Occidental College
Library
Visual & Book Arts
Special Collections supports the study of all aspects of the history of printing.
Subjects like typography, papermaking, bookbinding, illustration, as well as the development of printing and book design are thoroughly covered or exemplified in the collections of Fine Printing, Artists' Books, Miniature Books, 15th Through 17th Century Imprints, and 18th through Early 19th Century Imprints.
Through the Lawrence Clark Powell '28 and Fay Shoemaker Powell '32 Endowment Fund for the Book Arts, created for the College in the 1980s, courses in letterpress, papermaking and artists' books are offered in the Art History and Visual Arts Department. To support the curriculum in these areas, Special Collections staff creates exhibits in the Library, and receives students for presentations where they can get up close to rare materials.