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.

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

Folios:

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 1 or 2 don't apply. 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.

Cutter Table

Alderbrink Press	A35	Knopf	K66
Arens	A65	Lamson Wolffe	L23
Badger	B15	Lane	L25
Blue Sky Press	B41	Lieber & Lewis	L51
Bohemian Club	B45	Little Review	L55
Boni	B51	Luce	L89
Boni & Liveright	B53	Manas Press	M25
Bowen-Merrill	B61	Masses	M29
Broom	B71	Modern Library	M63
Brown	B78	Mother Earth	M66
Bruno	B83	Other Press	O75
Chicago Little Theater	C35	Pagan Publishing	P19
Chicago Stage Guild	C39	Philosopher Press	P45
Claire Marie	C45	Robertson	R66
Copeland & Day	C61	Russell	R85
Covici	C65	Seltzer	S31
Doxey	D55	Seven Arts	S33
Elder	E35	Shay	S37
Four Seas	F65	Small Maynard	S55
Gomme	G65	Stone & Kimball	S77
Goodman	G69	Sunwise Turn	S81
Haldeman-Julius (Little Blue Books)	H13	Two Worlds	T91
Harcourt Brace	H18	Vanguard Press	V25
Harris	H23	Way & Williams	W25
Hillacre Press	H35	Whitaker & Ray	W45
Horace Liveright	B53	Other publishers	Z33
Howell	H65	British printings	Z44
Huebsch	H81	Salesmen's samples	Z66
Kennerley	K35	Early dust jackets	Z77

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.

Note: call numbers below are approximated, as these have not been cataloged yet.

Example:

YEAR	PUBLISHER	AUTHOR	TITLE	PRINTING	CALL NUMBER
1926	Boni & Liveright	Newman, Frances	Hard boiled virgin	1st	B53 0605
1926	Boni & Liveright			2nd	B53 0606
1926	Boni & Liveright			3rd	B53 0607
1926	Boni & Liveright			4th	B53 0608
1926	Boni & Liveright			5th	B53 0609
1926	Boni & Liveright			6th	B53 0610
1926	Boni & Liveright			7th	B53 0611
1926	Boni & Liveright			8th	B53 0612
1926	Boni & Liveright	Paris, John	Bonzai!	1st	B53 0613
1926	Boni & Liveright			2nd	B53 0614
1926	Boni & Liveright	Parker, Cornelia Stratton	More ports	1st	B53 0615
1926	Boni & Liveright	Parker, Dorothy	Enough rope	1st	B53 0616
1926	Boni & Liveright			2nd	B53 0617
1926	Boni & Liveright			3rd	B53 0618
1926	Boni & Liveright			4th	B53 0619
1926	Boni & Liveright			5th	B53 0620
1926	Boni & Liveright			6th	B53 0621
1926	Boni & Liveright			7th	B53 0622
1926	Boni & Liveright			8th	B53 0623
1926	Boni & Liveright			9th	B53 0624
1926	Boni & Liveright			10th	B53 0625
1926	Boni & Liveright			11th	B53 0626
1926	Boni & Liveright			12th	B53 0627
1926	Boni & Liveright			13th	B53 0628
1926	Boni & Liveright			14th	B53 0629
1926	Boni & Liveright			16th	B53 0630
1926	Boni & Liveright			17th	B53 0631
1926	Boni & Liveright			21st	B53 0632
1926	Boni & Liveright			22nd	B53 0633
1926	Boni & Liveright			24th	B53 0634

Miscellaneous categories:

More information on arrangement to follow.

MFHD examples:

Octavo	‡b beinycal ‡h Tanselle A35 ‡i 0023
Quarto	‡b beinycal ‡h Tanselle A35 ‡i 0024+ ‡m Quarto
Folio	‡b beinycal ‡h Tanselle A35 ‡i 0025 ‡m Folio

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: 1955-1991. 9 v.

CITE AS: BAL

American fiction 1876-1900.
San Marino: 1966.

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

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

CITE AS: Andes, G.M. Modern library

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

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

Example:

510

4

‡a Hoffman, F.J. Little magazine (2nd ed.), ‡c p. 250

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

Subject, genre, and added tracings

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