Rollo G. Silver papers (MS.2013.001)

The Rollo G. Silver papers contain the correspondence, research files, and objects that he and his wife Alice (Gindin) Silver collected during their careers as bibliophiles and historians of printing and typography as created by white people in the European printing tradition.

Series 1. Biographical. This series documents Rollo’s personal and professional life including awards, diplomas, employment letters, photographs, and passports. Of interest are photographs and reports from his service in the U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps at the Climatic Research Laboratory in Lawrence, MA during 1944-1946. This series also contains the Christmas Greeting cards that Rollo and Alice designed and printed from 1928-1985.

Series 2. Personal Subject Files. This series contains subject files about his areas of interest outside of printing and typography. He collected jokes and limericks and information on the burlesque stars Gypsy Lee Rose and Rosita Royce. He had an interest in the series of children’s books about a boy named Rollo written by Jacob Abbott from 1835-1864. Silver was also concerned about the effects of a drug made by the Winthrop Chemical Company.

Series 3. Publications and Lectures. This series contains copies of his publications, reviews, and lectures on Walt Whitman and topics in the history of printing and typography. Series 4. Research. This series contains the notes and documentation he collected while researching the history of printing in America and specific printing houses.

Series 4. Objects. This series contains a smattering of objects related to printing history and typography including a miniature toy printing press, type in metal and wood, stencils, printing plates, Chinese and Japanese woodcut printing blocks, and specimens of type. Of note is an example of the earliest known printing specimen created in California circa 1856.

Series 5. Research. This series contains the notes and documentation he collected while researching the history of printing in America and specific printing houses. Includes handwritten transcriptions, photographs, photostats, and photocopies from published and archival sources.

Series 6. Correspondence and Subject Files. This series represents the bulk of the collection. It contains subject files and correspondence with colleagues, friends and institutions related to the history of printing and typography. Included is correspondence with many small press printers from the around the United States and England sending examples of their work. He had extensive correspondence with the following among many others: Leo Wyatt (1909-1981) an engraver specializing in calligraphy; Paul Hayden Duensing (-1996) printer; Jacob Blanck (1906-1974) bibliographer; Lawton Kennedy (1900-1980) printer; Michael McCurdy (1942-2016) author, illustrator, and printer.