibition in the Leonard L. Milberg Gallery for the Graphic Arts that would focus attention on some of the most historically significant and beautifully made examples of works printed, bound, and designed by women. Foremost among the individual collections at Princeton used for this exhibition is that assembled by Miriam Y. Holden (1893-1977) in the first half of the twentieth century, and given to the library in 1979 by her husband, Arthur C. Holden, Class of 1912.

            Entries are arranged chronologically by date of first publication with-in each catalog number, followed by an integrated index to names and subjects. All items in the exhibition are from the collections of Princeton University Library.